Grrrrr Wasps

General Questions
#1

There are wasps hanging around the side door of my house. I see one or two a day and can’t figure out where they’re coming from. I watch them to see if they go off some where in particular, but they just seem to hang out. But that’s not the grrrrr part, they’re outdoors and in their natural habitat.

Except they keep getting in the screen door and attempting to build a nest at the top of the door frame between the screen and regular doors. I’ll catch one building the nest and it’ll have finished one or two cells. I kill the fucker and knock down the nest and stomp on it for good measure and the next day there’s another asshole wasp with the same great idea and a new beginner nest.

Is there any way to make the top of the door frame inhospitable to these guys? It’s driving me crazy and making me not want to use the side door because on a couple occasions a wasp has gotten inside, and I have a baby so I’m a big worry wart. But I’d like to use the side door because it’s a convenient way to, well, get outside.

Clearly the screen door doesn’t fit properly and I don’t really know how to fix that either. Grrrr.

#2

they seek a not to warm, not too cold place for a nest. out of direct sunlight in a sun exposed structure is what they like.

keep after them.

adjusting how the door hangs or the weather stripping would leave less of a path for them to find.

#3

Get a fake wasp nest from the hardware store and hang it up near the door. Wasps are territorial and if they see a nest they won’t try to build near it.

#4

Spray some wasp and hornet killer. The residue will prevent future tenants.

#5

Seconded!

#6

They will keep making nest same spot all the time until…

I have taken a nest down and systematically moved it further and further away until it was out of the way…we are both happy.

(shoosh wasps away, take nest move it 4 ft, glue it up, when they find their nest again…rinse repeat.)

Why kill things when you can instead…

http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/xkcd/dacb/

#7

Are you kidding? That’s fantastic! I would love to use subterfuge on my insect enemies!

#8

plus, chemical free.

here’s a link to the ad at Canadian Tire for fake wasp nests; i assume there’s equivalents in the US.

#9

I have made a fake wasp nest out of a paper lunch bag stuffed with plastic grocery bags, taped to the top of the door frame. From a distance it looks to me just like a wasp nest. Will it fool less intelligent creatures? I’ll report back in a couple days.

#10

Many bug sprays (Raid Bug Barrier or Ortho Home Defense are two that I can think of) are designed to remain toxic (to the bugs, anyway) for months after application. I haven’t used them myself, but it might be worth a try if the fake nest doesn’t scare them away.

#11

When in doubt, chemical warfare. Because nuking them from orbit would be really expensive.

#12

So I have an update that is as morbid as it is inconclusive.

I put the bag up and within hours there was a wasp building a nest right next to the bag. I was furious and grabbed my Method glass cleaner, opened the door and sprayed the wasp and closed the door. Later on my husband checked the screen door and did some tinkering that closed the door better, though there’s still a gap at the bottom that any old bug could waltz through. I had a house guest so wasp patrol went on the back burner.

Yesterday I noticed a wasp on the fake nest paper bag. It was missing a wing and looked like it was dying, which duh that’s totally what’s happening. I imagine that it’s the guy I sprayed with glass cleaner 3 days before. So between the fake nest, the fiddling with the door, and the horrible Cask of Amontillado thing going on with the wingless wasp there has been no new attempts at habitation. Yay, I guess.