How to Keep Wasps Away from Playsets – 7 Tips

A few years back, I bought a Backyard Discovery Wooden Swing Set for my kids. I spent like 2 days putting it together in our backyard. It was a task on its own.

Recently I noticed wasps around the playset and I think they are getting out of hand. I can call it a Wasps infestation of some sort. The wasps have made my children’s swing set their home.

Our kids are scared to death to play on the playset. So, how do we keep Wasps Away from the swingset?

How to Keep Wasps Away from Playsets

1. Using Natural Insect Pest Control

• • Use Herbs
  • A mix of vinegar, salt & sugar
  • Detergent, Tap Water, & peppermint extract

2. Use Fake wasps nest
3. Use of chemicals
4. Use Wasp and Hornet Spray
5. Maintaining Cleanliness
6. Pesticides
7. Calling an exterminator

Note: wasps prefer to build their nests in crevices and in dark warm areas. On your kids’ playset, these areas may include inside the playhouse, climber, swings, slides, on the roof of the playhouse, among other areas. The wasps can literally attack any section of the playset and find a perfect resting point. This can be dangerous for you and your kids.

So, How Do You Keep Wasps off- Details

Well, I did some research online to find out what other people with wasp infestation are doing to end the menace.  I will discuss the methods I used plus those that other people have used and seen success.

1. Natural Insect Pest Control

Use the following natural methods to repel wasp invasion.

a) Use Herbs

You may decide to plant herbal plants in your backyard, outdoor sitting area, or around the patio. Wasps don’t like plants with aroma. Therefore, planting things like thyme, eucalyptus, citronella, among others can help in repelling wasps.

b) A mix of vinegar, salt & sugar

A solution of vinegar, salt, and sugar will work wonders. This solution attracts wasps and they get stuck inside the solution for wasps-free playsets.  You’ll need a cup of vinegar, 4 tablespoons of sugar, and 4 tablespoons of salt.

c) Detergent, Tap Water, & Peppermint extract

Fill tap water in your regular spray bottle; add a cup of any liquid detergent, then add about 20 drops of peppermint extract. This solution is effective at eliminating wasps.

2. Fake Wasps Nest

After going through various reviews online about using Fake Wasps Nest, I decided to try the method. Well, I mounted two Fake Wasps Nests on the playset and another two in the backyard. I tried to plant them in such a way that my sons won’t touch or play with them.

The beauty about these decoy wasp nests is that they fool the wasps into believing that the territory is already taken. Therefore, they move to some other place to build their nests.

These nests trick the wasps into believing that other wasps have already settled into that specific region. Since wasps are territorial in nature, they can’t settle where other wasps are present. So they end up moving away.

I bought a ready-made wasp nest from Amazon. However, you can make one yourself. It’s pretty simple.  Take brown paper and crumple it. Fill this brown bag with other papers to make it gain more volume. Hang it on your playset and wait for the results.

3. Use Wasp and Hornet Spray

Wasp and Hornet Spray are effective at eliminating wasps. I at one time used the wasp spray on my wooden deck. The wasps had built nests and you could see them flying around. I sprayed the nests thoroughly and killed the wasp population on my deck.

4. Use of chemicals

Some people online claim to have used Break fluid, WD40, and Gasoline to eliminate wasps infestation. Most reported positive results. Nevertheless, I can’t verify the truthiness of these claims. I haven’t used the chemicals yet.

However, if you’re going to use either of these chemicals on your kid’s playset ensure that they don’t come into contact with them.

5. Pesticides

The use of pesticides to control wasps is another effective method you may consider using for eliminating wasps. Most people love the efficiency and effectiveness of pesticides to kill wasps.

However, some pesticides are extremely dangerous to the environment. Pesticides can also be hazardous to children, pets, and the person applying them.

Therefore, before using pesticides consider using natural wasp control methods that don’t have any negative effect on the environment.

6. Call an Exterminator

I remember one of my colleagues had a serious wasp infestation in his backyard. He sought the services of an exterminator who charged him 32$. So, every time he sees wasps he just calls the exterminator.

Therefore, if you feel overwhelmed, you can contact your local pest exterminator to do the work for you. The good part is that most exterminators eradicate everything including bees, rats, wasps, etc.

Also Read: Best Swing Sets for Small Backyards

How to Prevent Wasps from Invading Your Space

So how do you prevent the wasps from building their nests on the playsets or any other place in your backyard? Prevention is better than cure, thus, do the following.

Maintain Cleanliness

Ensure that you do regular cleaning around your backyard to prevent wasp invasion. Pick up fallen leaves, twigs, and dead branches and dispose of them properly.

Empty your garbage cans regularly and ensure they remain clean by washing them after each garbage disposal. Put the lid on at all times to keep off insects and wasps.

Remove Food Sources

Food and water attract wasps. Therefore, train your children to thoroughly clean after they are through with playing. They should not leave foods, juices, or even fruits in the playset.

Ensure that the backyard has no leftover foods maybe from picnic scraps; pet food, etc. also, cover the garbage cans properly.

Seal Entry Points

If you start noticing wasps in your backyard, playset, or any other place in the compound, it’s possible that wasps have built a dwelling. I recommend that you take action immediately. Seal off all their entry points.

You can do this by carefully observing the wasps activity plus the paths they use. This way you’ll know their exit and entry point. Start sealing off their flight path, all cracks on the frames of windows or doors.

You can even put some of the natural solutions for wasp control we’ve discussed above to get rid of them completely.

Replace the Playset Roof with A Lightweight Mesh Canvas

Wasps flourish well in warm and dark places. The roofing of the playhouse in most playsets is usually thick vinyl roof canvas. You can replace the roofing of the playhouse with roofing that allows light inside the playhouse.

I replaced the solid vinyl roof canvas that the playset had come with with a heavy-duty vinyl mesh canvas. This new roofing allows natural light and air into the set.

DIY Wasp Traps for Backyard Playsets

You can also make your own wasps trap using readily available material. These materials won’t cost anything. Read on for easy DIYs on homemade wasp trap

 Paper Wasp Trap

The idea behind this DIY Paper Wasp Trap is to come up with fake wasp nests using paper bags. Its pretty simple, I will also include a video to make the process much easier for you.

Nevertheless, you need a brown paper bag, scrunch it, add some paper bags inside to add more volume, tie the top part with a string and hang wasp traps in places where wasps like to frequent.

Apparently, wasps are territorial in nature, so they don’t invade places already occupied by another wasps population. With this fake wasps trap, these annoying creatures will move to another place to build their nests.

Soda Bottle Wasp Trap

Another effective DIY method that you can easily make at the convenience of your house is the Soda Bottle Wasp Trap. This wasp trap requires a 2 liters soda water bottle or any other clear bottle you can find.

Cut off the top of the bottle. Try to approximate a quarter from the top and cut the bottle to create a funnel-like shape.

Insert the funnel upside down. The mouth of the funnel should be inside the body of the bottle. Secure the sides properly and seal off any gaps.

Pour any sweetener inside the bottle; you could add honey, wine, or other sugary substance that you can find. Sugary foods attract wasps and they’ll be drawn to the bottle by the sweet scent. Once they climb inside, they’ll be trapped inside the bottle.

Conclusion

You now know How to keep wasps away from playsets. Ensure that you try the natural methods first before reaching out to chemicals or pesticides. As much as we are trying to keep off wasps, we should conserve our environment and make it safe for not only ourselves but also our kids, pets, and other people.