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How to keep wasps away from patio


Dammann's Garden Company – How to Repel Wasps from Your Patio

Wasps are the least popular guest at every outdoor summer event, especially on your patio. They can be pretty mean creatures, but they are also essential in the balance of our ecosystems. With that said, you probably don’t want them hanging around while you enjoy dinner on the patio!

Here’s a little helpful information about wasps and the best repellants for your Indianapolis patio.

WHY ARE WASPS USEFUL?

There are over 100,000 species of wasp worldwide, but only a tiny percentage of them sting humans. Most of them are parasitic by nature. While this seems very barbaric, parasitic wasps are no danger to humans but are very helpful for agriculture. 

Four common types of wasps sting people, and unfortunately, they can sting multiple times. The most common varieties are: 

They have two main benefits for humans: they're pollinators (just like bees, but less friendly), and they eat tons of less desirable insects in your garden.

WHAT ATTRACTS WASPS TO YOUR PATIO?

Before you can repel wasps from your patio, you need to know what attracts them in the first place. Wasps love sugar and protein, so they're big fans of BBQs and picnics. In the early part of the season, they're focused on protein, so any meats on your patio table or even a dish of pet food are very attractive. 

Later in the season, they focus on sugar. Their favorites are liquids, like juice, pop, and fresh fruit, which are highly digestible. Sweet-scented body products can also be attractive to wasps, so try to avoid scented products during the summer. While they are mostly scent-seekers with very powerful olfactory systems, they also are attracted to bright colors and flowers, so keep that in mind when you slip on those vibrant patterns! 

HOW TO REPEL WASPS FROM YOUR PATIO

The best wasp repellent is to be diligent about making your patio area less attractive to them. Here are a few ways to make your patio unwelcoming to these pests:

Wasps love sugar and protein, so they're big fans of BBQs and picnics.

HOW TO GET RID OF WASP NESTS

If you already have a wasp problem, you should deal with it as soon as possible and then start applying the repellant ideas mentioned above. Here are a few suggestions for dealing with infestations. 

A word of warning: If you attempt to deal with a wasp nest, always wait until after the sun goes down. Deal with it while they’re sleeping, and always wear long sleeves, long pants, closed shoes, a mask, and eye protection.

If you’ve just got a small nest to tackle, or you want to take precautions to repel wasps before they make themselves at home, stop by our garden center in Indianapolis. We can help you make your patio a “wasps not welcome” space!

Mattew DammannDammann's Garden CompanyDammann's Garden Company, Indianapolis, garden center, maintenance, garden maintenance, pests, pest control, pest, pest prevention, garden pests, dealing with pests, wasp control, repel wasps, how to repel wasps, summer patio, patio

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15 Ways on How to Keep Wasps Away from Deck, Porch, and Pool

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While wasps are important parts of the environment, most people don’t want much to do with them. This is especially true on warm summer days spent lounging on the deck or porch, or sitting by the pool.

Simply having wasps buzzing around can turn a fun time into an anxiety-inducing one. Plus, if wasps decide to nest nearby, the situation could even be dangerous.

Luckily, you can keep wasps away from your deck, porch, and pool. If you don’t know where to begin, here are 15 solid options.

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How to Keep Wasps Away from Your Deck, Porch, and Pool

1. Hang Decoy Wasp Nests

If your biggest concern is paper wasps, consider putting up a decoy wasp nest. Wasps are territorial by nature. If they see a nest nearby, they aren’t going to hang around.

With a decoy nest, you are making wasps think that there’s a colony in the area. By using a couple of paper nests, you decrease the odds that wasps will make a home near your yard or even fly through looking for food.

However, this approach typically works best in the spring. That’s the time when wasps set up new nests. If you wait until after the wasps have created a nest to put up a decoy, it probably won’t work. You’ll have to try the approach next year to see results.

2. Use an Ultrasonic Pest Repeller

No products found.Another deterrent-based approach involves using an No products found. , a non-toxic, non-chemical approach to keeping wasps away. The device plugs in and, once turned on, produces high-frequency sounds and wavelengths.

While humans can’t hear or detect the soundwaves, many pests can. Along with possibly keeping wasps at bay, it may also discourage mosquitos, spiders, ants, roaches, and other bugs from coming around. Often, it even works on rodents, which is a nice bonus.

Just be aware that some of the high-powered versions are audible, even to people. That setting is usually only a good option if you won’t be home, so keep that in mind.

Additionally, your pets may be able to detect some of the lower power settings. That could make them uncomfortable while the device is operating, so you may not want to go this route if you have pets.

3. Create a “Wasp Plate”

If you plan on hosting a barbecue or having a picnic, the food you plan on eating could attract wasps. Once they realize there’s a meal available around your deck, patio, or yard, you’ll see more arrive for a snack.

But, by creating a wasp plate, you can reduce the odds that they’ll interrupt your meal. Take a small piece of raw meat and set it far away from deck, porch, or patio about one hour before your gathering. The idea is to let the wasps find that plate, attracting them to a spot away from where you’re going to be.

If you want to go the extra mile, make sure you don’t have your food outside for any longer than necessary. By cleaning up quickly, you limit the chances that a wasp will think your yard is an excellent place for a meal.

4. Add a Water Source

Wasps may stop by your pool for a simple reason; they are thirsty. Water is essential for them, so wasps seek our reliable sources while they are flying around.

If you want to keep wasps from seeing your pool like a drinking fountain, consider providing an alternative water source. It will make your pool a less attractive option for getting a drink.

One of the easiest approaches is to install a birdbath in a far corner of your yard. Just make sure to change the water out regularly. Otherwise, it could become stagnate, creating a breeding ground for another annoying pest: mosquitos.

5. Cover Your Pool When Not in Use

Another step to make sure your pool isn’t a water source for wasps is to cover it when it isn’t in use. With a pool cover in place, reaching the water becomes difficult. As a result, fewer wasps will attempt to crawl under it to get a sip.

Just make sure that you choose a pool cover with a decent amount of weight. By doing so, the edges will stay down easier, decreasing the chances that gaps will form that wasps can fit through without an issue.

Additionally, secure it properly. If you want to cover to be effective, it needs to stay put. If you don’t secure it, a windy day may be all it takes to shift the cover and reveal the pool beneath.

6. Set Up Wasp Traps

No products found.With a wasp trap, you entice the insects into a container by offering up a food source. Then, once inside, they can’t get back out. That means they won’t be buzzing around your deck, porch, or patio.

Usually, you have two choices for wasp traps. First, you can make your own using an empty two-liter bottle. This approach is economical but can be a bit unsightly.

Second, you can buy premade wasp traps. You can find No products found. as well as disposable wasp traps, giving you some options.

With either homemade or reusable traps, you’ll need to create bait. Usually, sugar water, apple cider vinegar, or a bit of beer are enough to do the trick.

7. Make a Natural Repellent Spray

Peppermint, clove, lemongrass, and geranium oils deter wasps. The same goes for white vinegar.

If you want to keep wasps away or discourage them from building nests in specific areas, natural repellent sprays are a great choice. If you’re going to go the vinegar route, get a spray bottle, and use a 50/50 split of white vinegar and water. Add two drops of dish soap, give it a shake, and spray the areas.

For the oil route, fill a spray bottle with water. Add two drops of dish soap and ten drops of clove, lemongrass, or geranium oil. You could use a combination of oils, too. Once in place, tighten the lids and give the bottle a shake before spraying liberally around your deck, porch, or pool.

8. Add the Right Plants to Your Garden

Essential oils aren’t the only way to keep wasps from making your deck, porch, or pool area home. By adding the right plants to your garden, you can accomplish a similar goal.

Mint, spearmint, lemongrass, citronella, thyme, and eucalyptus can make your space less attractive to wasps. Plus, they are relatively easy to care for, making them good choices for anyone regardless of whether they have a green thumb.

Whether you plant them in the ground or containers doesn’t matter. Just spread them out in your yard, and you could see fewer wasps.

9. Clean Up After Fruit-Producing Plants

Wasps like fruit, especially in the fall and winter. If you have fruit-bearing plants, fallen fruit serves as a meal for wasps.

Once the fruit ripens, try to collect it from the tree or bush. That way, you have a chance to enjoy it while ensuring it doesn’t become a snack of buzzing pests.

If you have fallen fruit on the ground, clean it up quickly. Otherwise, there’s a decent chance nearby wasps will stop by for a bite.

10. Take Down or Relocate Hummingbird Feeders

Hummingbird nectar is essentially colored sugar water. Not only will the feeders attract hummingbirds, but they can also be attractive meal options for bees and wasps.

If you want to keep wasps away from your deck, patio, or pool, make sure that the feeders aren’t nearby. Move them to remote sections of your yard where you won’t be bothered if wasps stop by for a snack.

If you don’t have enough space in your yard to relocate the feeders, then you might have to take them down entirely. There’s no way to keep the nectar from potentially attracting wasps, so it may be your only choice.

11. Don’t Leave Pet Food Outside

Pet food can attract wasps because they can use the pellets or wet food to feed themselves. While it may be more convenient to feed your cat or dog outdoors, you don’t want to leave the bowls out. This is especially true if they aren’t empty.

Feeding your pets indoors is typically the easiest way to avoid attracting wasps. It prevents any food from being accessible, including spilled or dropped pieces. However, letting them enjoy their meal and then immediately carrying the dishes back inside can also work.

If you have to feed your pet outdoors and leave the dishes outside, keep them as far away from your deck, porch, or pool as possible. That way, if they do attract wasps, the pests won’t be near the areas you want to enjoy.

12. Avoid Swatting Wasps

When you see a wasp, you’re probably tempted to give it a whack. You may figure out that killing it is the best choice. The trick is, killing wasps can actually be a bad idea because doing so potentially attracts more into your yard.

Wasps release pheromones when they are dying or die, especially if they are attacked. It alerts other wasps to a threat, which, in this case, is you. Sometimes, those pheromones attract more wasps. They swoop in, trying to defend a nearby nest.

If you want to keep wasps away, don’t risk killing them near your deck, porch, or pool. Resist the urge to swat and use other approaches instead, like wasp traps and deterrent sprays.

13. Close Up Holes

Wasps usually explore properties looking for safe spaces, especially when they are trying to nest in the spring or want to hide away for the winter. In some cases, these insects may make a home in a gap in your house, deck, or porch. For ground wasps, holes in your yard can be inviting, as well.

If you want to keep wasps away, make sure they don’t next on your property. Check your home, porch, deck, pool area, and yard, filling any holes you find. This includes cracks or crevices near the ground, as not all wasps need high areas to feel secure.

14. Relocate Garbage Cans

Garbage, recycling, and compost piles can be all be food sources for wasps. If you leave your cans near your deck, porch, or pool, there’s a decent chance you’ll see pests coming by looking for a snack. By relocating your bins and compost away from the parts of your yard you want to use, you reduce your wasp encounters.

Additionally, if your garbage can lid isn’t on tight, wasps can easily squeeze inside for a meal. The same goes for recycling bins, especially if there are containers that once held sugary foods or drinks, like soda cans or bottles. Make sure your lids are on as tightly as possible.

15 Get Professional Treatments

Sometimes, hiring a pest control specialist is your best choice. This is especially true if you have a large, active nest on your property.

While there are DIY approaches to getting rid of wasp nests, doing so is always dangerous. It doesn’t matter if it’s day time or night, or what method you use. Once the wasps become agitated, they may attack.

Pest control specialists have the right equipment and treatment options for a variety of wasps. They can handle the nest correctly, all while you stay a safe distance away.

Additionally, pest control experts can apply preventative treatments. Once in place, the chance that wasps will return goes down substantially.

Conclusion

Ultimately, keeping wasps away from your deck, porch, or pool doesn’t have to be a challenge. With the tips above, you should be able to handle it with ease.

I hope you enjoyed the list above. If you’d like to share your thoughts, including more tips for keeping wasps away, please head to the comments section below. Also, pass this list along to anyone who would enjoy a wasp-free yard; they’ll be happy you did.

Eugene Sokol

Eugene has been a DIY enthusiast for most of his life and loves being creative while inspiring creativity in others. He is passionately interested in home improvement, renovation and woodworking.

Got wasps? What the experts advise – DW – 08/20/2021

Photo: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte

Nature and environmentGermany

Maxim Nelyubin

August 20, 2021

fresh air. What to do?

https://p.dw.com/p/3hqrc

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Just managed to get an appetizing sandwich or a juicy apple from a hiking backpack somewhere in the middle of a quiet forest, and they are already right there, not to mention cities and other settlements! The end of summer is the peak of the wasp season in Germany and not only in Germany. (Some) wasps do not know borders - not only state, but also personal space.

What German experts advise to do or not to do if these ubiquitous insects show too active interest in your sweets, other goodies and drinks, preventing you from relaxing and socializing on the summer terraces of cafes and restaurants, balconies, gazebos, in parks and other places on fresh air?

Photo: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Weihrauch

The main thing when scaring wasps is not to make sudden movements

The peak of the wasp season in summer depends on the weather in a particular region, but at the end of August, the wasps just raise offspring and therefore, so to speak, fly ahead, trying to grab as much of something as possible something sweet and rich in protein. They prefer sweets - to themselves, proteins - to the generation growing up in the nests.

Uninvited guests should not be put up with, as they also use dead animals as protein sources and can therefore transfer various unpleasant bacteria to food or utensils. That is, wasps need to be driven away, but do it without sudden movements and do not try to blow off insects - carbon dioxide irritates them greatly and makes them aggressive. Experts recommend driving them away gently, with slow hand movements. Cover drinks and sweets with a napkin, something else suitable for these purposes, or simply do not take them outside with you.

Photo: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Kalaene

How to fool annoying insects?

You can find a lot of advice about wasps. For example, the Bavarian Ecological Society LBV recommends deceiving these insects with a (clean!) spray bottle - spraying (clean!) Water. "It seems the rain is starting!" - the wasps think and urgently fly away to the nest, although, of course, there is no one hundred percent guarantee. On hot days, you can also spray yourself and others. What else?

During wasp season, experts recommend avoiding flowery clothing and perfumes with floral scents. Also, do not leave food remnants on the table, and children immediately after eating in the fresh air - wash or wipe their faces and hands with them. Many wasps gather in autumn in the gardens under the trees - on fallen apples and other fruits. In such places, you need to be careful not to step on them - especially barefoot.

Types of wasps and fines for killing them

There are a total of about 600 wasp species in Germany. At the same time, only 17 species form colonies, the rest grow offspring in single nests. And only two types of wasps - ordinary (Gemeine Wespe) and Germanic (Deutsche Wespe) - can, so to speak, become annoying here. The rest, including the fearsome and terrifying hornets, do not claim our food and drink. For example, in one thermal complex near Cologne, a nest of common hornets is located in a flower bed near a lawn with sunbeds. They simply put a sign there explaining that these neighbors should not be afraid, but they should not be bothered either. Relocation of such nests requires a special permit.

Photo: picture-alliance/dpa Themendienst/A. Warnecke

Without an important reason to kill these insects - you can not, like any other animals. There are no special penalties for killing wasps in Germany, that is, they are subject to general rules. If we are talking about rare species, the fine (theoretically) can be up to 5 thousand euros in some federal states, up to 50 thousand euros in some, and up to 65 thousand euros in Brandenburg. However, in practice, such monetary penalties for killing wasps or destroying their nests are very rare and do not exceed hundreds of euros. In Germany, only allergy sufferers are exempt from payment, if such a situation arises at all - patients with confirmed diagnoses, for whom an insect bite can pose a particular threat to life and health.

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7 Plants That Repel Wasps

Home / Custom / 7 Plants That Naturally Repel Wasps

Like bees and bumblebees, wasps fly to flowers to feed on pollen.

Published by: admin in Custom 09/11/2022 0 179 Views

Most people prefer to see wasps only from afar. After all, insects are known to spoil every breakfast on the balcony or terrace. If they feel irritated, they will sometimes stab you, which is quite painful. With the right plants, you can naturally keep wasps at bay.

Like bees, bumblebees or butterflies, wasps also fly from flower to flower, feeding on pollen and nectar. This makes it clear that even if we see them as more of a nuisance, wasps are useful animals. Because when biting pollen, something always sticks to insects and is transferred to the next flower. Good to know: While some flowers are particularly attractive, you can also keep wasps away with the right plants. What is it about?

1. Geranium
Do not drive away wasps: geraniums will do it for you.

Wasps can easily do without the intense smell of fragrant geranium. When the flower arrived in Europe in 1690, it was reserved for the nobility and the wealthy. Today, every amateur gardener can plant bright red or delicate white flowers in their own garden or on their balcony. It is important that they are in a sunny location.

2. Mint
Although mint should be in a bright place, the plant does not tolerate direct sunlight.

Most people are familiar with the smell of fresh mint. After all, not only flowers, but also mint leaves smell very freshly of menthol. Wasps, on the other hand, do not like this intense smell, and they avoid the plant.

Advantage: The plant can be grown not only in the garden, but also in a bucket, eg on a terrace or balcony. An important care measure is regular watering of mint, especially on hot days.

3. Marigold
Wild bees love marigolds, but wasps do not.

Calendula is valued in medicine. But the flower is also extremely useful for repelling pesky insects. In keeping with the bright orange flowers, the plant prefers a sunny spot in the garden. If marigolds get enough water, nothing prevents them from long and healthy flowering.

4. Tomatoes
Some varieties of tomatoes can be grown on the balcony.

Amateur gardeners may know this: if you tend to tomatoes in the garden or on the balcony, your hands will smell strongly of leaves afterwards. Wasps do not like this smell and stay away. There is a clear advantage here: not only do you drive away the wasps, but you can also harvest delicious fruits from August. It is important that you fertilize heavy feeders in the right amount.

5. Lavender
While lavender is used to repel wasps, butterflies and bees enjoy the plant.

It's unlikely you'll be stung by a wasp in the vast lavender fields of Provence, France. They do not like the intense smell of plants. To plant lavender in your own garden or on your balcony, fertilizers should be avoided. Too many nutrients can cause the plant to stretch and lose its normally compact shape.

6. Melissa
Melissa smells good to a person.

Melissa's name already reveals what it is known for: a wonderful citrus aroma. This is why wasps stay away, as do other insects such as flies. The plant is considered easy to care for and unpretentious. Only a shady location and waterlogging should be avoided.

Want to know: How to get rid of ants?

7. Rosemary
A real all-rounder: rosemary repels wasps, enhances food flavor, and is good for your health.

Learn more