Wasps irritate me to no end. I’d rather have a rattlesnake share my blind than a swarm of “Little Red Devils.” In late summer, I go to every booth with a bag full of wasp spray and evict them from all of them.
With deer season approaching, you should be on the lookout for a foolproof technique to keep wasps out of your blinds. Last year’s early-season was plagued by Red Wasps, making hunting nearly impossible. Take my word for it if you’ve never had many of them crawling all over you while sitting on a stand – it’s pretty unpleasant.
Following are the tips and suggestions that are both safe and effective to protect deer stand from wasps:
- Spray down the inside walls and ceiling
spray down the interior walls and ceiling, paying specific attention to the corners. It comes in 1-gallon jugs with a sprayer built-in. For several months, it will kill everything that crawls across it. The odor is rather strong at first, but it fades as it dries.
- Thermacell
Thermacell Mosquito Resellers provide a mosquito-free zone of nearly 20 feet. Mosquitoes are kept at bay by pressing a single button before they bite or annoy you. There is no spray, and there are no chemical repellents on the skin. They’re also quite user-friendly.
- Tick bombs
Attempt to detonate tick bombs. It will kill everything in the stand while also acting as a deterrent for the following few weeks. Furthermore, it is not costly. But I make an effort to complete it at least the night before or the day before I go hunting.
- Soapy Water
After spraying them down with soapy water and soaking a cotton ball in the raid and taping it to the top corners, you should be good to go.
- No pest strips
The pyrethrin-based pest strips are the most effective. The No Pest Strips are one of my favorites since they have no odor and can be used anyplace. They may be hung, placed on a ledge, or anything. These will last the entire year. The no-pest strips work well, and you don’t need an entire one in a standard box blind. Cut the yellow section of the packet into thirds and place one in each blind. I also glued a piece to the inside of the lid of each feeder barrel, as well as to each feeder motor box. Pay attention to the cautions on the strips. They might be dangerous in confined spaces. You might simply take it outdoors and air it out when you arrive.
Side Note: Those no-pest strips from the feed store are effective. Don’t get one from the grocery shop because it doesn’t seem to be effective enough. For the past two years, the huge ones at the feed stores have kept wasps out.
- Demon WP
Demon WP is a product that costs around $12-15 for four packets that each create one gallon. Scorpions, spiders, chiggers, wasps, and other insects will be killed by Demon WP. It leaves a residue that will stay for a long time if not moist. It has a little odor until it dries, but it shouldn’t interfere with your stand hunting. When the material is moist, keep an eye on/protect your pets.
- Sevin Dust
Simply sprinkle Sevin Dust all over the blinds.
- Sky-blue deer stand
Get a sky-blue deer stand which will be a little hard to find but will be worth it because the blue color helps to keep the wasp away
- Use cedar
Cedar is unappealing to wasps. I’ve observed that none of the ones I have outside had wasps in them. Put some raw cedar paneling in a blind and hang it up high.
- Moth Balls
Punch a few small holes in a carton of mothballs and place it in your blind. One box will keep all sorts of pests out all year, even owls.
- Foggers
Foggers are a wonderful way to get rid of them quickly. Set it for 10 minutes, then go inside and open the windows if you need to hunt right away. Make it a habit to fog the blind in the evening or the night before, then open it in the morning to hunt. Gets everything and appears to have a lasting impact!
- Dishwashing Liquid
They’ll all be killed by dishwashing liquid combined with a lot of water in a pump-up sprayer.
- DIY wasp trap
You can build your wasp trap and DIY it yourself. This way you can get a cheap and effective solution to keep wasps out of the tent at home and you don’t have to run to the store every time you need a refill. On other hand, you can learn a new DIY.
- Insecticide Medicated cattle ear tags
Medicated cattle ear tags will work the same as no pest strips but at about 1/10 the price.
- Build a tighter blind
Last but not least build a tighter blind so that no wasps can enter through extra spaces. This step is crucially important as none of the above methods will work (or will work but with much less efficiency) if you do not build a tighter blind.