How to Get Rid of Wasps 4 Easy Ways (and Keep Them From Coming Back) by Mary Marlowe Leverette

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Wasps are pollinators in the garden, but not insects you want to encounter around your home, yard, or patio—they are more aggressive than bees, and you don’t want to get stung while lounging outside.

They aren’t a big threat if left alone when foraging for food. However, if they perceive that their nest is threatened, the entire colony may launch a coordinated assault.

Learn more about different types of wasps and how to get rid of wasps and their nests around your home.

Identifying Wasps

The thousands of wasp species in the Vespidae family are divided into solitary or social categories.

The social wasps live in a community to build nests, raise young, find food, and defend the nests. They are the wasps that are most often found around homes and yards. Solitary wasp colonies last only one year and die off each winter.

The few fertilized queens that overwinter start a new next from scratch each spring. Here are the most common types of wasps:

Yellow Jackets

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Yellow jackets are predatory, one-half-inch-long wasps with alternating black and yellow bands on the abdomen common throughout North America. Yellow jackets often build nests partially underground, usually near wood piles or dense vegetation. They swarm most prominently in summer and fall.

Paper Wasps

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Paper wasps are primarily brown with yellow markings. They have a narrow waist and are about 6-12mm long. Their legs dangle or hang down during flight. They are most easily identified by their nests that are open-combed paper nests where you can often see wasps and their larvae inside the cells of the hive. These nests can be found along roof eaves, window corners, in mailboxes, and on sturdy plant leaves.

Mud Daubers

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Mud daubers are dark, black wasps with yellow markings and long thin waists. Often called organ pipe mud daubers, they are not aggressive unless their mud nests are disturbed. The nests are found in sheltered areas like porches and roof eaves.

Bald-faced Hornet

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Bald-faced hornet

The bald-faced hornet is black with white markings on the face. They are most easily identified by their large, gray papery nest resembling a balloon. The nests are usually found in a tree but can also be attached to a building. The hornets are extremely aggressive when the nest is disturbed.

Signs of a Wasp Nest or Infestation

Buzzing Sounds

If you hear humming or buzzing sounds, you may be very close to a wasp nest. The sounds are most prominent near an underground yellow jacket nest, paper wasp nest, or the large, enclosed bald-fast hornet’s paper nest.

Large Numbers of Wasps

Most wasps travel alone when foraging. If you see a swarm or large number of wasps, you are very close to a nest. If you regularly find wasps inside your home, there are nests nearby.

Chewed Wood

Some wasps chew on wood piles, fence posts, trees, and wood homes to gather pulp to build their nests.

Visible Nests

If you can readily see a wasp nest or several wasp nests around your home, you have an infestation.

How to Get Rid of Wasps

Commercial Wasp Spray

Commercial insecticide-based wasp sprays are easy to use because wasp nests can be sprayed from as far away as 20 feet. Although it is best to spray at night when the wasps are not active, it can be used during the daytime.

Do not stand under the nest because the spray will cause wasps to drop to the ground instantly. After use, carefully check the nest a few days later and repeat the treatment if needed. If the nest is inactive, you can scrape or knock it down.

Wasp Traps

There are commercial wasp traps available or you can build your own. They work by luring the wasps through a narrow opening in the trap with the scent of fruit juice or vinegar.

The addition of dishwashing liquid coats the wasp’s wings and makes it impossible for it to fly back out.

DIY Wasp Spray

Mixing two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid and one cup of water in a spray bottle can eliminate small paper wasp nests. Before using, shake the bottle well and soak the nest. The mixture will suffocate the wasps, killing them instantly.

Pest Control Tip

For the safest extermination method, spray the nest after dusk when the wasps are not active.

Essential Oils

Wasps are naturally repelled by peppermint, clove, geranium, and lemongrass essential oils. Mix a few drops of one of the oils, two tablespoons of dishwashing liquid, and two cups of water in a spray bottle. This solution can be sprayed on visible nests or places you have seen nests in the past to discourage wasps from returning.

Wasp in the House?

Be calm and move slowly.Try opening a door or window and hope the wasp flies out. Use a spray of dishwashing liquid and water.Wait for it to land and carefully suction it away with the narrow crevice tool of your vacuum cleaner.

What Causes Wasp Infestations

Wasps are going to gather where there is easy-to-find food and resources. Here are things that make your home and yard attractive to wasps.

Sweet drippings. If soft drink spills, melted ice cream, or cookie crumbs are not cleaned up, wasps will take advantage of the carbohydrates to provide fuel for themselves and their young.Open trash cans. Leaving trash cans and recycling bins open or with a puddle of food soup in the bottom will draw wasps.Unharvested fruit. If fruits or vegetables are allowed to mature and drop to the ground, wasps will swarm to them for food.Outdoor lighting. Leaving porch lights on at night can attract wasps and confuse them allowing them to slip inside a home.Bright colors and florals. Wasps are attracted to bright colors and florals. If you have a problem with wasp infestations, choose muted colors for outdoor furnishings.

How to Prevent Wasp Infestations

To help prevent wasp infestations, the most beneficial steps are to keep your home and yard free of debris, clean up spilled foods, and keep trashcans clean and sealed.

Some studies have shown that using certain essential oils or planting wasp-repellent plants like spearmint, thyme, eucalyptus,  lemongrass, marigolds, geraniums, pennyroyals, and citronella grass may deter wasps.

Wasps vs. Hornets

Wasps and hornets are part of the same Vespidae insect family, The major differences between wasps and hornets are color and size.

Wasps are usually smaller with black and yellow coloring while hornets are larger with black and white markings. Eradication techniques are the same for both.

When to Call a Professional

If you are dealing with a large infestation or a troublesome nest and cannot wait until cold weather makes the wasps inactive, it’s best to call a professional exterminator. This is particularly important for nests that must be accessed by a ladder or if you know you are allergic to wasp stings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the quickest way to remove wasps?

A commercial wasp spray that shoots up to 20 feet is the quickest and easiest way to get rid of wasps. Use the spray at dusk when the wasps have returned to the nest.

Which scent deters wasps the most?

Studies have shown that wasps do not like the scents of peppermint, clove, geranium, and lemongrass essential oils. They are also deterred by the scent of eucalyptus, marigold, geranium, and spearmint plants.

How can I remove wasps naturally?

Small wasp nests can be killed with a solution of dishwashing liquid and water. Soak the nest with the solution at dusk, standing as far away as possible. Check the nest the next day for activity and repeat if needed.

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