Is it possible to get rid of wasps?

[littlemother]

Our barn and house are infested with wasps, both red wasps and mud daubers. We get the red wasps inside our house all the time and they hurt! Our barn is an old, dilapidated wood barn with high ceilings that are absolutely covered with wasp nests. It is a major metropolis for wasps! We tried setting out a wasp trap last year. Didn't even catch one. We would wait until dusk and spray them and knock the ones we could reach down. This didn't really seem to help much noticebly at all. We are the only wood barn around and are wondering if we are the breeding ground for these parts. Is it possible to get rid of them, especially the red wasps??? How?!? Thank you so much!

[Bearfootfarm]

Is it possible to get rid of them, especially the red wasps???

There's really very little you can do that you aren't doing already
Some places such as your barn are the perfect habitat

I've heard that mud daubers ( mason bees ) are excellent pollinators & don't sting .

[julieq]

If they're that bad, I'm not into chemicals, but I'd call a pest control expert locally and see if they have any suggestions.

[primal1]

I got rid of wasps in my attic by smoking them out, a few days in a row i burned sage smudges. Dunno if it would be possible in a big barn though.

[Oldcountryboy]

Get you a big sprayer (gallong size) and fill it up with water and then a cupful of Dawn Dishsoap. This stuff will kill waspers on contact.

[CarolT]

Mud daubers can sting but much prefer to only sting prey, which is other insects They really like black widows, which is why we like them.

My mom has metal outbuildings and still get wasps, so I doubt your neighbors are much better off. My suggestion would be to put up purple martin gourds. They like wasps, so maybe that would help. Good luck! I hate wasps, too.

[flowergurl]

I would leave the daubers alone. You have to really bother one to get it to sting you. They catch lots of bugs.

[MO_cows]

You will never get rid of them, just try to control the population. Mud daubers are less aggressive than "paper wasps" but will sting. Me and my dad are both allergic to wasp stings so we try to keep them down. The Dawn dish soap mixed with water in a pump sprayer is effective. Doesn't knock down and kill as fast as the hornet/wasp spray in a can but does kill and it's a lot cheaper. Seal up your buildings the best you can. We added some screens to vents and did some caulking to keep them out of our attic. In the winter time, knock down and destroy nests. Spray them at night, they will be on the nest and not likely to fly.

[am1too]

Gasoline kills them on contact. I used starting fluid becaues it will spray a good distance. It everaporates very quickly. Maybe alchohol might work. Do this only about dusk. A couple may escape and will come back. Just respray.

[Bearfootfarm]

The Dawn dish soap mixed with water in a pump sprayer is effective. Doesn't knock down and kill as fast as the hornet/wasp spray in a can but does kill and it's a lot cheaper

Mix in some Ammonia and it will kill them FAST

[joebill]

In the fall, when they are heavy into bringing in the mud and building nests, it's kind of a hoot to stand there with a extended wand on a vaccuum cleaner and nail them one at a time as they come in. Takes about an hour to wipe out the whole colony, then shoot a little bug spray into the nozzle, cap it for a day or so and you are good to go.

I don't know how it would work with wasps, but I had a swarm of bees try to move into my attic and just went to the hole they were using and sprayed a load of insect repellent into it. They came out faster than they went in...Joe

[gwithrow]

look up 'waspinator'....I think these really do work...one summer we had an old abandoned hornet nest that the kids had left under a wicker chair on the porch....and there were no other wasps around that area all summer...none....

you could probably make one out of paper mache....but lehmans sells one as does Gemplers...

[airotciv]

I have been using this product for the last 4 years and I love it. It is called The Bee Free Wasp Deterent can be found at http://eartheasy.com/yard-garden/natural-pest-control or I get them at the local farm store. I hang them anywhere wasps seem to like, the barns, house and pool areas.

[Awnry Abe]

Before we had chickens everywhere, we had blue tailed skinks. The little lizards really took care of our wasp problem. I have a love/hate feeling towards mud daubers. I really don't care for their nests at all.

[charged]

Yellow jackets are not tolerated at my place, but I leave the red wasps and mud daubers and other types of wasps alone. They prey on caterpillars that feed on garden vegetables and spiders that try to get into my house.

[MushCreek]

I live in the epicenter of wasp activity here in SC. I have battled several kinds of wasps, yellowjackets, and the worst of all-giant Japanese hornets. Store-bought wasp spray doesn't seem all that effective, so I'm going to try other means this season. The giant hornets are the worst- they look like a 2" yellowjacket, and have a stinger like a hypodermic needle. They remain active at night, and are very hard to kill. We had a massive nest inside a hollow tree, and finally removed the tree to get rid of them.

[Big Dave]

Again Some one who does not post in what part of the world they live in. So if you are in the North good luck. If you are in the South burn em or since you live in the same area jobill does do what he says. It is a good idea.

[BeeFree]

I do not mind doppers, except for their mud nest that they leave behind. I can stand them being around though. I try to destrop red, black and striped wasps when ever I see them. I use the wasp and hornet spray that will spray a big distance. Does a good job.

I was sweeping out a shed day before yest. and didn't think any wasp would be out as cold as it was. I had been knocking down old dopper nest and next thing I saw a wasp on the floor, need less to say, I squashed him. He was a bit slow so guess he was somewhat cool. I am in Southern MO.

[canecutter]

For red wasps I always make the rounds early in the year when I begin to see a few nests and before they get big. They are much less aggressive when the nests are small. I check all the usual places and use the soap as already mentioned or a couple cans of wasp spray. Then go back a few weeks later to find any I've missed. That seems to almost eliminate them for the season. It's something I always take the time to do because the nests can be located in places where I work and they become a real danger
Dirt daubers? I find them harder to control or kill. But I've never been stung by one