Bees and Wasps

If your swingset and deck are wooden they might be carpenter bees which generally don't sting, they just like to drill in the wood. That said, my kids are still afraid of the carpenter bees even though we explained it to them. One thing you can do is seal the wood really well and then they aren't as attracted to it and might go away.

For the wasps if you can find the nest you might be able to get rid of it. A favorite place at our house for them to build a nest is under the siding if there is a little area that is lifted up they get right in there. Ugh!

Good luck.

I love that you posted this. We are having the same problem in our backyard. They are getting worse every year. Good luck to you and i will have to check back to read your responces :)

Okay this is grose but it works. Get a dead fish and hang it in a tree near the swingset or under your deck. Tie the fish so that it hangs inside a bucket filled with some water. The bees will eat the fish, get full and fall into the water. It works.

We have a pretty bad problem with bees and wasps in our yard, too. I bought a wasp trap and it's hanging by my patio...I don't think you could hang one directly on the swingset, though, since it's got liquid in it. I try to get outside early in the mornings and spray the wasp and bee spray (raid, I think it is), so that the smell is gone by the time the kids head outside. The wasp trap does seem to help b/c they were all over the patio area. It looks like a lantern that you can hang but it has some liquid in it.

If you can find a nest you'll probably have to spray it. At night.

Otherwise I found the suggestions of fabric softener sheets repelling bees and putting marmalade on a tree fairly far away from the area...they will hang out there instead of your patio & swing set...just may be worth a try!

I have a wasp trap. It is a glass jar with a hole on bottom and top
And it has a cork for the hole on top. There is a well on the bottom
That you fill from the top with sugar water. Put the cork in the top
So they can't get out. It seems to work well in my yard. I switch
Between the front and back yards about every week or two. Hope
That helps :)

R.
Happy mother of three boys, 17, 13, and 9. I am also highly allergic to bees.

Hi Karin,

Call and exterminating Company in your area.

I am sure they have natural ways to eliminate your insect
problems.

Good luck. D.

I have a friend who makes a fake wasp nest and hangs it up. She just takes a paper bag and fills it with air or other paper bags ties it off and hangs it in the area of problem. Apparently the bees/wasps think there's already someone living there and so leave that turf alone. She said it worked for her and it's easy to try. Good luck. Also, my aunt has us put a penny on a fresh sting and it pulls the sting right out. I'm a fan of having a few washed pennie around ready for the job! Hope the girls don't get stung any more, though!

try a cup with some jelly in it....they get stuck.

If you have yellowjacks or wasps, the traps at the home improvement stores work well.