Wasp deterrents

[mgginva]

Last year I tried something new to deter wasps from building nests under my upper deck. It wasn't perfect but it did help. I did not get them up in time so this year I will hang much earlier. Just an FYI to my friends here. There are many different ones and I have no idea if any are better but here is a link to the ones I bought;



http://www.amazon.com/Tanglefoot-300...wasp+deterrent

[Rewton]

Are they mainly yellow jackets? I assume they attack your figs, no? I had a couple run-ins with them last year for the first time.

[mgginva]

I have every damn wasp type there is in this area. The big european hornets are the worst but the brown paper wasps will claim a fig and guard it for days and they sting at night and make nocturnal fig picking a bit iffy. Because wasps are predators big nests are supposed to make them weary or leery and convince them to go else where. The yellow jackets are a problem but they also are the easiest to trap in homemade wasp traps. I get zillions of bumble bees but they are very mellow usually. The carpenter bees are a hassle and have a bad sting. Worst on the list and the only ones I'll use serious chemicals on are bald faced hornets. I usually spray with ether and light or throw gasoline on at night and light. I also shoot the big wasps/bees with .22 shot shells or use a squash or badminton racket on them. But last year I was shocked at the number of figs I lost to wasps/bees as the year before they caused minimal damage.