Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 08:54 pm
Of the numerous species of insects found in this country in the summer, we fear wasps the most. They invade our living spaces uninvited, constantly buzzing around us and our delicious food. The risk of suffering a painful wasp sting is quite real, although wasps are not aggressive animals by themselves. Clove scent does not particularly please them and therefore cloves could be a welcome remedy against wasps.
Contents
Drive away wasps
When a wasp is approaching, the mind often stops for a moment. The urge is overwhelming to react immediately and strike at the wasp. But we should not do that. Where there is one wasp, there are many more on the way not far away. A threatened or even dying wasp sends out signals that attract other wasps and also make them want to attack.
For wasps, their olfactory organ plays an important role in their short summer life. They are attracted by odors that are pleasant to them and deterred by others that are less pleasant. We humans do not always have to share their preferences in this regard. What smells wonderful to us may be repulsive to these insects, at least that can be surmised from their reactions. This fact leads us to a useful home remedy that helps us in our fight against these insects.
Cloves against wasps
The smell of cloves is said to be one of the scents that the yellow-black insects do not like to smell. They can still sniff out the “unpleasant” scent from far away. These are the consequences:
- they do not take any harm from it
- they simply change their flight direction
- they move away from the source of the odor
- this consequently determines their location
- no specimens are found within a radius of several meters
Thus, clove scent is one of the best home remedies, as it helps us quickly and effectively in our fight against these stinging insects. But it is not enough to put a flower pot with cloves against wasps, their essential oil is much more effective.
Application of clove oil
The oil does not need to be placed somewhere around the clock as a wasp repellent. It is enough to use it only when the insects become an acute nuisance to you. You only need a few drops per application. Put them on one of the following carriers:
- a small bowl
- a piece of cloth
- or wooden board
You do not have to place the clove oil directly on the coffee table, even if the scent is not very intrusive. Placed a bit away from it, it can have the intended effect as well.
Buy clove oil
You can order small bottles of oil on the Internet or buy them directly in a drugstore or a well-stocked supermarket. The price is cheap with a few euros per 10 ml, the vial is enough for many applications.
Tip: When buying, make sure that you purchase a 100% natural oil. The synthetically produced variant is cheaper, but is said not to show the hoped-for effect.
Dried cloves against wasps
Dried cloves may not be considered a staple in all spice cabinets, but they can be found in some. Together with a lemon, this spice helps to make an effective remedy against wasps. To do this, put a few cloves in a lemon and then put the whole thing where these insects are unwanted. The combination of the two scents seems to cause in them even greater aversion.
Tip: A sachet with hundreds of dried cloves, you can get in almost any grocery store.
Do not use against nests!
Whether individual insects react to the clove method with a change in flight, everyone can safely test for themselves. However, caution is called for with wasp nests. Not only are there hundreds of wasps living in them, which means hundreds of stings, but for legal reasons you must not get too close to them. In concrete terms, this means that the wasps may neither be killed nor relocated on your own authority.
Tip: If the wasp nest poses a valid threat to you, hire a pest control company to obtain the necessary permit and relocate it safely. If the nest is located inaccessibly, it may need to be destroyed.
Prevent resettlement
While a populated nest is under legal protection, you may prevent colonization in advance. Wasps look for a dark place for their nest, which they find not only in nature, but often under eaves of our houses. Even if the colony remains alive only until autumn, after which the queen also leaves the nest, the few months can become a torment or a source of constant anxiety for the inhabitants of the house.
- act before the nest foundation
- approx. end of February to middle of March
- spray the cavities of the shutter boxes with clove oil