Wasps!

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dhogan

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LifeTime Supporter
Jun 4, 2011
8
Miami, OK
Ok, not sure in which category this topic goes.....but here goes. It has been 100+ degrees here in OKlahoma the past few days....and the wasps (of all kinds) are definitely thirsty! They land on the pool.....(they must have pontoons on their feet) .....they get a drink and then fly away. Apparently with the heat...they are all thirsty! I would say that yesterday on a consistent basis we had 40 to 50 wasps sitting on the pool getting a drink. Tho I don't mind sharing my pool with them........having that many at once all the time can be a bit intimidating. Usually they won't bother us...unless we bother them. But...there is hardly any space on the pool surface that does not have a wasp sitting on it within 3 feet of each other. Any suggestions on how to manage them? Or do we just share our space carefully with them and try not to make them mad? :cool:
 
It hasn't worked for everyone, but for me it seems that my addition of borates to 50ppm has eliminated flying insects from going to my pool for water. It didn't work immediately, but over time they went completely away. I've seen others that say it worked, and some that say it didn't, so I cannot guarantee success.
 
It would be worth a try! I know I'm being lazy - cuz I could figure it out myself - but for all of the Math whizzes out there - How much of the borates would I need to add to a 22,000 gallon pool to make it 50ppm?
 
I had honey bees visiting my pool after I converted to BBB. They seemed to like the super clean water. Had them for a couple years until I added 3000ppm of salt for my new SWG. They must not like salt because I haven't seen one since or any other things trying to drink out of it. Works for me.
 
MikeInNH said:
I had honey bees visiting my pool after I converted to BBB. They seemed to like the super clean water. Had them for a couple years until I added 3000ppm of salt for my new SWG. They must not like salt because I haven't seen one since or any other things trying to drink out of it. Works for me.
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I wonder if that has anything to do with the salt reducing the surface tension of the water? Either way, I have my salt around 2000 ppm (I don't have a SWG), it seems I have fewer insects since adding as well. I probably also am around 30 ppm for borates (haven't tested in a month or so).
 
I'm all for sharing my pool with the local critters, such as swallows, bats and bees, who come in for the occassional drink. However, I would not be able to tolerate that many wasps in my pool. I would try a couple of things. First I would add some type of surfactant to the water, which would lessen the surface tension and make it harder for the wasps to sit on the water without sinking. Just wait for someone to come along, in this post, to tell you which is a safe chemical to use. I know soap will reduce surface tension of water, but doubt if it's safe for your pool. If salt reduces water tension, as others have suggested, that would seem a safe way to go. Maybe chem-geek or Ben can weigh in on this.

The second thing I would do, is to go on a search and destroy mission for wasp nests. I know wasps serve a valuable function, but they can be dangerous and are kind of ornery. Many people are allergic to wasp/bee stings and I think you should take that into consideration when weighing the pros and cons of exterminating them.

Tom
 
jonmar said:
We went to home depot and bought the pseudo wasp nests and hung two on our patio. Wasps were gone within an hour. Word is they are territorial and wont encroach on other wasp neighborhoods. Worked for us.
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What is this again? i can't seem to find that anywhere, or any info on it.
 
Yes, I believe I will first of all put the borates into my pool. (After reading up on it in the pool school I figured out how much I would need to add - as there are other benefits also - so even if that doesn't help w/ the wasp issue I will still have the other added benefits.)
Also, I will check out some of those wasp nests that someone mentioned you can get at Home Depot. I live out in the country......so to get rid of all of the wasp nests is not possible. We do destroy the ones that try to nest on the house or if we see them at the barn.....but finding them all - that's not goin' happen!
 

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Here is a cheap easy method of getting rid of wasps and bees (redneck version) if you want to go that route. Get a two liter bottle cut the top of the bottle off and flip upside down so the spout now is inside the bottle and secure with duct tape. pour a small amount of sweet substance into bottle(Mt. dew is the best). hang in a area away from the pool. Once the bees find this and word gets out you will taps literally hundreds in no time. Mind you it kills them but if someone is allergic to the stings this is a great tool to aid in preventing this. Once the trap is full of bees empty out (make sure all bees are dead) refill and hang for the next round. I prefer to empty these out at night once all the bees leave for the evening as they tend to get a little upset that you are trying to remove a food source.
 
Articfox918 said:
Get a two liter bottle cut the top of the bottle off and flip upside down so the spout now is inside the bottle and secure with duct tape.
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Aren't the bees and wasps able to fly back out? How does this contraption keep them in? I have wasps also and my hubs is allergic, so I need to get rid of them!
 
Bees can't fly straight up they fly at an angle therefore with the spout in the middle they can't get out the only way they can get out is if you let the bottle fill with dead ones creating a ladder for them to climb out.. You only cut the top of the bottle where it curves out to the outside edge if the bottle

Sent from my HTC Desire CDMA using Tapatalk 2
 
Durf said:
jonmar said:
We went to home depot and bought the pseudo wasp nests and hung two on our patio. Wasps were gone within an hour. Word is they are territorial and wont encroach on other wasp neighborhoods. Worked for us.
Click to expand...

What is this again? i can't seem to find that anywhere, or any info on it.
Click to expand...

They look like wasp nests, and you hang them outside. We have one we hang on our umbrella and one in the far corner of the patio. I couldn't find them on home depot's website but did find them on a Canadian retailer. Here is the link:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/2 ... ?locale=en

You get two in a package and we haven't seen a wasp since we hung them up. I tried the sugary liquid in a container trick with marginal results.
 
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