Not only is it inconvenient to have wasps come into your house but their stings really hurt and this makes it harder to get rid of them. You can swat a fly or a roach with few consequences but if you swat at a wasp and miss, it might become angry and try to sting you.
It is important to have a few tricks to get rid of wasps after they have come into your house. In addition, you want to determine how they are getting in and take precautions to prevent this from happening in the first place.
How Do Wasps Get into Your House?
These nasty little pests find their way into homes in a number of ways. In fact, the most common way is through open doors or windows.
They often build their nests around windows and doors because the frame offers them protection from rain, heat, and other weather. Just opening a window with a screen that has a small hole or opening the door gives wasps enough time to come into the house.
Another way that wasps enter the home is through the attic. Attics are dark, provide protection from the elements, and usually have openings through vents or compromised seals where the roof meets the structure.
They can develop entire colonies in the attic, going out during the day and returning at night. If you don’t use your attic often, you may not even know that they are there.
Wasps also find their way inside through exhaust vents in the laundry room or bathroom. These vents usually lead outside and there should be a flap on the outside of the house.
If the flap breaks off or is damaged, you may not even be aware of it and the wasps can come in and invade your home before you know what has happened.
Finally, the fireplace can be a source of wasp entry into your house. If you don’t have your chimney and flue checked annually, the vent may be compromised and wasps can nest there.
When you open it, the wasps may fall into the fireplace. In addition, they may find a hole in the chimney and enter that way.
No matter how these pests enter your house, you need to get them out as quickly as you can. They do not like to be disturbed and their stings hurt. They may be good for the environment but they are known for becoming aggressive when people try to move them.
You need to make sure that you have an effective plan to remove them from your house and prevent them from coming back.
How to Get Wasps Out of Your House
1 – Pesticide Method
While this is an effective method for removing wasps, you need to take precautions before using it. You can buy a wasp-killing spray online or at your grocery store to do this job. You need to make sure that any children or pets are removed from the room and then cover any food, clothing, or bedding before you spray.
Once you have prepared the space, follow the directions on the container and spray the wasps. Stay a safe distance away but as long as you hit the wasps, this spray will kill them. Once they are all dead, you can wipe them up with paper towels but make sure to use gloves to protect your hands.
You can also call in a professional pest control company to do the job. This may be easier if you have an allergy to wasps or if you are worried about getting stung. Once the wasps are gone, you need to take steps to prevent them from returning.
2 – Use a Soap-and-Water Solution
If you prefer to stay away from pesticides, you can make a soap-and-water solution to spray the wasps. You will not want to do this if you have a large number of wasps but it can work well on a smaller group.
Mix soap and water in a spray bottle and spray the wasps. The soap will clog their breathing pores and they will suffocate and die almost instantly.
How to Get Rid of Exterior Wasp Nests
Wasps have to come in from the outside so the most important thing that you can do is find and eliminate the nests and the points of entry. If you have a major infestation, you may want to call in a professional pest control company to remove them.
Take a look at the following options:
- Nest drenching: Drench the wasp nest with insecticide spray that is made for wasps. You can hire a pest control company or carefully do this yourself.
- Nest dusting: This method uses a dust pesticide and it is less dangerous. If the nest is small and not in need of urgent removal, you can use this method.
- Perimeter spraying: Don’t spray your plants directly but you should spray places where the wasps fly, including entrances to your house and near your garden.
- Baiting: You can use a bait and trap to try to trap the wasps. You can use peppermint oil, sugar and water, or other products to attract the wasps to the trap.
- Make a wasp trap: You can cut the top off of a soda bottle and add soda, vinegar, and lunchmeat. The wasps will fly in and have trouble getting out.
How to Protect Your House from Wasps
Once you have removed the wasps from inside your house and around your house, you need to protect your house by sealing the points of entry that the wasps are using.
First, check your windows and doors. If you see any nests, have them removed and dust to prevent the wasps from returning. This will prevent wasps from entering through the doors and windows.
Next, you need to make sure that your screens have no holes or tears. Replace or repair any that do so that you can open your windows and be sure that no wasps will come in.
Next, you need to go around your house to eliminate any nests that are up in or near the gutters and roof. This may require professional help. You should remove them as soon as you can.
Check the surrounding area for spots where the wasps may gain entry and have them repaired. This will ensure that they don’t make a new nest and enter your home again.
Next, you should check your attic. You can actually install screens in the ventilation so that wasps cannot enter the attic. This will prevent them from nesting inside.
Check your laundry room and bathroom ventilators and make sure that the flap on the outside of the house is closed and functioning. Again, you can install a small piece of screening between the flap and the vent, which will keep the wasps out.
If you have a fireplace, you should have a chimney sweep check the chimney and the flue. Make sure that you have a screen installed to keep wasps out when the flue is closed. Clean out your chimney and have it checked every year.
Once you have sealed your house and made sure that all of your screens are in working order, you can set wasp traps around the perimeter of the house to keep them away.
You can put out solutions with peppermint oil, sugar and water, and other products that will attract the wasps. This will distract the wasps from building their nests and they will die once they go to the solution.
What to Do If a Wasp Stings You
No matter how many precautions you take, it is always a possibility that you or a family member will get stung. You should keep supplies in your first aid kit so that you can treat the sting right away. If you have a family member or friend with an allergy, go to the hospital right away.
Speaking of first aid kits, if you don’t have one, I highly suggest getting one. They’re very inexpensive and can be really useful in emergency situations. All you need is a basic kit with the essentials, then you can add anything else you need from there. I like to keep one at home and one in my car.
The danger of wasps is that they don’t leave their stingers inside of people and they can sting multiple times. Being attacked by a swarm of wasps can cause a reaction in anyone, even without a wasp allergy.
If someone is stung, the first thing to do is to stop the swelling. You can apply an ice pack or cold water to reduce the swelling. Make sure that you elevate the body part that has been stung and remove shoes, jewelry, or anything that is near the sting.
The next step is to treat the itching. After the initial pain goes away, wasp stings itch. You can make a homemade mixture of water and baking soda or you can use calamine lotion or other topical solutions. If it is really severe, your doctor may prescribe medication.
If you still have a lot of pain, you can take ibuprofen. This will help until the pain passes. If the itching is unbearable, over-the-counter antihistamines will help take the itch away.
Always pay attention; any signs of a more severe reaction such as trouble breathing or dizziness will mean that you should go to the hospital right away.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems and over 10 years of experience working in IT. As a homeowner, I love working on projects around the house, and as a father, I love investigating various ways to keep my family safe (whether or not this involves tech). I’ve also played guitar for almost 20 years and love writing music, although it’s hard to find the time these days.
Karen
Tuesday 10th of August 2021
I gave a wasps nest above the bathroom window.. There appears to be lots of wasps. They were in the bathroom, loads of them. We sprayed the room with wasp spray several times closing the door quickly. Closed the bathroom window.. Will anyone come out to deal with the problem early hours of the morning
Eva
Friday 16th of July 2021
Thank you this was helpful. Can you please tell me how to rid the scent after I killed them indoors because they keep coming into my kitchen. I have 2 children and a dog and sprayed the toxic spray unfortunately. I will now use the nontoxic homemade sprays but we can't find the nest and why they keep coming into my kitchen hovering by the window. I think the nest is in my exterior wall, however pest control will not come until next week and I can't wait that long for help. Do you recommend bombing the kitchen? I am so sad that I can't get any help from anyone it seems. I know that they give off a scent for more to come after they die to protect their nest and attack but no one can tell me how to remove their scent. Please if you can assist me, I would really appreciate it thanks so much.