Thank You TFP!! Borax saved us from a terrible yellow jacket/wasp problem

[shadowsowner]

We've had increasing problems over the past 3 years with yellow jackets/wasps. This year the number swarming was just gruesome! (20 or more at a time). We tried all the traps and fake nests and stuff they're not supposed to like (like smell of spearmint herbs) but nothing seemed to help.

I read about using 20 mule borax on the forums. (There are good threads here on balancing the water chemistry etc). By the next day instead of 20+ yellow jackets/wasps there were less than 5 around our pool. 48 hours later they were totally gone and I haven't seen them for a full week.

I know you can sometimes follow them towards their nest but the nest can be over a 1/4 mile away and so we were never able to find it. The borax solution has been nothing short of amazing!

Hope this helps someone else.

 

[Texas Splash]

 

[Newdude]

Well done Shadowsowner !!!! When the tiny ants find the kitchen sink and bathtub, get the liquid traps with borax / boric acid and they'll be gone just as quick for the summer.

Now. I can fairly imagine what kind if magnificent beast Shadow must be. But seeing how you mentioned it, we need pics. I'm sorry but rules are rules.

 

[V___25]

We've had increasing problems over the past 3 years with yellow jackets/wasps. This year the number swarming was just gruesome! (20 or more at a time). We tried all the traps and fake nests and stuff they're not supposed to like (like smell of spearmint herbs) but nothing seemed to help.

I read about using 20 mule borax on the forums. (There are good threads here on balancing the water chemistry etc). By the next day instead of 20+ yellow jackets/wasps there were less than 5 around our pool. 48 hours later they were totally gone and I haven't seen them for a full week.

I know you can sometimes follow them towards their nest but the nest can be over a 1/4 mile away and so we were never able to find it. The borax solution has been nothing short of amazing!

Hope this helps someone else.

How did you do this? We have a problem with wasps on our deck - the eat the wood for their nests which we cannot find. Did you make a spray solution or just sprinkle the powder around?

 

[shadowsowner]

How did you do this? We have a problem with wasps on our deck - the eat the wood for their nests which we cannot find. Did you make a spray solution or just sprinkle the powder around?

For the pool you add the borax to the water. I think it makes the water unpalatable to the yellow jackets and it also alters the surface tension so that they drown when they touch the water surface.

We had problems w/ a woodpecker damaging one of our porch roofs and my wife tried alot of different things and none of them worked to get rid of the woodpecker and then i just put spackle that was soaked in a ghost pepper hot sauce on the wood where the bird kept making holes and the woodpecker never came back!

You might want to try a saturated solution of water and boric acid and spray/soak the deck where the yellow jackets gather. I'd test a small area first to make sure it doesn't stain anything.

Good luck!

 

[Elwood5487]

For the pool you add the borax to the water. I think it makes the water unpalatable to the yellow jackets and it also alters the surface tension so that they drown when they touch the water surface.

We had problems w/ a woodpecker damaging one of our porch roofs and my wife tried alot of different things and none of them worked to get rid of the woodpecker and then i just put spackle that was soaked in a ghost pepper hot sauce on the wood where the bird kept making holes and the woodpecker never came back!

You might want to try a saturated solution of water and boric acid and spray/soak the deck where the yellow jackets gather. I'd test a small area first to make sure it doesn't stain anything.

Good luck!

I like the idea of adding Borax to the water for the sake of deterring wasps, but I'm constantly dealing with pH and Alkalinity being borderline too high. Can you elaborate on how much you used on your pool and if it did anything to your chemistry? Sending this one out to anyone who can answer, but if I add borax for wasp prevention then need to use a pH reducer to get my numbers right, will that negate the effectiveness of the borax?

 

[mknauss]

but if I add borax for wasp prevention then need to use a pH reducer to get my numbers right, will that negate the effectiveness of the borax?

No.
To add the borates with little effect on pH, get boric acid. Granular. DudaDiesel sells it.

 

[ajw22]

if I add borax for wasp prevention then need to use a pH reducer to get my numbers right, will that negate the effectiveness of the borax?

Read Borates in pool - Further Reading

 

[Elwood5487]

Read Borates in pool - Further Reading

Fabulous! Thank you!