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A Property Manager’s Guide to Dealing with Wasps

Tooele Wasp Nest on Home ExteriorIf, in any case, you are like many people, you despise stinging insects. Although as a Tooele rental property owner, dealing with wasps is also a serious safety issue. Even if wasps have quite a bit of an overrated reputation for aggressiveness, a single wasp sting can lead to hazards that range from allergic reactions to being attacked by an entire swarm. This is moreover true if you disturb a wasp nest, either intentionally or by accident. If you detect an eventual wasp problem on your rental property, your best course of action is to deal with it immediately – and in the right way. To tackle wasps, you have various choices. Which one you consider and select will depend on how big your wasp problem has become.

One way that certainly works in dealing with wasps is to keep them off your rental property for starters. A good way to begin this is by knowing where wasp nests are likely to occur and taking steps to ward them off. Wasps tend to build nests in the protected nooks and crannies around your rental property, like under the eaves, in a shed, or inside a wall. Wasps can also live in trees or even in the ground.

To scare wasps away from your property, try using one or more known wasp repellents on your property’s exterior surfaces. Studies have shown that the right combination of essential oils can keep wasps away. As for example, a mixture of clove, geranium, and lemongrass essential oils sprayed around eaves, ledges, and crevices can keep wasps away.

On the reasonable side of things, you can prevent wasps from congregating around your property by sealing off things they are interested in, such as trash bins and cracks around windows and doors. Wasps are attracted to places with abundant food sources. Most sources are exposed trash or compost mounds. By means of motivating your tenants to keep all garbage bins tightly closed and tell them to avoid composting, you can exceedingly diminish the number of wasps around your rental property. You can also definitely keep wasps out of interior spaces by regularly checking for and sealing up cracks, holes, or other entry points in the exterior.

As you’re taking on the task of sealing up potential entry points, it’s important to check for wasps that may have already gotten inside. If you notice wasps buzzing over somewhere, try to trace them back to the source. Killing individual wasps won’t help if there is a nest in the area. If it happens that you do find a small wasp nest, it’s important to deal with it right away. The problem will only grow the longer the nest is there. One way that has been confirmed to work sufficiently is to spray the nest and the wasps with a mixture of dish soap and water. The soap makes it impossible for the wasps to breathe, quickly eliminating them from the property. You can similarly invest in buying sprays designed to kill individual wasps or draw them away from the house by installing a baited trap pretty far away.

Conceding that these approaches are generally effective for small numbers of wasps, large nests are another matter. Do not try to remove a large nest by yourself. Never hit or knock down a wasp nest, even if you think there aren’t any wasps inside. The same shall apply for spraying it with water or burning it. Both are pretty bad ideas. Disturbing a wasp nest will result in an angry swarm of stinging insects that will attack you and anybody nearby. If you or your tenants find a large nest on the property, make sure everyone knows to stay away from it and call a professional instantly. Even supposing wasps are generally not aggressive if left alone, however, when provoked they are known to cause serious injury or even death. With such apparent risks at hand, it’s relevant to rely upon a professional to remove the wasps safely and effectively.

Have you found the perfect investment home but need the perfect property management company? Reach out to Real Property Management Wasatch. Contact us online or you can call us at 801-889-1517

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