5 ms·

Would it work for wasps? They're all over my deck this year :-(

savrajsingh 14y ago
RC Helicopter vs. Wasps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXec7zBaPxA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXec7zBaPxA
astrodust 14y ago
The alcohol works by dehydrating the insects, so it works best on very small ones. It probably just makes wasps really angry. For those, make sure they don't set up shop and build a nest. If you see them starting on one, scrape it off immediately. They'll even nest inside your house, wriggling through a hole, so observe where they go. Insecticide that kills on contact is probably the best way to deal with an incursion.
- tocomment 14y ago
  My problem is they have a nest under the deck and the deck is only 1/2 foot off the ground so I can't get under there :-(
  - astrodust 14y ago
    You can't get in there, but insecticide can.
    - tocomment 14y ago
      The cans you buy just spray down. I'd need an insecticide that can somehow get through the slots and spay the underside.
      - astrodust 14y ago
        Don't think of the deck as an impenetrable barrier. If the boards are just screwed down, unscrew them. If nailed down, pry them up carefully with the right tool.
        tocomment 14y ago
        Hmm very good point. I guess if I do it at night the wasps won't try to sting me?
        codewright 14y ago
        Do it when you can see the fuckers and run if you need to. When I was 12 I once took out a hornet nest with a water hose by simply doing rounds of blasting them with water then running away while they tried to chase me.
- masklinn 14y ago
  > It probably just makes wasps really angry. It makes them drunk-ish. Alcohols — especially very sweet or spoiled (for weak alcohols) ones — are good for wasp traps though (the reverse-plastic-bottle things), works infinitely better than the usual syrupy water as the alcohol and fumes will knock out yellowjackets and their ilk (and hornets) and reduce the (low in the first place) chance that they'll find a way out.

RC Helicopter vs. Wasps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXec7zBaPxA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXec7zBaPxA

The alcohol works by dehydrating the insects, so it works best on very small ones. It probably just makes wasps really angry. For those, make sure they don't set up shop and build a nest. If you see them starting on one, scrape it off immediately. They'll even nest inside your house, wriggling through a hole, so observe where they go. Insecticide that kills on contact is probably the best way to deal with an incursion.

tocomment 14y ago
My problem is they have a nest under the deck and the deck is only 1/2 foot off the ground so I can't get under there :-(
- astrodust 14y ago
  You can't get in there, but insecticide can.
  - tocomment 14y ago
    The cans you buy just spray down. I'd need an insecticide that can somehow get through the slots and spay the underside.
    - astrodust 14y ago
      Don't think of the deck as an impenetrable barrier. If the boards are just screwed down, unscrew them. If nailed down, pry them up carefully with the right tool.
      - tocomment 14y ago
        Hmm very good point. I guess if I do it at night the wasps won't try to sting me?
        codewright 14y ago
        Do it when you can see the fuckers and run if you need to. When I was 12 I once took out a hornet nest with a water hose by simply doing rounds of blasting them with water then running away while they tried to chase me.
masklinn 14y ago
> It probably just makes wasps really angry. It makes them drunk-ish. Alcohols — especially very sweet or spoiled (for weak alcohols) ones — are good for wasp traps though (the reverse-plastic-bottle things), works infinitely better than the usual syrupy water as the alcohol and fumes will knock out yellowjackets and their ilk (and hornets) and reduce the (low in the first place) chance that they'll find a way out.