# Best way to deal with wasps in the house? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 14, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253 "2005-10-14T17:58:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Miss\_Violaceous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/1 "2005-10-14T17:58:33Z")
I’m a renter, and I think that there might be a wasp’s nest in my chimney. Why do you ask? Because right now there are three wasps that all have the same coloration, size, and structure trying to get out through my living room window. Which is closed. I know, I know, open the window, but I can’t do that with THREE wasps on it. Short of scooping them with a butterfly net, what can I do to deal with this? Do I risk being attacked if I muck with them? At one point I had one wasp in here, and I just avoided it until it passed on. Now there are three. It’s getting difficult to dodge them. I am very afraid of stingy insects. Help. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/2 "2005-10-14T18:03:13Z")
:eek: Let the wasps have the house. Move. I am allergic. My husband however would just say suck them up in the vacuum. Or you can spray them with water (when their wings get wet they fall on the ground) then step on them (with shoes, natch) Next, if you see any more - get an exterminator. If it wasn’t in your house I would say you can try getting rid of it on your own, but in your house. YIKES! ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/3 "2005-10-14T18:05:17Z")
If it was _me_, I’d go at them with a can of hairspray and a cigarette lighter. But you’re not me. I’d slowly walk over and open the window. They’re probably more preoccupied with banging their head on the glass than they are with plotting to stab you. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/4 "2005-10-14T18:14:25Z")
Why not just roll on down to the market and get yourself a can of pyrethrin-based bug spray? It works close to instantaeously and pyrethrin (which is botanicaly based) is nearly non-toxic to critters other than bug and degrades very quickly i.e. it is not persistent in the environment. When you use it, though, remember that the idea is to poison the cooties not drown them. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/5 "2005-10-14T18:21:09Z")
Is your chimney serviceable? If so then build a fire, or what ever is appropriate. Wasps are persistent, so it may take several tries, but it should do the job. As to the ones in your house the water trick may work, use a spray bottle, or spray them w/ household “flying” insect killer. Either should give you enough distance to avoid being stung, then when they drop kill them, w/ a newspaper or your shoe, and throw them outside, just in case they should revive. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Violaceous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/6 "2005-10-14T19:36:01Z")
5 wasps now. Two more plunked out of the chimney and flew in since my last post. Spritzing them didn’t turn out well, because they either land on the edge of the bottom half of the window, or they fall straight down into the heater underneath the window. Where they bide their time and dry off while waiting to fly angrily around the room again just as soon as I’ve relaxed a little. I have no bugspray. I tried soap scum cleanser and it didnt’ faze them. I don’t use hairspray or I might’ve tried the fireball approach by now. This means war. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Violaceous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/7 "2005-10-14T19:44:20Z")
Down to 4! It was mildew remover that did not, in fact, faze them. I managed to kill one with copious amounts of soap scum cleanser. One is ticked off and has retreated to an Undisclosed Location. I am stalking him, scrubbing bubbles bottle in one hand. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/8 "2005-10-14T20:00:13Z")
Well, both my Dad and his Dad before him were in the habit of dealing with wasps by cutting one of those big thick rubber bands and then spraying the wasps’ nest with water to piss them off and get them airborne. Then they’d stand there the cloud of angry wasps and shoot them out of the air with the rubber bands. I kid you not. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/9 "2005-10-14T20:11:28Z")
Move, and nuke the wasps from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoderk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cryptoderk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoderk)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/10 "2005-10-14T20:34:28Z")
The way my Gran used to do it is turn on all the hot taps in your house and leave for 10 hours, having put some honey in the sinks. The hot sugary steam will kill the wasps, as well as any other insects or small spiders. ---
**Author:** ![larsenmtl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@larsenmtl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/larsenmtl)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/11 "2005-10-14T21:12:07Z")
I put on big thick work gloves and just grab 'em and crush 'em. If they don’t have overwhelming numbers you should be safe doing just about anything to kill them. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/12 "2005-10-14T21:38:32Z")
My method is to approach the wasp gingerly, gibbering and weeping, take a half-hearted swipe at it, and then flee madly into my bedroom and dive under the comforter with a piercing squeal. However, I do not necessarily recommend this as an effective approach. ---
**Author:** ![jacksprat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/77aa72/32.png) [@jacksprat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksprat)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/13 "2005-10-14T21:49:31Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > My method is to approach the wasp gingerly, gibbering and weeping, take a half-hearted swipe at it, and then flee madly into my bedroom and dive under the comforter with a piercing squeal. However, I do not necessarily recommend this as an effective approach. I’d personally adopt Cervaise’s maneuver, save the swatting and crying. In health, I’d light a fire. But, really, depending on whether you live in the US and on which state you live in, there can be severe financial penalties for a landlord who fails to immediately resolve the infestation, provided there is indeed a hive or nest in your chimney and it’s not the case that a few errant wasps have entered, perhaps in search of flesh or nectar of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/14 "2005-10-14T23:10:39Z")
As a homeowner my first impulse would be to go with A.R. Cane’s approach - light a nice roaring fire and convince 'em that my chimney is a poor choice of habitat. I’ll note that my fireplace has a metal grate covering the opening which is too small for angry wasps to fly back through. Since you are renting I’d strongly suggest blocking the fireplace opening (so no more can come in) and call your landlord, requesting immediate wasp removal. I rented a house with three people a few years back and one day the wasps that had been making a nest in the attic made their presence known by chewing a hole through the ceiling directly above one housemate’s bed. Needless to say she freaked and refused to spend a minute in that room until the problem was taken care of. We shut the door, blocked the gap under the door with a towel, called the landlord and he had someone out there the next day to kill 'em and remove the nest. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/15 "2005-10-14T23:22:20Z")
A 12 gauge loaded with birdshot ought to do the trick. Better go with a pump action; a double-barreled may not have sufficient firepower to deal with the problem, and the pump’s easier to reload, to boot. And you’d then have a _real_ excuse to redecorate. :mad: If I can kills scorpions (big 'uns!) with a .45, I don’t see why someone can’t shoot down wasps with a 12 gauge. ---
**Author:** ![jacksprat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/77aa72/32.png) [@jacksprat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksprat)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/16 "2005-10-14T23:32:45Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > A 12 gauge loaded with birdshot ought to do the trick. Better go with a pump action; a double-barreled may not have sufficient firepower to deal with the problem, and the pump’s easier to reload, to boot. > > And you’d then have a _real_ excuse to redecorate. > > :mad: If I can kills scorpions (big 'uns!) with a .45, I don’t see why someone can’t shoot down wasps with a 12 gauge. I used to regularly fire 45 ACP rounds up into an old chimney to get rid of flying pests, getting my head fully into the fireplace first. I’ve only lost two octaves from my hearing range, and I must have fired 50 rounds in an afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-deal-with-wasps-in-the-house/326253/17 "2005-10-15T00:30:40Z")
> [@Miss Violaceous](#): > > I don’t use hairspray or I might’ve tried the fireball approach by now. Almost any aerosol can should do the trick. When I did this, I preferred deoderant - it’s not flammable by itself, so the fire shouldn’t extend beyond the aerosolized area. Obviously be aware of the reckless danger inherent in using pressurized aerosol cans as flamethrowers. Also handy for problems like this are [electric flyswatters](http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=40122). These will kill (electrocute) bugs on the first swat in midair. Or at least stun them, so they won’t bother you until they shake themselves out of it, and clamber back onto your lap from between the couch cushions.