How Do I Get Rid of Wasps and Bees

I just heard from a door-to-door exterminator salesmen earlier this year that you generally see wasps where you see spiders. They apparently eat each other. In his sales pitch he was saying that getting rid of the spiders would prevent the wasps from coming around too. But then how do you get rid of the spiders?!? :-)

S.,

Sorry if this isn't very insightful, but spend the money to get an exterminator. We had a problem last year of paper wasps and yellow jackets getting into our chimney and under one piece of siding. It took quite a bit of professional looking to find ALL the nests. Most of our problem was up high at the top of the chimney, inside and up high near eaves/siding.

Our older neighbors advised not to have my husband go looking up on the roof or chimney since they could swarm and/or he could take a tumble.

It was GREAT advice as I'm sure we wouldn't have found them all. Not to mention they got MAD when their hives were attacked professionally. (And that spray they sell at the store runs out quickly.)

Finally, the exterminator guaranteed his work! So we had him come back several times when one treatment didn't do the trick in some hard to reach places.

Particularly because you have a health issue with them - get professional help. It will be money well spent and give you piece of mind that they are really taken care of.

Sara

There is traps that you can buy at the store that you put root beer in. the warps fly is and can't get out and die. Or you can make one your self. See this website...
http://www.eartheasy.com/live_natwasp_control.htm
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf74366323.tip.html
http://www.nextag.com/wasp-trap/search-html

I used root beer in the one a bought at the store. They say it draws more wasps/yellow jackets and I believe it did.

Good Luck,
S.

This is idea is more for when you have parties to keep wasps at bay. Take either a 2 lt. or 16 oz plastic bottle cut the top off by 1/4 then invert the top into the bottom of the bottle. Add a small amount of ROOT BEER (WORKS THE BEST). The wasps are attracted to the smell of the root beer go into the bottle and can't figure how to get out.

J.

Have you seen the 2 litre pop bottle trick? We had a nest in the eves or overhang of our roof right over our back patio door. Use this door all the time. So you take like a two litre of mountain dew or 7up and drink it down to the bottom of the sticker. Pour the remainder in a glass and save it while you cut the bottle in half and invert the top into the bottom so the bottle opening is down inside the bottom. Pour the remaining liquid that you saved back in the bottle make sure the bottle top is not in the liquid and set it where you need to. They are attracted by the surgar in the pop, go in and can't get out. We wiped out the whole colony that way and filled our 2 litre bottles. There were more bees than pop by the time the bottle was full.
I actually took a picture of a one litre bottle that we did it with as an expirement. It really works we had two going at the same time and about 3 days no more problem.
C. M

Get an inexpensive bee/wasp trap at the hardware store. They are these plastic containers, often shaped like hives, that you hang from trees or landscaping. They have holes that allow the bees/wasps to get in but they cannot get out. Fill the trap with some kind of sweet drink, like Hi-C or lemonade. This is kind of gross, but to attract the wasps, add in some lunchmeat - they love it.

Once inside the trap, the bees/wasps will eventually drown in the liquid - they can only crawl around in there for so long. When they're all dead, you can empty out the trap and start over again. Just be sure to empty it at night, incase there's a lingering live one in there.

My husband and I have used these traps for years and they work really well. You'd be amazed at how many bees and wasps you will catch!

wasps can also nest in the ground so don't walk around in bare feet. I found this out when I was diagnosed with allergy. I got stung once after they determined my allergy and I had the adrenalin shot. However, my kids were a little older at the time and I told them I was taking an antihistamine and if I passed out to call 911 and got my shot kit out. They stayed with me for about 30 minutes and the antihistamine seemded to reduce the reaction so keep the benadryl handy. I also remained calm because panic can increase the reaction. You might want to have an exterminator come out because they know the nests usually are. Don't let your allergy hold you prisoner in your own home. If one comes around you, just be calm and it will go away. Be prepared if you do get stung, but live your life.

www.skymall.com has these glass beehive things with a substance in the bottom that catches them. You could get a few of these for your backyard?
Good luck!

I highly recommend dryer sheets too. After talking to an exterminator, he told me he could look all day on my property for the bees, they might be at the neighbor's house 4 feet away. My niece had her graduation party last Sept. and put dryer sheets in every flower arrangement and not a bee or wasp in sight.

S.,

I too am allergic to bees and I dred the buzzing creatures ruining my playtime outside with my daughter. I found that Bounce Dryer sheets help keep them away. Stick an unused sheet in your pocket and it works like a "bug spray" does for mosquitos. As far as getting rid of the little buggers, they may even be living in the soil so you may want a professional to spray your yard and around your home. I've found paper wasp nests in the eves of our home and at the top of our chimney. I've decided they have gotten smarter and now are making their nests where we can't get to them without professionals! Best of luck!

Hi. Insects don't like Borax because it's too basic. I have not tried it on bees and wasps, but it worked extremely well with fruit flies. You can put a bunch of it in a spray bottle with water and spray it, or just sprinkle it as is, or wipe areas down with borax mixed with water. It's safe around children and animals, and cheap. The insects just go away. It works for flees too. If you've never used it, you can find a box of it in the laundry section of your grocery store.

Any flying thing is attracted to odors, most people trying to enjoy the outdoors never think of why things start bothering them and yet they have a glass of wine, beer, or soda-pop in their hands.

By having a complete total cover on the drink container will greatly reduce being bothered by things.

Google drink container protector and you’ll find them, a good one is in made in Pittsburgh Pa USA. I even use it at the office to cut down drinking germs from other workers.

I highly recommend Sheri from ABG (All Bugs Gone) She has saved our house from several different pests in the last year or two. She came for mice and also found several wasp nests and took care of them for no charge. She also guarantees her work and will come back if needed (was not necessary for me) for no charge.

Hi S.!

We have Orkin come & spray our yard. The first year that we were here, we were SWARMED w/ bees! I have done a lot of research on this & unfortunatley there is not much that you can do UNLESS you can find the hives. What I can tell you is that Orkin said that the most common places for hives to form are:
1) underneath the lip of the pool (if you have one)
2) inside the frame of a swing set or grill!!!
3) underneath your deck or stairs
4) pretty much any area of your yard that is not commonly used
5) in the gutters, chimney, etc of your home
6) sheds

We actually found out that most of our problems were coming from the neighbor that backs up to our back yard because they had a shed & there were hives GALORE in there! (Orkin asked us to have them check it out). They wound up tearing down the shed & ever since we hardly have a problem at all! Of course, not every neighbor is going to do that for you.

As far as the containers go that look like hives, we have several of them. They're ok, & the bees can't get out of them, but I wouldn't spend a ton of money on them! And if you do get them, keep in mind that they ATTRACT bees so make sure to put them in places that you do not commonly hang out in. NEVER put them near your doors or windows!

One last piece of advice - make sure that when you're looking for the hives, that you do it at night! They lie dormant at night, so you can spray the hive without worrying about getting attacked!

Hope all of this helps! I know it's tough feeling like you're being held captive in your own home! But you need to get out & have some fun...if we get another winter like this past one, you'll regret it! Best of luck to you!!!

Believe it or not, regular scented Bounce dryer sheets work like a charm. Hopefully, you are not allergic to them. I put them around our pool on the fence. May look a bit silly but who cares. I went with my grand daughter on a field trip to pick apples in late September a few years ago. While on the bus, the teacher passed around dryer sheets for everyone to use. NOT ONE child, teacher or adult had gotten stung. There were over 20 children and the bees were plenty while we were picking apples! I have tried using other brands of dryer sheets, they don't seem to work as well. S. D.