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Home made wasp spray

45K views 29 replies 21 participants last post by  2008 Impala 
#1 ·
I had read that a solution of liquid soap in water could be used for wasps. If this is correct it would be better for all than some other sprays, but ONLY if it works. Anyone else ever try it?
 
#3 ·
I think soapy water is only good for the traps. It makes them sticky and makes it harder to get out. I think if you spray them with it you will only make them mad. I could be wrong though.
 
#4 ·
I use a bit of Sunlight dish soap and water in a garden sprayer. It works very well but for obvious reasons, you have to get close enough to the buggers to douse them with it.

When we had an infestation of Forest Tent Caterpillars of biblical proportions, we put Sunlight soap into an applicator that went on the end of the garden hose and we hosed the buildings down with it. It killed them by the millions. So many that I was raking them out of the flower beds and carting them off by the wheelbarrow loads. None of the plants or pets were affected and the house was never so clean before or since.
 
#5 ·
Apparently the soap forms a film over their exoskelton and suffocates them (they breathe through pores in their abdomen). I've not been brave enough to try it. When I find a yellow jacket nest I unload a whole can of wasp spray down the hole to make sure I get every last one of them.
 
#12 ·
Spray starch works too. It makes them stiff, they fall to the ground and you can crunch them with your foot. Look out for "escapees" though.
 
#16 ·
I am kicking butt with the carpenter Bees !!! I found the best weapon is my "Chris Evert" yard sale bought tennis racket !!

I have fun taking them out ... I bet I have gotten well over 100 this season so far ... If you wait till they get close to each other .. u can even get 2 at a time, I have noticed a HUGE decline in those pesky pests.

I bet they would FEAR a Billy Gene King model !!! :D :D
 
#17 ·
Try Windex or any window cleaner. Kills em almost instantly. I learned that at work when they where flying around the office.
 
#19 ·
I use carb cleaner or brake cleaner on the bald faced wasps and yellow jackets we get here,nothing else kills them quicker,you can nail one coming at you in mid air and it'll drop before it gets to you--I've been stung too many times after using "wasp killer" spray,that fails to kill them fast,they live up to 5 minutes after being sprayed often..only bummer is carb and brake claner is pricey(not much worse than "wasp spray" though)--and it can RUIN many things it gets on,like painted surfaces,plastic eyeglass lenses (DOAH!) and other things made of fiberglass or plastic too,like plexiglass windows!.

If ammonia and water works,I have gallons of Ammonia lurking about,also a w gallons of vinegar!..that'll make em sick at least!..I like the "Napalm" method with a lighter and a spray can,but its too easy to start wildfires ot burn the shed down killing them that way--more FUN though!..once their wings melt,its easy to squash them with your boots..I hate finding a nest when I'm on a ladder,especially when both hands are busy holding onto the ladder or a paint brush,etc..I also hated finding a nest in a junk car I was stripping at the junkyard,after squeezing into it,when cars were parked to close against the one I was taking parts from,it sucks when you cant make a hastyretreat,you always get stung!..
 
#20 ·
I wait until dark set up a big flash light there is usually a couple on patrol outside the nest ,Then I blast the nest with wasp spray I use the whole can. Then after the next couple days pass I knock down the nest.
Last year I was putting a lattice top on my fense they got me pretty good
I did not see the little buggers but they were watching . Carb cleaner or brake clcan works also
 
#21 ·
A few years ago,I noticed a football sized nest of wasps under a bay window in our parlor outside,and Iwaited till it got dark out,and it was a chilly night,it dropped into the 50's..I searched all over the house for something to spray them with,but were fresh out of wasp spray,and I had no carb or brake cleaner..:(

But I DID have a brand new can of that "Great Stuff" expanding foam!..so I used that,I shoved the nozzle into the nests hole,and let her rip!..the nest started vibrating like 1000 wasps were trying to fly away at once,then about 10 seconds later--silence!...the next morning I went out to look,the nest was about twice as big as it was before,and hard as a brick!..I scraped it off with a putty knife in one peice,and placed it in my metal wheelbarrow,and just to be safe,I doused it with some gas and tossed a match at it!..took 1/2 an hour for it to burn completely..

About 2 weeks later ,I saw another nest identical to that one they built,wrapped around two 150W floodlights ,way up on the eaves of the house!..so some escaped I guess,or their relatives moved in after the funeral!..I was able to soak that nest by hanging out of a bedroom window at 1 am the following night..couldn't reach it good enough to remove it all,some is still there ,and that was 5+ years ago!..that paper mache' must be pretty rugged stuff!..
 
#22 ·
A few years ago,I noticed a football sized nest of wasps under a bay window in our parlor outside,and Iwaited till it got dark out,and it was a chilly night,it dropped into the 50's..I searched all over the house for something to spray them with,but were fresh out of wasp spray,and I had no carb or brake cleaner..:(

But I DID have a brand new can of that "Great Stuff" expanding foam!..so I used that,I shoved the nozzle into the nests hole,and let her rip!..the nest started vibrating like 1000 wasps were trying to fly away at once,then about 10 seconds later--silence!...the next morning I went out to look,the nest was about twice as big as it was before,and hard as a brick!..I scraped it off with a putty knife in one peice,and placed it in my metal wheelbarrow,and just to be safe,I doused it with some gas and tossed a match at it!..took 1/2 an hour for it to burn completely..

About 2 weeks later ,I saw another nest identical to that one they built,wrapped around two 150W floodlights ,way up on the eaves of the house!..so some escaped I guess,or their relatives moved in after the funeral!..I was able to soak that nest by hanging out of a bedroom window at 1 am the following night..couldn't reach it good enough to remove it all,some is still there ,and that was 5+ years ago!..that paper mache' must be pretty rugged stuff!..
That would be a hornet's nest...
 
#23 ·
OK,they were yellow jackets!..Wasps,Bees,Hornets--if they STING,I lump them all together!..they all must DIE if they insist on building nests in places they shouldn't be,and stinging me!..

I devolped a real hatred for them when I worked at the junkyard,I should have got hazard pay for dealing with them!..

You haven't felt "fear" until you find youself in the back seat of a 40's automobile,trying to cut out the back window rubber to get the glass out for a customer,when you suddenly realize the entire underside of the front seat is nothing but a 2x6' hornets nest,and you have NO fast easy exit to GET OUT!..I got stung about 25 times that day!..and the guy had a long wait to get his back window..I bet there was 2000 hornets under that seat..

I had to toss about 3 gallons of old stale gas on the seat from 30 feet away,to get them to leave,and it took 2 days before they all finally moved to another nearby vehicle!..we couldn't walk near it for months after that,or they would fly right into your face and bounce off you,then attack!..many customers got stung too,it was entirely at their own risk,if they wanted to go look for or pull their own parts..we warned them to bring carb cleaner!..and if they were allergic,"no admittance"!..made the ones who wanted to roam the yard sign a waiver of responsibilty,so the owner wasn't liable if they got hurt or stung,etc..

We didn't like the hot summer weather,it meant hornets and baking in the hot sun,since junkyards dont have many shade trees usually!..pulling windshields sucked,100+ degrees inside a musty mildewed old car,that usually smelled like barf or a cespool!..you'd come out soaking wet and dehydrated,and stung, often..doing it in the middle of winter wasn't much better either!..
 
#26 ·
Now for those of you ultra-safety sticker minded... "Please don't bee alarmed ladies and gentlemen! Certainly Dave has previously filled those truck fuel tanks up to the cap with soapy water and orange juice before applying the happy little flames to the filler necks! Eveyone just be calm but keep your children back behind the blast shields and see that they are wearing the shade 5 glasses provided by the management."

You know, I think I used to work with Dave's uncle!:ROF:D:D:D
 
#30 ·
I just evicted a family of hornets from an overhead light fixture. Used some of the foamiing wasp and Hornet killer and it worked well. Got rid of the nest today. The rule here is if you arent a relative and you arent paying me then you must go. Too bad these things dont understand that rule.
 
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