Keep Wasps Away Tricks – DIY Wasp repellents and Traps
Summer gives us warm temperatures and plenty of chances to enjoy picnics, BBQ’s and outdoor gatherings.
Unfortunately summer also brings some unwelcome guests.
Mosquitos and wasps (or yellow jackets) can quickly take the enjoyment of eating outdoors and become a nuisance you’d want to get rid of.
In August and September wasps seem to be on a carb rush and will be attracted by anything sweet!
Sharing your delicious pie or juicy drink with these bugs is not only gross, but it can be quite dangerous!
I don’t like using the commercially available bug and insect sprays because they contain too many dangerous pesticides. That’s not something I would consider spraying around my children, or anywhere near food.
So I have compiled a list of my favourite natural and homemade tricks to deter wasps and as a final resort you may want to put up traps.
There are store bought wasp traps available, but they can cost anywhere from $6 to $20 and
you can make your own wasp traps for a lot less money.
1. Deter Wasps & Keep them away with herbs and scents.
Certain scents are proven to keep wasps away. If wasps are a problem in your kitchen or around the patio, make sure to use these natural deterents. They include:
- Tea tree oil is a great hack for germs, viruses and wasps!
- sliced garlic cloves. Wasps hate the smell and you may want to place a few cloves on the table when having a BBQ
- Basil plants. To us the smell is delightful. To wasps, NOT so much! Place plants as decoration.
- Essential oils. Use an incense burner with essential oils like lavender, eucalyptus or mint. We love the scent, but it actually drives away these pesky insects.
- Coffee: We love the smell of roasted coffee. Not wasps, however. So place some ground coffee on a heat proof plate and light it up. The smoke will send them packing.
2. Distract the Wasps!
If your family is eating at the patio table, place a dish with very ripe grapes several feet away on the ground. Wasps love grapes and will likely flock to the grapes, leaving your plate untouched! Don’t use honey or jam, which tends to make wasps more aggressive,
3. Trap and Kill?
As a last resort you can make your own DIY wasp trap and catch them.
Take any empty bottle and use a sharp knife or scissors to cut off the top third part. Then fill a sweet solution into the bottle and insert the top back with the opening facing downwards (creating a funnel). The insects will crawl into the bottle via the funnel, but be unable to find the opening when trying to escape.
In a pinch trap:
Simply take any large, used soda bottle, unscrew and fill with 2-3 cm of pop or juice. Add a little dish soap This will prevent wasps from escaping the trap. Place bottle a few feet away from eating area. Wasps will climb be attracted to the sweet scent, climb into the bottle and eventually drown.
You can conduct some experiments with several types of bottles to see what works best for you.
Finally, there are some Dont’s when it comes to dealing with wasps:
DON’T swat or blow on wasps. This will make them agressive and more likely to attack and sting you.
Don’t use honey in traps, as it might attract honey bees, which should not be killed.