Wasp Control

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KiMFDiM Alden, NY(Zone 5b) Jul 16, 2008

Last year, I put up a picket fence around my garden (I previously had a chicken wire fence and it just looked like a dump). The fence was great last year!

Problem is, this year, it is literally crawling with wasps from 7am to 7pm scraping the wood to build thier nests with. The wood is unpainted and untreated. This poses a problem for me that while I am not systematically allergic to bee stings (no epi-pen necessary), I do get severe localized reactions that take literally months to heal! (For example, my last bee sting on my thigh swelled to 12" in diameter and remained red, welted and very painful for several months...the actual scar didn't go away until the following year. It was horrible!)

I do not want to completely stop the bee population in my yard, I just want them to stay off the fence. Due to my reactions, we do have the house and deck sprayed several times a year by a professional exterminator - works great, but they will not spray around the veggie garden, even if I insist.

Do you think if I paint the fence, the wasps will stay off of it? IAs I said, it is bare wood presently. I don't want to use a pesticide to kill them, I just would like to garden during the day instead of at 7pm when I want to wind down! Also, I read that wasps cannot see red, so if I painted the fence a red color, does anyone know if this will help? If not, is there something I can put on the fence to stop them from scraping the wood for thier nests? (I read an article about rubbing ivory soap on it - sounds pretty labor intensive!) We have a wood pile in the back that they are more than welcome to help themselves to!

Thanx in advance!
Lisa

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jul 16, 2008

I don't know much about wasps, but I suspect if they are actually scraping the wood and using it for stuff, painting will probably discourage them. I had a problem with carpenter bees at my old house, they were digging holes in my redwood posts and beams on my covered patio, and painting completely solved that problem. I realize they're not that closely related to the wasps, but I just figure if they like digging in wood, they probably won't like paint nearly as much!

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ilovejesus99 Baytown, TX(Zone 9b) Jul 18, 2008

Sounds like a huge job to paint. What about habanero pepper and a little ivory dish liquid. I have read by pureeing habanero peppers and then strain it to go through a sprayer and add some water. Works for a lot of pests. It is one of the hottest peppers and the ivory liquid will help it stick.

I am not sure it will work but in a 2 gal. exterminator sprayer sure beats painting first.

Hope someone helps.

Blessings,
Sandy ^8^

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