Wasp wars - help!!

[Cutting Cathy]

Ok I haven't seen anything on here about this!! My husband is in the process of building this huge garage and whole back (16 x 28) is going to be my shop!! Here it is in progress:

Garage wall3.JPG

I already have my sanding stuff out there. So today, I go out to sand my sheep banks and I see him before I even open the door.... the wasp!! I thought "I can do this, he is clear over on this side of the garage, Kent told me if I leave them alone, they will leave me alone." I get over to my side, get the overhead light on, get everything set up and start sanding. No problem, until here he comes. I try not to react until he starts dive bombing me!! Needless to say I cut my sanding short and got out of there!!

I don't know what I'm going to do, I absolutely HATE wasps, I'm scared to death of them. Problem is we do have them out here, they were always in our other out buildings. I have seen some of the "wasp catcher" type devices on the market, has anyone tried them?? Or does anyone have any ideas how to get rid of the darn things!?!?! I want to be able to play in my shop!! Any ideas??

Cathy in NE

[Forester21]

Yes the wasp catchers work! Just be sure to empty them out once in awhile and refresh the liquid in them.
Can you find the nest(s)?? There's some bug spray that can spray a lonnnnggg distance that works great for them.
Theresa

[Forester21]

Nice shop by the way~!!!

[Cutting Cathy]

Theresa, Not sure about the nests. You can bet I won't be looking for them!! Can you tell me which catcher you used?? I've seen different ones and I'm not sure. And where did you get them. I've seen some on the Lee Valley web site that I was going to order, but wanted to make sure they worked first!!! Thanks so much!!

Cathy in NE

[Forester21]

I think we got them at the hardware store or walmart. They are the kind that you put juice in them, the wasps enter the container then can't find their way back out and eventually drown in the juice.
We get wasps and nests all over the house. So I send DH out every once in awhile to spray the nests.

[greatdane2]

You can get electronic zappers, they look like a tennis racket. Just push a button and swat. I have one in the dog house and one in the house. I think they were $10 bucks.
Most hardware stores carry spray bombs to take out the nest. They spray about 15 feet, so you canstand back and let her go. I had an old carpet to go to the dump, when I went to move it had a lot of wasps come out to play. I sprayed it and ran. Came back 15 min later and even wasps that were coming back died instantly when the landed were I had sprayed.

[JohnB]

G'day Cathy,
We have some wasps occasionally around home. I use a residual insect spray in the shed and on the outside of the house and buildings. It lasts for about 3 months and any thing with more than 4 legs that happens to touch where it's sprayed is history.

[Ramjet]

Cathy . Here is a cheap way of making a wasp trap .Get a 2 litre ( quart ) plastic pop bottle . Cut the bottle about 1/4 of the way down from the neck . Put some sugar water in the base . Invert the top half and slide it into the bottom half . You can use any size plasic bottle . Good luck . Roger

[sawdustus]

Cathy, If you do find the nest, spray it at dusk. Bees and wasps normally return to their nests for the night as the sun sets so you will be able to destroy the nest and all of those in it at one time. After you have saturated the nest ( I use Ortho Wasp and Hornet Spray, a stream can be sprayed up to 15 feet but not accurately) remove the nest and then spray under all the eaves where they might even think about nesting. The stuff is effective for several weeks and kills them very quickly when you first use it. With my family severely allergic to bee and wasp venom, I am very aware of them when they want to hang out in my workshop (garage). Good luck and don't let them bug you.