Spending time with your loved ones out on the patio will put you in a good mood. When the weather is nice and you have some free time it’s going to be great to get some fresh air on your property.
You want to be able to use your patio to have fun outside from time to time. However, it’s going to be a lot tougher to use your patio when you have wasps nearby.
Many people are afraid of wasps and you should definitely respect the danger that they pose. Wasps can sometimes be aggressive and their stings definitely hurt quite a bit.
If you’re seeing wasps near your patio regularly, then it’s likely that there’s a nest nearby. This is troubling and you probably just want to figure out how to make this situation go away.
Keep reading to learn how to keep wasps away from your patio. There are a number of different things that you can do that will help you to get good results.
1 – Remove Food Sources
It’s going to be imperative to take the time to remove food sources in the area to make your patio less appealing to the local wasp population. The wasps are going to eat many different things, and they might like the area near your patio simply because it’s convenient for them.
For instance, if you have trees or bushes that produce fruit near your patio, then wasps might be feeding on those. They love to eat ripe or rotten fruits and berries.
You should do your best to remove fruits and berries from the property so that the wasps won’t have as much to eat. This might be a bit of an annoyance if you have many trees and bushes that produce fruits or berries, but it’ll be necessary if you want to solve your wasp problem.
Another thing to consider will be any bird feeders that you have on the property. Many people love feeding hummingbirds, but the food that you place in those feeders will also appeal to wasps.
You can keep the hummingbird feeders if you want, but you should try to place them further out in your yard. Keep them away from the patio if you’re worried about attracting wasps.
If you have a compost pile, then it’s going to be necessary to cover it up. Leaving a compost pile uncovered will be an invitation for wasps to feast on the rotting food.
Wasps really aren’t picky when it comes to food and they can eat rotting organic matter. This also means that you need to keep your garbage cans sealed and away from the porch.
Keeping all of this in mind will help you to make your patio less appealing to the wasps. They might be less likely to stick around if you’re cutting off their access to food on your property.
2 – Place a Wasp Nest Decoy
One weird trick that can keep wasps away from your patio involves placing a decoy wasp nest. Essentially, if wasps see that there is already a nest in an area, then they aren’t going to stick around.
This works best if you’re worried about paper wasps and it’s also going to be ideal to place a nest in the early days of spring. If the wasps already have a nest in the area, then your decoy isn’t going to really do anything.
Even so, it’s worth mentioning because some people do this each year to try to keep wasps from building nests. It can work out if you decide to give it a try.
You don’t have to craft your own decoy nest or anything like that either. It’s possible to go out and purchase one from a store or you can order one from an online retailer.
3 – Consider Making a Natural Repellent Spray
One of the most practical ways to try to keep wasps away from your patio is to make a natural repellent spray. This is going to be a good option when you don’t want to spend a ton of cash.
There are many things that are natural that are capable of repelling wasps. You could use lemongrass, peppermint, or clove oils to deter wasps from coming near certain areas.
Many people will also use white vinegar to create a powerful spray that wasps won’t like. You can make a spray that consists of one part white vinegar and one part water to spray in areas that wasps are frequenting.
It might even be helpful to add a little bit of dish soap to the mix. The dish soap helps the spray to stick to surfaces and it’ll linger a bit longer if you put in even a few drops of dish soap.
If you don’t want to use chemical sprays because you’re worried about your plants, then this is going to be very helpful to you. It won’t take long to make a simple spray like this, and you can also use the essential oils if you’d prefer to go that route.
4 – Buy Wasp-Killing Spray
Of course, you could just go out to the store and buy chemical sprays that are capable of killing wasps. There are many different sprays on the market that can do a good job of killing wasps, and many of them don’t cost too much cash.
Sprays such as this are very effective when it comes to killing wasps. You will need to be careful when spraying wasps since they might attack and they don’t always die right away.
If you’re going to be spraying a wasp nest, then you should try to get it from as far away as you can. Getting too close might make it tough to avoid getting stung by some of the wasps.
This is especially important if you’re someone who is allergic to wasp stings. In fact, if you’re worried at all, it might be best to avoid attempting this at all.
That doesn’t mean that this can’t work to solve your wasp problem, though. You can kill wasps with chemical sprays, but it might be a little perilous to kill the wasps sometimes.
It’s also notable that many people don’t like using chemical sprays because they can be harmful to other bugs in the area and even to plants. You can decide whether using a chemical spray is a good idea or not based on your sensibilities.
5 – Ultrasonic Repellent Devices
Did you know that you can use sounds to help keep wasps away from your patio? You don’t need to play the radio loud or anything like that, but you are going to want to consider buying an ultrasonic repellent device.
Ultrasonic repellent devices are starting to become more popular now. These handy devices are capable of keeping many pests away from your property.
Some of them are designed to keep small animals away from gardens. Others are designed to try to keep bugs away from the area.
You can find ultrasonic repellent devices that are meant to deter wasps. When you turn the device on, it’s going to emit high-frequency sounds that you won’t be able to hear yourself.
The wasps will be able to hear them, though, and they aren’t going to like it. There’s a good chance that placing a device like this on your patio will keep your patio free of wasps.
Some of the high-powered versions of these devices will emit sounds that are audible to humans, but you don’t necessarily need a high-powered device to get good results. Consider trying one of these out to see if it works for you.
Surprisingly, these devices aren’t all that costly. You might not like using devices like this if you have pets, though, since it could annoy them or make them uneasy.
6 – Plant Certain Things Near the Patio
Planting particular plants near your patio can help you with your wasp problem, too. You might remember from earlier that certain essential oils were effective for keeping wasps at bay.
Well, you don’t necessarily need to use essential oils to get the effect to work. You could just plant certain plants near the patio to make wasps want to keep a safe distance.
Some of the best plants to consider will be fragrant ones such as lemongrass, spearmint, citronella, and thyme. If you plant these near the patio, then wasps will be far less likely to stick around.
This is very useful to know because it’s a natural and easy way to keep your patio safe from wasps. You don’t have to worry about spraying anything and the wasps simply won’t find your patio to be appealing.
Many of these plants are actually quite easy to care for as well. Even if you aren’t experienced at taking care of plants, it’ll be simple to get good results here.
7 – Call the Professionals
Sometimes it’s going to be best to call in the professionals when you have a wasp problem. It isn’t always simple to get rid of wasps, and you might not even want to attempt to do so by yourself.
You know that wasps can sting you and that it can be very annoying to try to get rid of a wasp nest without getting hurt. If you know that there are wasp nests in your yard, then it makes sense to want to get help.
Calling a professional extermination company will allow you to get things taken care of promptly. Experts can come out to your home and assess what is going on.
They’ll be able to identify any wasp nests in the area after thoroughly evaluating the property and looking for signs. Professionals like this have been exterminating wasps for years and they know what to look for.
If you’re only having problems near your patio, then it’s very likely that the wasp nest is located fairly close to that location. You might only have one wasp nest to worry about, but there could be several on your property as well.
Either way, it’s going to be easy to get the matter taken care of. Exterminators can remove the wasp nests efficiently without making it a big deal.
They have the necessary equipment to get the job done in a timely fashion. It’s also worth noting that they have the right clothing to wear that will make it a lot safer for them to remove wasp nests.
If you’re at all concerned about dealing with a wasp nest, then it makes sense to call exterminators. The downside is that this will cost you money, and it’s certainly the most expensive option you have available to you.
Those who need to find more cost-effective solutions should try using the deterrent methods mentioned above. It isn’t always necessary to call an exterminator, but it is a good way to solve the problem fast.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know more about how to repel wasps, it’s going to be easier to get good results. Having wasps on your property can be a real problem, but you don’t have to be afraid of using your patio forever.
If you take certain steps, then it’s going to be possible to repel wasps effectively. There are many things that you can do to kill wasps, but sometimes the most effective option is to repel them to keep them from wanting to come back.
You could spray vinegar around the patio to try to deter wasps from sticking around. Many people will use various essential oils as deterrents since they smell nice and wasps don’t like them.
It’s even a good idea to look into planting certain fragrant plants that wasps don’t like near your patio. Planting citronella and lemongrass will be an excellent idea when your goal is to keep wasps from coming near your patio again.
You’ll definitely need to remove food sources from the area to make things less convenient for the wasps, too. All of this can take time, but you’ll be able to turn things around if you put in the effort.
If all else fails, then you could simply call the exterminators. They’re going to be able to find and remove wasp nests without it being such a big deal.
Make your decision about what you should do after reading all of the information above. Decide what will work best based on your budget and everything will likely be fine in the future.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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