wasp control

[DELTETE IL]

We have bluebirds, tree swallows.........plenty of housing but no pm's yet. Problem: wasps in boxes along the trail. Have destroyed those when we find them. They return all too often and then box unused or abandoned. My husband believes just to spray with insecticide, but I resist. Problem: still have a wasp problem. Any suggestions?

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I have heard that dish soap applied to the top will keep them from building, but I don't have the problem so I didn't try it

[Louise Chambers]

You can rub the ceiling of box with bar soap, something unscented like ivory is good. The coat of soap will keep wasps from attaching their nest. Or a thin film of petroleum jelly, but don't use more than that, and don't get any on sides of box. it could mess up a bird's feathers.

then check periodically to see if more is needed - the petroleum jelly will dry out with time.

And another thing to keep in mind, landlords in the south may have to keep fire ants out of boxes - use tanglefoot or grease on the pole, but place it up under the pole guard. That will keep it out of contact with birds. May need to reapply.

[DELTETE IL]

Thanks for the suggestions, but I have tried both bar soap and the petroleum jelly and both quite frankly are ineffective for any period of time. As example, after less than a week, the wasps are back! Last week because of cooler weather we are having in northern IL, we found "clusters" of wasps on both front and sides of the bluebird boxes after they were "treated" with Ivory the week earlier. In addition, I have observed them flying in and out of the super gourds that are "awaiting" the arrival of the pm's. How will the pm's deal with them?

[Louise Chambers]

Maryanne,

Sorry those methods are not doing the job for you - they worked well for me in Pennsylvania, where european paper wasps built in every gourd, bluebird box, etc. I can see reapplying once a week, but if it does not do the job that long, that's not very helpful. Those are the standard methods recommended by bluebirders too. Insecticide would not be safe for the birds.

Once martins or bluebirds, etc, claim a box and start using it, wasps are not likely to be a problem. But if wasps claim the space first, martins will look for a wasp-free nest site. Martins eat wasps and bees, so the wasps run a risk of being lunch if they are outside the cavity.

I'll see if I can find any other things to suggest...maybe for now try using a heavier layer of soap or jelly.

[DELTETE IL]

Thank you for your suggestions! More frequent monitoring will be in order. Good news: one bluebird box on the trail has 5 eggs as of today....plenty of tree swallows, and some chickadees in the boxes on the trail in the wooded area...........still waiting for the martins.

[Guest]

Maryanne,
I run into the same problem every year too with wasps in my gourds and houses. I wipe the ceilings of compartments and gourds with a rag very lightly sprayed with PAM, just enough to get a light film on them. It doesn't keep them from investigating, but in most cases deters them from building a nest. Good luck and be careful if they are yellow jackets...those buggers have excellent eyesight and are very aggressive. I've been stung a few times too many dealing with them.

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

I don't like wasps at all. They build under the top board on my wooden fence, and they get disturbed when I mow right beside them. They build under the edges of the house, even filled up my repeating trap so that it quit working. I took off one side of the trap, and was staring at a nest of about 100 wasps. I flew down that stepladder in a hurry. Had them sting me while picking figs, they find the darndest places to build

There is one good thing, and I wonder why??? We never have had a wasp nest in our gourds.

[DELTETE IL]

Thank you Emil and John. Part of my problem is that I have ended up in the emergency room as a result of my encounters with wasps/hornets/yellow jackets! It seems as the years go by they are more of a problem at our place than I have ever experienced! But I'll keep trying with the Ivory soap, Pam and Vaseline........but no hornet spray, eh?

[Guest]

Maryanne, sent you a PM.

[Guest]

I found this on a web site with information for Killing Wasps Safely and Permanent. It said to...

Birdhouse Nest Prevention: Consider attaching aluminum foil to the bird house ceiling (inside the bird house, not the roof).