WASPs under our deck....

diyntn

We have a bad problem with wasps building under our deck. I am removing the decking and have already gotten stung. I have covered the top in plastic and bombed (just a bug bomb, couldn't find a wasp bomb) to no avail. They still are swarming underneath.
I have managed to get 1/2 of the decking off. But the nests are still under there. I think I'm gonna attack it from afar better. A long pipe as a pry bar, rather than the standard pry bar.
Two questions:

1-do you have any suggestions on how to kill them before I take the decking off?

2-Is there anything that I can do as I redeck this thing, to prevent them from getting this bad again? We were thinking maybe putting landscape cloth underneath the decking planks. ?? I dunno, just shootin in the wind there.

Thanks,
Mark

vsheetz

I used to live where wasps were common to get under the eaves of the house and such - I kept a couple spray cans of wasp killer spray, which would shoot a directed spray 6' or better. Knocked them right down.

Long term keeping them from coming back I dunno - maybe the commercial exterminator services.

Scuba_Dave

For a insecticide bomb to be effective the entire are must be tented in, sides & all. Longer pry bar just means it will take them about 1 second longer to sting you
How far off the ground is the deck?

They will usually not fly in between the planks
They would have to crawl down - most will not do that
So enclosing the sides of the deck will eliminate their ability to fly in
Butt the new boards as close together as possible
As they dry they will leave a small gap for water drainage

rwa

you could paint the bottom side of your deck blue

diyntn

why?

Thurman

I have a deck that is four (4) feet off the ground and have the wasp problem every year when it gets hot. I have one of those foggers that works off electricity, some work off the small propane tanks. The bug zapper liquid that goes in this machine will kill the wasps. The bottom of my deck is enclosed with lattice and I wait until just before dusk, and it's not windy, as this seems to be when they come home. I fog this area really good, walking around to ensure good coverage, the fog comes up between the spaces in the decking boards as it fogs, and gets any living creature under there. Yes, I have to do it every two-three weeks, but it's the only thing I've found that will kill them. I spray my bushes near the house to keep down mosquitoes and other stuff also. Good Luck, David Please post your general location.

Scuba_Dave

Refer to his avatar

I have a fogger, works great
Neighbors thought my house was on fire one year

diyntn

Oh..LOL..I see.
I have finally, with the help of 3 people, (I got stung once) got the boards removed. OMG....It wasn't a few wasp nests, it was a wasp INFESTATION>...

There were no less than 25-30 nests under there, most still "LIVE". I can't believe we haven't been stung more.
We didn't go out there a whole lot anyways.
So, I did get all the old boards off.
Now, I'm just troubled with how to make sure I've done all I can to prevent this recurring. It must be location. It's on a side of the house with no shade and gets a lot of sun. They must love that setup.

Blondesense

There is an old wives tale that says if you paint your eaves sky blue wasps will not build nests under them. The idea being they see the sky blue paint as sky and not somewhere to build a nest.
No idea if it is effective or not.

diyntn

You know, seems like I've heard that before, but had forgotten.
But..under the deck it's dark...
maybe dark clouds might keep em away.


But, I've read a lot online about this and it appears this is an ongoing problem.
A few are not a problem, but an INFESTATION like we had has got to be stopped before it get's that bad again.
Guess it's going to take me just hunkering down and looking underneath the deck on occasion.....

rwa

another thing I have heard thru the years is to mix lime in the paint

Scuba_Dave

Well the back of my house will be blue - maybe find out

Yoyizit

If you knock the nest down they will abandon it within a morning.

A small torch or candle at the end of a 16' piece of thin lumber will do wonders for them. They don't see or think that well, believe me, so they will never think to follow the board. Don't try this with yellow jackets, though.

They fly with their stinger down so if you bat them out of the air be sure to strike from above. They fly slowly. If they then land on soft earth stepping on them usually only works temporarily.

If you jam a 2x4 into their nest it will immobilize most of them until you remove the 2x. Then they will be looking for revenge and most of them will be perfectly capable of flight. Half the fun of this is watching the bystanders scatter (and you along with them).

If you get stung under your eye it will take a day or so for the swelling to subside.

DUDE!

I try to use the garden hose, longer range, under a deck could be tough though, not sure if same with wasps, but they ( can't find they) say the bee's dont' return to same nest each year, might be why you had so many nests.

If stung on eye lid, takes couple days for swelling to go down.

__________________
LIVING THE DREAM

Blondesense

I thought someone here mentioned cold weather but I don't see it now.
They do seem to be sluggish or less active when it is cold so you may want to plan your major annual maintenance attack when the temp is in the 50's.

If you want to kill as many as possible you might also consider waiting until late dusk when they have all returned for the night. That way you get most if not all of them rather than having a lot of homeless guys buzzing around after you destroy their hive.


If they are yellow jackets, Move.