The big holiday weekend approaches, and instead of planning swimming and picnic playtime, we are contemplating annihilation.
We have an ant and wasp problem here. We had a guy come out and spray earlier in the spring, but the bugs are not deterred. Wasps are nesting in the gazebo and the siding of the house and ant hills are every-freaking-where. There are lots of chemicals for insect death squads, but we don’t want to harm other creatures in the yard, the dragonflies and butterflies and birds and frogs. And kids and cat. This has posed A Problem. I want the wasps and ants to die screaming but not hurt anything else in the process. I need the kinder, gentler bringer of death.
Turns out there is an organic spray for wasps and yellow jackets which we’ll be trying out. And if you mix Borax with sugar, that’s supposedly effective for the ants and seems like the best combo of ant-ageddon with the least environmental impact.
This should be interesting. Anybody out there have stories of organic success rooting out ants and wasps? And in any case, enjoy the holiday weekend. Preferably without ants in your picnic or unpleasant stinging episodes.
When it comes to ridding my house of wasps & ants, I lose all good sense. I take desperate measures as I am terrified of the sting both ants & wasps inflict.
Annmarie, husband shares your feelings and wants the Orkin man, stat. Really, we don’t want anybody to get hurt and if something isn’t done, there’s going to be an incident.
good luck with ant-ageddon. I’ve heard putting (uncooked) tapioca outside their nests helps. they all eat the tapioca, and it absorbs the liquid in their stomachs, and you have exploding ants. But I’ve never actually had to try it. 🙂
Ann, I read up on several “they eat it and explode” suggestions, but went with Borax because we know from experience it works on contact, they don’t have to eat it. (We used it in the PNW to break the flea reproduction cycle, a big problem where it doesn’t get cold in the winter.)
For wasp nests I make my own organic spray out of baby shampoo, eucalyptus oil and water (I don’t measure it but it’s about 5 parts water, 1 part baby shampoo and about ten drops of the oil. Don’t shake; stir.) It’s not a 100% guaranteed wasp killer, but it slows down and grounds the stubborn ones so I can squash them with a shoe. If you saturate the nest with it the wasps won’t return to it.
Cayenne pepper mixing in boiling water (about 2 tbspns of pepper per pint) poured down ant hills usually do the trick. My cousin uses citrus oil and cayenne pepper as a spray ant repellant but I wouldn’t put it inside the house or near outdoor play areas as little ones can get it on their fingers and then in their eyes or mouths.
Have a question for your visitors, too — I read a tip somewhere that wasps don’t like fabric softener sheets, and if you tuck them in the usual nooks and crannies they stay away — has anyone tried this, and if so, does it work?
I will try out the organic spray recipe, thanks! I’m perfectly willing to give fabric softener sheets a try, too, and will report on the effects (if any). I’d try the cayenne/water to ant hills except that there are anthills about every two inches. It has to be something I can do with a spreader because of the sheer scale. (And can I add, how did anybody else live with that problem for that long? It takes time to get ants that entrenched.)