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TIL that dish soap and water can be put in a spray bottle to kill wasps and other insects from a distance without getting stung (blogs.k-state.edu)
submitted 2 years ago by [B] to c/til@lemmy.ca
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[–] 14 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)

Like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

We had an Orkin guy come to take care of a nest in our shed, where Yellowjackets make their way through the wood flooring and set up shop inside of a folding lawn chair.

He dropped his arsenal on them, and then managed to get stung several times while wearing full protective gear.

No goddamn way I'm going to do the same with a bottle of diluted Dawn! LOL

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    • [–] 8 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Bullshit. When I'm dealing with wasps I want poison that acts super fast and can fire like freaking 30 ft away.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Agree. Fuck wasps, fuck yellow jackets.

    Apparently in parts of Europe residential use of pesticide in this manner is not allowed. But, like, how do they handle aggressive wasps? Natural methods like the original post do not work on those bastards.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    You can apply to be allowed to remove, or most likely only relocate, the wasp nest, if it is a protected species. For that you need to prove that the wasps are a danger (eg located near a bedroom, a resident has a wasp allergy etc). Just being inconvenienced, eg you can’t use the attic or a part of your back yard or you can’t open certain windows, is not enough.

    In general, here in Germany it is always forbidden to hurt or kill an animal without reason. Some endangered species have special protections though, and that is what can make killing certainly wasps without permission very expensive. If you are caught, that is.

    Of course you can always go the the hardware store, pay 20€ for a can of very effective wasp foam and get rid of them without permission. People do that all the time. Just don’t get caught.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    Wait till he learns that wasps are a protected species (at least in parts of Europe) and killing them is technically illegal.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)

    Do people just cede territory? Are wasps just not a problem? It's not like I enjoy killing them, and only do to the ones trying to take over my deck by murdering me and my family because they're aggressive assholes.

    Edit:

    I do appreciate all of the information people are giving about how they are handled in Europe. For what it is worth, we do have someone in the home with an allergy bad enough to have an EpiPen always with them. We only clear their nests from the deck (outdoor platform attached to home where we eat/lounge outside during nice weather) or around the front door. I will look into finding a service that will remove them humanely in the future.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Okay, I think we are running into a language problem here. A wasp is what you muricans call a Yellowjacket, what do you mean when you say wasp? A hornet? Something completely different?

    No matter: both wasps and hornets are protected. Why would you cede territory? I mean, they can be aggressive but they won't like murder you. Anyway, if you got a nest of those bitches on your property, you call either a specialist who will relocate them or the fire department. They will do the same.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Wasp, colloquially, is a general term for stinging insects including yellowjackets, bald face hornets, and paper wasps. I have all 3 around my home but primarily yellowjackets and admit I revert to the general term often. It could be a regional dialect habit, my apologies.

    I do appreciate all of the information people are giving about how they are handled in Europe. For what it is worth, we do have someone in the home with an allergy bad enough to have an EpiPen always with them. We only clear their nests from the deck (outdoor platform attached to home where we eat/lounge outside during nice weather) or around the front door. I will look into finding a service that will remove them humanely in the future.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago*

    When we in swedeb talk about hated wasps it's usually

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hornet

    Or

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespula_vulgaris

    Which are usually hated with a burning passion by many people. I'm allergic to their sting (enough to make me a bit dizzy by only one sting and a trip to ER if I accidently mess with a nest) so I really don't want them around but they are so common it's hard to combat.

    Edit: The European Hornet is less of an issue since they are mostly a danger when you are close to the hive, but the other one is a bother all summer

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    • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    Headline is not exactly wrong, but if you read the article, hand and dish soap is not recommended because they’re not formulated as pesticides and efficacy can be hit or miss.

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    [–] 4 points 2 years ago* (3 children)

    I've heard rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle works great for killing most bugs, but I've never tried it on a hive so they might get big mad before they're immobilized/die

    Adding one or two drops of dish soap to a large spray bottle of rubbing alcohol can make it stick to bugs better, making it more effective. Far safer than poison based pest control too!

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    For hives just pour a canister of the stuff over it.

    Shock and awe tactics! /S

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    • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Lol, not while I'm holding the bottle.

    But seriously, where are the drones made specifically to spray stuff on wasp nests? I wouldn't feel the need to use the foaming, bad stuff that hurts the bees if I could try a robot applying something like this. Or at least if it sprayed foam, it could be in significantly smaller amounts, much closer the the nest of trouble.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Get a newspaper, roll/scrunch up a bit, light it on fire and hold it beneath the nest. Then when they try to fly out their wings immediately singe and they drop to the ground. Then you can step on them with boots. I don't know yellow jackets but that's what I use in Australia for paper wasps (which are very aggressive).

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    I can appreciate that approach. But the biggest problems I have are when they nest in the railing of my little wooden deck. Every year it's the same fight. So I'm a little leery of using fire.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    If it's just passing the fire over the nest it shouldn't catch the wood on fire, but it could damage the paint. You don't need the heat under the nest for long though, just long enough to burn the wings of the adult wasps

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