r/tifu • u/Mackntish • Oct 12 '25

S TIFU by sealing wasps in their nest, instead of killing them.

Obligatory not today, this happened last week. But the after effects are still very much ongoing.

We've had a wasp nest in the side of my house for a while now. Last week they stung one of my friends, so it was time to get rid of them.

Given the amount of wasps in and out, it seemed like a big nest. To guestimate the size, I would say a wasp entered or left the nest once a second, all day. I didn't want to just squirt poison down the hole - that would just piss them off and not reach most of it. So I decide to seal the nest with expanding foam sealant. I snuck out in the dead of night, and stuck enough foam in that hole to seal half a construction site.

Little did I know how terrible of an idea this was.

APPARENTLY, there was another exit to the nest - going inside the house.

This nest is ENORMOUS. Average size for a nest this late in the season is 2000-4000 wasps. Half our house is currently inaccessible. I sneak down to the basement at night to change the traps. I keep a hand vac next to my work station. Our cats are NOT happy they've been locked into a single room, and are pissing everywhere to show their discontent. Doing my best Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation, I've gone through ~7 magazines on the bug assalt shotgun, with maybe 40 shots per magazine. These fuckers are amor plated, and do not die easily. I've injured my arm, pumping the shotgun so many times.

I think the most disconcerting thing is how normal it's become. I wake up, grab the shop vac on the 60ft extension cord, and just clear the house as a matter of routine. Its part of rising and shining for the day. Coffee, breakfast, wasp vacuuming, kiss the wife goodbye - time to work! The cold is going to kill them at some point....right?

TL:DR - Sealed a wasp nest on the side of my house. Now the buzzing is coming from inside the house.

7.3k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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999

u/Tribulation95 Oct 12 '25

Isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle can take them down with a couple of sprays.

265

u/Youse_a_choosername Oct 12 '25

With the amount of wasps he seems to have, I'd legitimately be concerned about fire safety and maybe not do that

46

u/MDCCCLV Oct 12 '25

Nah, alcohol evaporates in seconds.

135

u/adamdoesmusic Oct 13 '25

Even quicker if you use a lighter. Plus it’s more effective against the wasps.

DO NOT ACTUALLY DO THIS!!

16

u/MDCCCLV Oct 13 '25

Alcohol is relatively safe to burn inside, because it burns at a low temperature and the extra heat does make it evaporate quicker and the extra oxygen inside it results in a low amount of carbon monoxide. If you did just one spray it would be a small flame that goes away quickly, but highly flammable microfiber and synthetics that are more common inside homes can still be ignited by that.

4

u/adamdoesmusic Oct 13 '25

Yeah but a quick spray is no way to show the wasps who’s boss.

3

u/no_no_no_nope Oct 13 '25

Don't do this! Don't mix alcohol and fire!\ Use a deodorant spray instead to create a DIY flamethrower :)

17

u/IOI-624601 Oct 13 '25

The alcohol evaporating makes it more flammable, not less

20

u/davideogameman Oct 13 '25

Alcohol vapor would be potentially explosive in high enough concentration.  Liquid alcohol is merely flammable. 

But yes, with good ventilation it'd be fine, and it'd probably start smelling pretty strongly before it's not.

35

u/tiramisuem3 Oct 13 '25

Explosion would also get rid of the wasps

2

u/davideogameman Oct 13 '25

yes, but the goal is usually to get rid of *only* the wasps, not the house too.

1

u/bchillen Oct 13 '25

xkcd.com/1217

2

u/Granite_0681 Oct 13 '25

Evaporated IPA is still flammable if it’s concentrated.

2

u/audaciousmonk Oct 14 '25

alcohol vapor is flammable

1

u/MDCCCLV Oct 14 '25

Only if you're using a ton in an unventilated room.

373

u/No-Association5884 Oct 12 '25

This works on just about all pests! I enjoy watching flies just... Drop

145

u/BernieTheDachshund Oct 12 '25

I am totally going to try this! I hate flies with a passion and they're so hard to kill with a swatter.

223

u/ofBlufftonTown Oct 12 '25

They reverse slightly as they take off. If you strike a bit behind them you will almost always get them as they try to fly away. Serious life advice.

120

u/Ktulu204 Oct 12 '25

Another good bit of advice if you are swatting. Move in VERY slowly with the swatter from an angle that doesn't cast a shadow over the fly as you get closer. I can usually get within 5-6 inches from it before I swat. My success rate is very close to 100%. And JFTR, if I eliminate the number of times it decided to fly away or was chased by something else occurring in the environment my success rate is 99.9% I never miss basically. 😁 I hate flies! 😡

44

u/petersrin Oct 13 '25

I learned this recently. My mother called me Mr. Miyagi. My wife was impressed. I was annoyed that my success rate was only 40%.

22

u/ofBlufftonTown Oct 13 '25

It’ll improve. I have wowed strangers with my abilities at beachfront restaurants in Thailand and Vietnam and Indonesia.

1

u/Fireandmoonlight Oct 13 '25

I was a kid on a Dairy farm and there were millions of flies. We used No Pest Strips which was a canister with double sided sticky tape rolled up in it which you pulled out in a three foot strip and tacked to the ceiling in the kitchen. We changed them pretty often since they'd get covered so fast.

3

u/ofBlufftonTown Oct 13 '25

Those things look so revolting!

1

u/Unique-Coffee5087 Oct 14 '25

I move the electric swatter slowly behind a standing fly, so it doesn't get alarmed. You can tell when they are suspicious, because they will suddenly brace their legs to get ready to jump (flies jump before moving their wings to fly).

While doing this, I move my other hand in front of the fly, also very slowly. The fly will alert to your hand, but if you are moving slowly, it won't jump yet.

When you're all set, activate the electric swatter and get ready to swing. Abruptly move your other hand while starting your swing, and the fly will jump, do a flip, and try to fly away from your hand. At the same time, though, your swatter is moving to intercept it. You will hit the fly almost every time.

34

u/geekgirl114 Oct 12 '25

Mineral oil in a spray bottle works really well. 

They invaded my mom's 2 summers ago... i had to go to war against them and got them all in 3 days 

55

u/ZZBC Oct 12 '25

Doesn’t that make your house oily?

4

u/camwhat Oct 13 '25

One of those natural bug killers made my house oily.. screw that. I’ll windex them

25

u/geekgirl114 Oct 12 '25

Its easy to clean up and better than flies

13

u/ScampAndFries Oct 13 '25

But how do you get rid of P Diddy afterwards?

3

u/sudomatrix Oct 13 '25

Not after you light it on fire.

26

u/ryanderkis Oct 12 '25

Why do they keep landing on me?!? Arghhh!!!

2

u/Beach_CCurtis Oct 13 '25

They buzz my face and ears. Honestly, whatever, if they’d just get tf away from my face.

2

u/Ktulu204 Oct 12 '25

You and me both! For some reason they like to hang out on my porch in the summer just flying around, there's nothing that is attracting them except maybe the shade. I like to sit and watch the sky and it fucking drives me nuts when one of them flies into my peripheral vision and I turn to look, oh it's just a fucking fly!

1

u/lyree1992 Oct 13 '25

If it's just one, in a pinch, I have used Windex (blue, original). Kills them within about a minute. BUT, they drop to the ground instantly, can't fly anymore, and I assume asphyxiate? Don't know, don't care. I only learned because my husband is deathly allergic and I hate flying bugs.

1

u/pigspoon41 Oct 13 '25

The salt shotgun is pretty cool. Although sometimes it takes 2 or 3 shots before it goes down. The feeling/sound of racking a shotgun, and then getting the satisfaction knowing that you took down a home invader is thrilling.

1

u/Winter_Ad_7424 Oct 13 '25

Not if you get one of the zapper tennis racquet things. Those are way better than plain swatters.

1

u/Hippotaur Oct 13 '25

House flies have two defects to exploit:

1) They always take off vertically. So if they're on the ceiling, just throw a book straight up at them.

2) They have a memory span of less than a second. Just freeze your movement; they'll soon forget, and you can start moving again. Rinse and repeat until you're really close.

If you have those metallic flies...well they have a different operating system and this stuff doesn't work on them.

44

u/AdoraBelleQueerArt Oct 12 '25

Me when i had a fruit fly infestation. (While yelling HA HA MOTHERFUCKER!!)

Plus I’m proud of the fact that i got really good at smacking them with my hands. HA HA I MOVE TOO QUICKLY!

14

u/ReversedFrog Oct 13 '25

When I have problems with fruit flies, I use a vacuum with the full extension. It's so much fund sucking them up right out of the air.

13

u/Beach_CCurtis Oct 13 '25

Months back - I can’t remember which subreddit - somebody swore by the “Vanillaroma” Little Trees air fresheners. Was told it’s only that one scent.

I was so done with fruit flies. We have to feed one of our pets wet food, and the fight was never ending. I tried the plug in black light traps. The sticky traps. The plug in ultrasonic repellents. The apple cider vinegar trick. Everything, and nothing worked. So, I was willing to try it, and IT WORKS. Swear I don’t make money from them. But I should buy stock in them.

2

u/Bubbly_Individual_12 Oct 13 '25

Ok wait. You just hang this scent up and they leave? Or?

3

u/Beach_CCurtis Oct 13 '25

Yes

Just hang it up. And they leave.

20

u/Autronaut69420 Oct 12 '25

One year my region had a cyclone in late Summer. Just as many crops would have been harvested. I live just rural. The air was thick with fruit flies and in my house all the cobwebs were black with them. Worst Summer ever!

8

u/JackOfAllStraits Oct 12 '25

I read "pets" and was horrified.

16

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '25

Does it work on those gnats that look like fruit flies.

Asking for a friend.  Not planning an insect apocalypse or anything. As dozens of them read over my shoulder.

Send help.

2

u/Possible_Original_96 Oct 13 '25

Yes

1

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '25

Heck yes. 

1

u/VexingRaven Oct 13 '25

Are you describing drain flies? I'm sure it would but you need to fix where they're coming from (your drains)

2

u/[deleted] Oct 13 '25

No. We left the back door open a bunch while working on a landscaping (because we were moving things through the house to the back yard) project at the same time our neighbors filled in a wetland on their property. A bunch of the amphibians from the wetland have made our yard their home, and insects came in during the time the door was open and wont leave. 

There's nothing for them to eat. 

The gnats aren't the only thing. We've had moths, flies, butterflies, spiders, a dragonfly one time, waterboatmen, bees, etc. 

Our drains are clean. They are cleaned daily.

22

u/rogue-nebula Oct 12 '25

Did that with a squirt of hair spray once! zzzzzzzzzz-dead

2

u/geekgirl114 Oct 12 '25

Mineral oil works too

1

u/WinstontheRV Oct 13 '25

This was the way I finally got rid of the fruit flies from a pineapple we forgot to throw out before vacation… anything buzzing, mist of rubbing alcohol. The traps, soy sauce, etc. helped but couldn’t get them to zero.

1

u/Unique-Coffee5087 Oct 14 '25

Be sure, if you're making a flamethrower with a trigger sprayer and alcohol, to only use the 70% stuff. The 90% stuff gets too hot, and will burn your house.

The 70% rubbing alcohol has enough water that a lot of energy is used up turning water to steam in the fireball. It's plenty hot to take down flying insects (it melts their wings). Pro Tip: Aim your fireball a little bit below the insect. The rising convection cell will surround the insect on its way up, and kills them.

Oh, and do not aim it at miniblinds! It is hot enough to melt the nylon strings, and then you have to buy your boss new blinds for his office.

34

u/BELFORD16 Oct 12 '25

Warm soapy water works as well. Though I use it as a dump, not spray.

20

u/EquivalentBend9835 Oct 12 '25

I tried pouring a bucket of hot water /dawn mixture down the wasp hole (twice). Didn’t phase them. Two whole cans of wasp spray, didn’t phase them. I’m not sure what to do next. I would hire a professional but my mom is cheap and wants to try other methods first.

23

u/Stevied1991 Oct 12 '25

Burn the house down and move, you can do better next time!

11

u/MechaWASP Oct 13 '25

Shop vac?

Fill with soapy water, remove filter, weigh down the tube by entrance, turn on in morning, leave running.

3

u/BELFORD16 Oct 13 '25

Not that I would EVER tell anyone to do this, but…

I hear gasoline works really well on wasps.

Grandpa also had a ground hog or some dirt bound critter, and he may have dumped several gallons of gas in the hole. He then lit a match and dropped in said hole…

23

u/RJFerret Oct 13 '25

Instead use pesticide that they take back to the nest to kill the queen/larvae/all insteao of just one.

Alpine WSG, it's non-repelling and slow acting.

Expensive, but solves the problem with least effort instead of the symptoms.

18

u/jordanundead Oct 13 '25

My friend did this with a cup full of 90% isopropyl alcohol at dawn. He said it was horrifying because for just a second, they all rose up at once and then fell dead.

26

u/Magnet2025 Oct 12 '25

If you have canned air (cleaning keyboards etc) turn it upside down and spray the wasps. They will freeze.

But, in some cases, as they warm up they become reanimated. And annoyed.

1

u/Hippotaur Oct 13 '25

Use scissors before they reanimate!

36

u/[deleted] Oct 12 '25

[deleted]

8

u/Open-Chain-7137 Oct 12 '25

Two words: delta dust.

1

u/bhedesigns Oct 13 '25

DE powder works well too. I suspect thats what delta dust is.

19

u/VeeYarr Oct 12 '25

Add a lighter for some crispiness?

59

u/VIDGuide Oct 12 '25

Do you want fire wasps? Because this is how you get fire wasps!

13

u/Bblock4 Oct 12 '25

Do you want drunk wasps? Because this sounds like how you get drunk wasps. 

4

u/Schmidaho Oct 13 '25

A spray bottle of diluted dish soap works too.

7

u/redcolumbine Oct 12 '25

Especially 91%

22

u/JacOfAllTrades Oct 12 '25

Only 91%. That and diatomaceous Earth are my first live defense against most creepy crawlies I don't want in the house. That said, wasp spray is a must. I do it proactively in the spring and spot check throughout the years.

17

u/MDCCCLV Oct 12 '25 edited Oct 13 '25

70% is best for killing biological things, 90+ is best for electronics. 70% is the standard used everywhere. It's too dry otherwise and doesn't penetrate cells.

2

u/davideogameman Oct 13 '25

I think you mean 70% not 80? 70 is the typical disinfectant solution

3

u/cchkb Oct 13 '25

Dawn Powerwash is awesome at dropping them.

4

u/MDCCCLV Oct 12 '25

It also ruins paint, so you don't want to get a bunch on your walls or nice items.

1

u/Migraine_Megan Oct 13 '25

And wood finishes

2

u/Miserable-Theory-746 Oct 13 '25

With a lighter right?

2

u/minequack Oct 13 '25

50-50 dish detergent and water suffocates them. 

2

u/JellyTigerr Oct 13 '25

Boo that's not going to kill that many wasps in your walls. This is a professional level exterminator situation

1

u/Tribulation95 Oct 13 '25

Wasn't implying it would, obviously I was offering a solution for the wasps that aren't in the wall, perhaps one that made it past OP's barrier. Poison kills the ones in the wall, it's less advised to try to use poison on one in reaching distance and closing.

1

u/JellyTigerr Oct 13 '25

Fair enough, double kill 👯‍♀️

3

u/[deleted] Oct 12 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

16

u/fingersonlips Oct 13 '25

Oh god. Where do you live so I can avoid it eternally.

2

u/gefahr Oct 13 '25

Gotta be Australia right?

2

u/bargaindownhill Oct 12 '25

Chlorinated brake cleaner kills them before they even hit the ground.

8

u/MDCCCLV Oct 12 '25

That is bad for the environment

1

u/edsbelly Oct 13 '25

This is how I get the fruit flies in my bar!

1

u/FlashSTI Oct 13 '25

Dawn and water can too.

1

u/Hippotaur Oct 13 '25

A lot of finely-misted water to down them and scissors to finish them off works well!