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 Post subject: Wasp nest
PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2008 10:28 am 
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Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2005 4:18 pm
Posts: 8
Location: Burleson,TEXAS
I want to know if anyone has heard of using soap to keep wasp from attaching their nests to the house? I asked Howard last week on his show and he said to use orange oilto deter them. I do not want to kill them with the soap but I had read about rubbing barsoap on the spot where a nest had been attached and that they would not be able to attach it there again. I was wondering if diluting soap and spraying it in a pump up sprayer would work as well. Mostly the dirt daubers are making a mess of my new paint job but we also have some very aggressive red wasps on our patio. TIA Laurie


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:05 pm 
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I have not lived everywhere but I have never seen a wasp that was aggressive without provocation. I know the wasps that live in the ground are easily provoked, but I still consider that provocation. Dirt daubers are the most passive of all the stinging wasps I know of. Still, you may not want them where they are. But if you have them, you can rest assured that there is a sizeable spider population nearby. Black widow and brown recluse are favorites in the dirt dauber diet, so I leave them be.

Are your red wasps living in paper nests? If so I would leave them alone and learn to live with them. I have taught my daughters to leave them alone. NEVER swat at a wasp even if it lands on your nose (assuming you have not already stirred them up). This takes considerable unlearning for adults, but children seem to get this pretty fast. Unlike other flying critters, wasps can be dangerous but only when provoked. The key is to not swat at them. I almost forgot to explain why to leave them alone. Paper wasps eat caterpillars. If you have web worms in your trees or on the grass, wasps will keep their populations in check. Usually trees near or next to paper wasp nests will never develop actual tents or webs. The wasps will also clear your tomatoes of horn worms long before you ever see them. They are the most beneficial flying insect I know of.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:21 am 
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Location: Burleson,TEXAS
Well David, I appreciate everything that you have said and as I said I am not interested in killing the wasps. I just want them to build nests on the rest of my four acres, not on my house! It is very burdensome to remove the nests and they look bad all over the siding, garage door inside my garage. Some places have more dirt than is in my yard! Of course the dirt daubers have never attacked us. The red wasps live under our deck on a main pathway. I don't know if they are paper nesters but I have never seen any other paper nests on my property. It is impossible not to stir them up. They also live under the hot tub on our deck. They are getting water out of it possibly. They crawl under the cover and fiberglass shell. Lastly if they are controlling our hornworm, brown recluse and webworm population I'd hate to see what it would be like without the many wasps that are here! I am just wondering if anyone else has had of the soap solution to DETER them from building there nest in a particular place. I am not interested in repainting it skyblue at this time because I just repainted two years ago. I will consider that next time I paint.

Laurie


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:21 am 
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Location: Plano & land at Dodd City,TEXAS
We have only a shed on our acreage & figured, like you, that the wasps could build elsewhere other than our porch. (used mainly for drinking beer :) ) We pulled the nest down & carefully put it in a tree. Then wiped down the ceiling & eaves w/orange oil. This has detered them.

Patty

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 12:11 pm 
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Location: Burleson,TEXAS
Thanks trichy gramma I will try the orange oil. I have to get up the gumption to start cleaning the gutters and eaves again as this would be something to do at the same time. Laurie


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