Getting Rid of Wasps Naturally

With summer here and picnics and barbeques galore, you are probably noticing a drastic increase in the number of wasps hanging around you. Wasps love a good picnic. Anything sweet attracts them, but did you know they also love meat?

The first step in getting rid of wasps is to prevent new ones from arriving, so learn to keep food out of the way. Store meat and fruit in the fridge until you are ready to serve. The cold helps kill the smell, so the wasps won't be attracted as quickly. Try to avoid leaving any food out where the wasps can get to it. You will also want to clean up spills of any kind immediately. Meat juices, fruit juice and sodas are the biggest draws, but nearly anything will draw the pests.

If you notice a wasp nest being started, knock it down at once with a broom. However, if it is bigger than your fist and has a lot of wasps around it, you may want to use some protection to avoid being stung. A very large nest will require special care and possibly an exterminator.

You can make your own natural wasp trap with a glass jar, some apple juice and plastic wrap. Add about an inch of apple juice to the jar and cover it with plastic wrap. Use an elastic band to hold it in place and poke a hole with your finger in the middle of the plastic. Set the jar out where the wasps seem to be congregating and leave it.

The wasps will be drawn to the sweet odor of the apple juice and will land on the jar, walk to the hole and climb in. Once inside, most wasps will not be able to escape and will drown in the juice. Don't worry about changing the juice every day, just once a week or when it fills up with wasps is fine.

By keeping your picnic area clean, knocking down nests before they get big enough to support a colony and setting out apple juice traps, you should cut down on the number of stings and the general annoyance of wasps.

Just a note, if you are stung by a wasp, cut an onion in half and place the cut side against the sting. It will draw the poison out and calm the pain. This works for bee stings as well, but since bees leave the stinger in the wound, you will need to gently remove it, preferably by scraping it away from the skin. Wasps retain their stingers and there is no need to extract anything from the sting.l