Ridding deck of wasps!

[legbuh]

Ok, we have a deck that is on top of a flat roofed garage on our house.

A couple years ago we ripped out the old deck. On top of the garage was asphault. It was replaced with styrofoam and rubber. Then a floating deck was placed on top (a new one since the old one was rotton).

We are getting a lot of wasps building nests under the deck boards. Obviously we can't get to them from underneath since there is about 6-2" of space under the boards and to the roof.

Looking for a way to rid these mean little bastages! I read one place that soap and water at 20:1 would do the trick. I imagine I could use my pressure washer for that, but looking for any ideas.

Mothballs? Amonia and water?

We of course don't want to ruin our deck as well. Although the wood after 3 years (and being stained) already looks like crap. Wood these days is just garbage. But that's another story!

Thanks!

 

[RHP]

I've found this to be an effective product when sprayed under eaves.

Cynoff WP - Free Shipping

 

[rekees4300]

I use Black Flag Wasp & Hornet spray. Hit them with that stuff and they go DOWN instantly!

Amazon.com: Black Flag Wasp and Hornet Aerosol Spray, 14-Ounce: Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

[Western]

Just remember petroleum products can possibly/sometimes "melt" the exposed Styrofoam.

Can you use screen to block them off?

 

[legbuh]

First, I'm not going to spray them one by one with a can of stuff. Second, the construction does NOT allow me to get under the boards to knock out the nests.

The deck boards are just inches above the roof of the garage, which is covered with styrofoam (to slant it towards the gutter) and then topped with rubber. The deck boards sit on "floating" joists.

So I need to spray something all over the deck so it gets under the boards and gets rid of them.

 

[Casco1]

I found this by accident Roundup weed killer is amazing at getting rid of wasps.

 

[Boondox]

Do they enter and exit from a single point? If so, here's how I got rid of a nest under the siding of my house.

Locate the place they use as an exit. At night, tape the end of a shopvac hose next to that spot. Fill the Shopvac with a few inches of soapy water and connect the other end of the hose to it. In the morning plug it in and turn it on. Let it run all day. As the wasps exit they get sucked into the shopvac and drown.

 

[tallyho8]

I had the same problem on my deck which was built a couple of inches over a concrete pad. I tried a propane fogger with insecticides. It did nothing. Since the boards are spaced one inch apart you can't get anything under there to spray the nests directly even if you knew where the nests were. There is no one entrance or exit to trap them as there are hundreds of feet of spaces between the boards. Just spraying insecticide down the cracks won't hit the nests because they are on the bottom of the boards.

I finally solved the problem by tearing down my deck.

 

[woodchuckie]

remove a deck board, using a mirror locate all the nest you can see from that point. Should be able to spray from the opening. Move over to another area and repeat. Replace boards with screws to make it easier next time.

 

[jerrybob]

Ortho Wasp and Hornet killer works well.

 

[legbuh]

I had the same problem on my deck which was built a couple of inches over a concrete pad. I tried a propane fogger with insecticides. It did nothing. Since the boards are spaced one inch apart you can't get anything under there to spray the nests directly even if you knew where the nests were. There is no one entrance or exit to trap them as there are hundreds of feet of spaces between the boards. Just spraying insecticide down the cracks won't hit the nests because they are on the bottom of the boards.

I finally solved the problem by tearing down my deck.

Finally someone who understands the situations... Thanks! Although your solution isn't very viable right now. lol... I'd hate to rip it all down. I'm going to try a couple wasp hotels to see if it helps at all.

 

[Soundguy]

feed em.

ie. bait granuales.

could also take a da and run a 'tubes in t he wall' system..

 

[Tig]

Go out at night when they are all home at the nest. Bag the deck with 4 mil plastic vapor barrier and fumigate it.

I'm skepticle about the soap and water advice. As I understand it, that's more for leaf eaters.
You spray it on the food (plant leaf). The bug eats it along with the leaf and craps himself to death, dying of dehydration.
Ammonia is great, but you have to suffocate them with it. So spray directly on the nest for best results.
If I need a bug killer for my plants (or engine degreaser) I mix up a 50/50 of ammonia and water with a good dose of dish soap. Apply directly to the bugs. What the ammonia does not get, the soap will.

 

[polo1665]

I had the same problem at my place. Had an exterminator come out and spray all around the house and between the slats of the deck, and it did the trick. I don't know what he used, but when he did it he said that he couldn't guarantee the results as he was unable to spray the wasps directly. It worked though and I have not had a problem for the past couple of years.

 

[Pilot]

Tig's answer was right on. For some reason, my first tractor, a JD 420U was loved by wasps. Never could find the nest, but they were there, year after year. After a couple years, I covered the tractor, set off a bug bomb under it and next day there were a dozen or so dead wasps on the ground under it and I didn't have any more wasps flying around when I fired up the tractor.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Permethrin-10 concentrate, mix as directed in the highest recommended strength. Use a pump sprayer and a leaf blower. Tape the sprayer wand to the leaf blower nozzle to make a super fogger. Have at them. Take your time to fully treat the affected area. Also works to fog the yard for mosquitoes or treat tall trees and buildings.

 

[teejk]

I have to ask...there seems to be a regional difference in what are known as "wasps" vs. "hornets". Up here the wasps are the dark mud-tube building things and I've never known them to hurt anybody. Hornets on the other hand are the long-bodied "yellow-jackets" or their smaller cousins that live underground.

 

[tallyho8]

Here we call ones that make a mud nest "mud daubers" or "dirt daubers" and they don't usually sting. The ones we call wasps make a paper nest with lots of cells and furiously attack when provoked. Photo is a wasp nest.