If you have wasps or hornets hanging around your property, you’re already aware of the presence of this dangerous pest. Wasps, hornets, and bees can sting, and various species of wasps (like paper wasps and yellow jackets) are notoriously aggressive when they feel threatened.
Wasp stings cause painful injuries and even allergic reactions that may require hospitalization in severe cases. Thankfully, there are steps that you can take to kill wasps without risking injury, harming wasps’ friendly cousins (like honeybees), or damaging your lawn.
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5 Ways to Get Rid of Wasps
Whether you see a wasp nest on your property or you have individual wasps swarming around, remember not to panic. The following are a few of the most effective at-home methods that you can use to tackle wasp, hornet, and yellow jacket infestations.
Method 1: Hang Wasp Traps
Wasp traps are an affordable and effective way to get rid of wasps on your property. A wasp trap is composed of an entryway and an interior chamber filled with a liquid that attracts wasps. Wasps that enter the trap can not exit, eventually drowning. You can find these wasp traps at your local hardware store or online marketplaces like Amazon.
While wasp traps are easy and effective, the downside is that they fill up with wasps regularly. If you use this method, you’ll need to remember to change traps regularly. You’ll also want to hang the traps away from the entry points of your home.
Method 2: Kill Wasps Where They Live
You’ll need something more proactive and stronger than wasp traps for serious infestations. Start by looking around your property to find the nest or colony. Once you’ve located all of the nests, you can take careful steps to remove them.
Begin by spraying the nest with a commercial wasp killer. Be sure to wear protective clothing, like a shirt with long sleeves. After you’ve sprayed the nest, wait at least 24 hours before taking the next steps to be sure that the insecticide has done its job. If you notice any activity in the nest, use the wasp spray again and wait another 24 hours before proceeding.
After all the wasps in the nest appear to be dead, approach the nest in the evening — wasps are less active at night. Cover the nest entirely with a garbage bag, gently pull it off, and seal the bag around it. Place the nest in the garbage can that’s the farthest away from your home and seal the lid tightly.
Removing wasp or hornet nests helps you see an immediate decrease in the number of pests on your property. That said, you should take regular walks around your landscaping to be sure no new nests are forming.
Method 3: Use a Home Remedy
If you’d prefer a DIY method of wasp control, you can make your own insecticide with just a few household items.
Fill a spray bottle with water and add two tablespoons of dish soap. The soap and water mixture gets caught in the wasps’ breathing pores, causing them to suffocate, providing you with a way to get rid of them for just a few pennies.
Keep in mind that you should only use this remedy for small nests, as larger nests usually require specially formulated pest control sprays to fully permeate the nest. That said, these homemade remedies work wonders on other common bugs like aphids and caterpillars while causing no damage to beneficial pollinators like honey bees.
Boiling water is another approach to killing wasps naturally. Simply pour a large pot of boiling water onto the nest at night. This method is most effective in early spring, when colonies are smaller.
Method 4: Create a Natural Indoor Wasp Repellent
While chemical methods are highly effective at killing wasps, some homeowners prefer natural solutions.
You can create a natural wasp repellent by mixing two cups of apple cider vinegar, two cups of sugar, and one cup of water in an open container or soda bottle. Place the mixture in the room where you believe the wasp nest is located. Yellowjackets and wasps will be attracted to the mixture, which will kill them without requiring you to spray chemicals in your home.
Method 5: Call in the Professionals
While it’s important to know how to get rid of small wasp nests on your property, some major infestations require professional intervention to clear out.
If you notice a large wasp nest in an area where it’s difficult to remove (such as a hanging nest in a tree) or if your infestation is indoors, you’ll want to contact a professional. Exterminators have access to more powerful pesticides, which are needed to safely remove a sizable nest if you find one on your property or in your home.
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Remember, when dealing with wasps, safety should be your top priority. If you’re unsure about handling the situation, it’s always wise to consult with a pest control expert to avoid the risk of stings and guarantee effective removal.
How to Know You Have A Wasp Infestation
It’s usually much easier to get rid of wasps if you can combat the infestation early. Keep your eyes peeled for these signs of wasp activity on your property and inside your home. If you notice any of them, consider calling a pest control company for guidance.
Here are three of the most significant signs that you have a wasp infestation:
- A nest: Seeing a wasp nest on your property is an obvious sign that you’ve got a wasp infestation that you’ll need to deal with. It’s a good idea to take a walk around your home and yard at the start of summer to locate any budding nests. Pay special attention to secluded areas that attract wasps most often, like garages, attics, eaves, and awnings.
- Increased swarming: While a single wasp here or there is bound to happen anywhere these pests are common, a sharp increase in swarming activity may indicate that you have an infestation. Look for wasps around your home and garden. Remember that wasps can be aggressive, so you should stay away from any large swarms you see and call a professional pest control company to handle them.
- Chewed wood on the exterior or interior of your property: While some wasps, like mud daubers, build their nests using dirt or clay, many species of wasps rely on wood fibers to make their homes. Wasps might strip these wood fibers from areas of your home, including trees, fencing, and stakes in your garden. Keep your eyes out for any signs of chewed wood on your property, as this may indicate that you have wasps on your property. Tunnels and evidence of chewing may also be signs of another common household pest as well, ranging from termites to ants.
Keeping your eyes out for common pests can help you call one of the best pest control companies before an infestation gets out of hand. You may want to schedule a monthly tour of your home to find and address new issues as they arise, saving you time, money, and stress in the long run.
How to Prevent Wasps
Is your home overrun with wasps every year? Taking some steps to prevent wasps from making their nest on your property can help keep wasps away from your home and can make pest control easier and more affordable over time.
Use these tips to prevent infestations on your property and avoid treating wasp stings before the warmer months arrive:
- Get rid of their food: Wasps build their nests wherever they think they’ll have plenty of food — which means that you can fight against wasps by removing their sources of food. If you have fruit trees on your property, remove fallen fruit and berries regularly, and keep all of your garbage cans sealed. Place hummingbird feeders, pet food containers, and compost piles away from entry points into your home to keep wasps outside.
- Keep them out of your home: While wasp nests in your yard can be a major annoyance, wasps inside your home can be dangerous to both the health of your family and the structural integrity of your home. Check for cracks and crevices in your home where wasps might enter the house and fill them with caulk.
- Plant wasp-repelling plants: If you’ve got a green thumb, you can keep wasps away from your property by planting flowers that wasps hate in your garden. Plants like geranium, marigolds, and mint don’t just look and smell great — they also help repel wasps from your home without using powerful pesticides.
- Stay on top of nests: Wasps and their larvae are a ubiquitous problem that you’re likely to need to deal with a few of them every year. Check your property for nests regularly and remove them before they get too large or dangerous.
Best Pest Control Companies
With so many pest control companies operating throughout the country, how can you be sure that you’re trusting your family’s safety with the best option for your needs?
Read on to learn more about the best pest control companies in the United States for wasp and yellowjacket nest removals.
Terminix
Terminix is one of the largest pest control companies in the world, with more than 300 individual locations operating throughout the United States alone. Terminix offers extermination services for a wide range of pests that you might see on your property, including multiple types of wasps and hornets.
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Terminix professionals are equipped to remove a wide range of stinging pests, ranging from scorpions to wasps. During your stinging insect treatment, a Terminix professional will remove the nest. In addition to wasp removal services, Terminix also offers preventative treatments in some of the areas of your home where wasps are likely to build nests — like crawl spaces and garages.
If you have a continuous problem with wasps and other pests in your home, you may want to consider Terminix’s pest control plan. The company’s standard pest control plan includes indoor and outdoor treatments for some of the most common pests, including wasps. Depending on your location and the size of your property, you might pay less than $50 a month for continuous pest control services from one of the biggest names in the industry.
Orkin
Another award-winning name in pest control services, Orkin maintains a widespread network of technicians and a great online reputation. Orkin is accredited with the Better Business Bureau, maintains an A+ rating from the BBB, and has received awards for its team of responsive customer service professionals. Orkin’s general pest control plans are also competitively priced, providing a convenient and affordable way to control wasps and other pests.
Orkin provides personalized pest control plans to help you deal with some of the most common home and yard invaders. Orkin’s general pest control plan provides insect, spider, wasp, and centipede control. Depending on where you live, you could pay between $40 and $60 per month for your ongoing plan. Before signing onto a plan, Orkin will provide you with a free estimate and consultation so you can target the pests giving you trouble.
If you need emergency pest control services, Orkin is an excellent company to call. Their team offers services within a 24-hour window from when you call, so you can breathe easy when a major infestation hits.
Final Thoughts About Dealing With Wasps In Your Lawn
With the right approach, you can make your outdoor space more enjoyable and safe for you, your family, and your pets. Remember that wasp prevention is often the best strategy, so start by minimizing attractants like open food containers and sweet beverages. Regular inspections can help you catch nest-building early, and if you do discover a hive, exercise caution and consider professional help if it’s a significant or hard-to-reach infestation. DIY methods are effective for smaller nests, but remember to always prioritize safety.
Whether you choose prevention, DIY solutions, or professional intervention, you can create a safe and inviting outdoor space for everyone to enjoy.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can keep wasps away from your home by removing their food sources. Keep hummingbird feeders away from your home’s physical structure, keep garbage can lids secured tight, and avoid leaving food scraps out. You can also keep wasps away by filling your garden with plants that wasps avoid, like basil or mint.
It can be frustrating to see these creatures return soon after treatment. Wasps leave behind pheromones where they build their nests, which help guide the insects to their colony. After removing a nest, these pheromones may linger, causing wasps to return or even begin rebuilding a nest. Stubborn wasp infestations can be eradicated quickly with the help of a pest control company.
FAQ
Methodology: How We Ranked The Best Pest Control Companies
At Today’s Homeowner, we strive to bring you the most transparent, accurate information for your home improvement and maintenance projects. To that end, we have researched the top pest control companies so you can choose the right one to keep your home pest-free.
Our ratings are based on publicly available information about each company, secret shopping online and over the phone, and in-depth customer review analysis.
A company can earn a maximum of 100 points across five categories, converted to a five-star scale. We researched and analyzed dozens of the nation’s best pest control companies and developed the following formula:
- Plan Options (25 points): We looked at the variety and quality of each company’s service plans when determining this factor’s score. The number of pest removal plans and the variety of pests covered by these plans all impacted their score.
- State Availability (10 points): We ranked companies based on the total number of states they operated in.
- Trustworthiness (25 points): Reputation and trustworthiness are essential when evaluating a pest control company. As such, we thoroughly inspected each company’s background, reviews, and industry ratings. This included checking their Better Business Bureau Ranking (BBB), business history, and customer feedback and ratings from Google, Yelp, and other industry-related websites, when applicable.
- Customer service (25 points): A company’s ability to communicate and provide direct, speedy responses is essential for creating a good customer experience. With this in mind, we looked at each company’s availability, responsiveness, and available means of communication (online chat, phone number, email, response form, etc.).
- Additional Benefits (15 points): We looked at supporting services offered by each company when calculating this factor’s score. Additional benefits like a mobile app, available product details, how easy those details are to find, and the ability to request callbacks all contributed to this score.
We monitor company data on an ongoing basis to keep rankings and information up to date.
