Wasp Problem

[Brett's_daddy]

My boat is in my yard and had the cover on it. I noticed today that there were some wasps buzzing around so I took the cover off and sure enough there's at least 6+ buzzing around. I've killed 5 with a fly swatter but that broke and there's more buzzing around...what can I do to keep them out of my boat?

[TnRiver46]

Hot shot with 25 foot jet spray. I’m allergic to bees and wasps aren’t that scary to me, usually only 10-12 to a nest. Yellow jackets and hornets have way more number and just as bad of a sting (if not worse with hornets). I’ll do battle with wasps with only the hat on my head. If I see a swarm of yellow jackets, usain bolt couldn’t catch me 

[Brett's_daddy]

I thought about spray but is it okay to spray boat electronics?

[TnRiver46]

1 minute ago, Brett's_daddy said:

I thought about spray but is it okay to spray boat electronics?

Maybe use the swatter near the electronics haha. 

[Brett's_daddy]

what about the motor/batteries?

[TnRiver46]

14 minutes ago, Brett's_daddy said:

what about the motor/batteries?

Well the spray only works if it hits the wasp, I would try to spray the nest directly right before dark. It won’t hurt a battery, those things are full of acid. The only thing I could imagine it hurting on the engine is the finish on the cowl

[J Francho]

If there's a nest, you should kill it and remove it.

[Brett's_daddy]

I don't see a nest...I think i caught them before they built the nest, just in the looking for a place to build phase.

[Brett's_daddy]

do you guys keep your boats covered in your yards or uncovered? I just figure keeping the boat covered now would be like hanging a welcome sign for these dang bugs providing a covered safe space for them. My only reserve is I'm not sure i want to leave it uncovered when it rains.

[gim]

I store mine in the garage.  I would advise you do the same to avoid the plague of hornets.

[Brett's_daddy]

8 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I store mine in the garage.  I would advise you do the same to avoid the plague of hornets.

I have a garage but the door is broke so it wouldn't be airtight and wasp's could get in if they wanted, that being said it was that way last year as i stored the boat in the garage and i didn't have a wasp problem.

[Gator_Bait]

Get a Bug-A-Salt gun and go hunting before you go fishing...LOL.

[J Francho]

Boats are made for water, but don't hold up to continuous UV exposure.

[lo n slo]

1 hour ago, Brett's_daddy said:

I don't see a nest...I think i caught them before they built the nest, just in the looking for a place to build phase.

if there are that many wasps i’d just about guarantee you that they’ve built a nest in there somewhere. 

[J Francho]

Speaking as someone in the northeast, there's been a BUTT-TON of bees, hornets, wasps, and goodness knows how many other nest building insects suddenly looking for new digs right now.  

[Fishes in trees]

Going after wasps with a Bug-A-Salt gun is going in underpowered.  I'd rather use a fly swatter.   Me - I don't mind wasps so much as they seem pretty chill most of the time, if you don't go out of your way to provoke them.  Hornets though, don't ever let hornets get established in your fishing shed.  Major pain in the butt.   I get that 25' foam spray, hit the nest - run away, come back in half an hour, search for more nest & repeat.  I've never had them come back the same year after I've driven them out, but you have to search slowly & carefully, there are lots of crevices where they can build a pretty big nest pretty quick.

 

 

[Brett's_daddy]

Well, I went out this morning while it was still cool and generally sprayed my boat. I did see one crawl into the hole where my electronics wires come out and attach to my battery so I removed the cover and sure enough there was a big fat wasp on a thumbnail sized nest attached to the underside. I sprayed liberally and scraped the nest off. Didn’t find anymore so I sprayed in where my boat wiring runs just in case and moved the boat back into the garage. Hopefully I caught them before anything substantial had been built and with the overall spraying will deter them from making any more nests in or near my boat!

[WRB]

Raid wasp and hornet spray shoots about 20' spray stream. Don't fog spray your boat, kill the nest with a direct shot in the evening when all the critters are back in the nest.

Tom 

[slonezp]

 

[Fishingmickey]

Where I work we have to battle the paper wasp's and hornets. It's a bakery so we are prohibited from having insecticide around. We started using Dawn dishwashing soap and water mixed about 80% water/20% Dawn. One of the cheap super soakers squirters and a half of a five gallon bucket can knock down a lot of nests for really cheap. It is better hunting early when it is cool and they are all on the nest and less active. 

FM

[lo n slo]

i got tagged by a wasp on my upper lip one day at work. it swolled up like a hot dog weenie and all the guys had a big horse laugh. i went to my grandma’s for lunch and she even laughed at me. 

[Mobasser]

If you can find and see the nest, put some gasoline in a jar and throw it on them. It kills em right away.

[Brett's_daddy]

3 hours ago, Mobasser said:

If you can find and see the nest, put some gasoline in a jar and throw it on them. It kills em right away.

I think I found it as they were just barely begining to build it. It was the size of my thumbnail with one fat wasp on it...killed the wasp and scraped off the nest.

[cookieman]

a smoke bomb worked for me. leave cover on ,set bomb in boat and cover . leave an hour or so uncover and lay cover upside down to air out. got my bomb from local bug killer company 

[Jig Man]

When wasps bothered us in campgrounds we would set up a 2 liter bottle of Coke or Pepsi with a few inches of pop left in it.  They were drawn to the sugar.  They would crawl in and eventually drown.  That might be a cheap try.