Steps to keep your pool free of biting bugs and wasps

Steps to keep your pool free of biting bugs and wasps

When your family is around the swimming pool, the last thingyou want to worry about is getting stung by bees, yellow jackets, hornets or wasps. Because there is food and sweet, sugary drinks around most pool decks, wasps are drawn to it. Additionally, even the wood the deck is made from can attract bees that burrow into the wood itself.

It's best to divert wasps and keep them away from the pool than to have to worry about anyone being stung and having to deal with an infestation.

Here are some tips to keep your pool bee free:

Keep food and drink and spills to a minimum. If there is a spill or a pool of melted popsicle, clean it up, rinse the area and clean with a bit of soap to make it unattractive to the stinging insects.

If you find wasps hovering around the swimming pool, find the source and determine what kind of bees you are dealing with. Hornets make bubble shaped nests and they are attached to the sides of trees or buildings such as your deck. Paper wasps build funnel shaped nests under eaves, or in the corners of your deck. Yellow jackets nest underground or in rock walls. Bees typically return to their nests an hour before sunset, track their movements so you can find the source.

Invest in some home improvement store insecticide. You can typically buy a can for about $10 and it will offer about five treatments for the nests.

Spray only when there are no children in the area. Make certain you cover your pool to keep the insecticide out of it and if you have any vegetables growing in the area, cover them before you spray.

Once you're done spraying, wash down all pool and deck fixtures and furniture in case the wind carried it.

Follow the directions on the can but spray the nests after the sun has gone down and the wasps are settled in. Most of bee sprays have a long term spray range of about 20 feet so you won't have to get close to the nests.

Avoid the nest area for two days to make certain the bees are dead. Follow the instructions on the spray can for removal and disposal of the nest.

There is a "green" method of ridding your yard of wasps if you're interested in trying it. Hang a steak from a tree branch downwind of the nest and put a bucket of soapy water under the meat. The wasps will eat the meat, then fall into the bucket where the soap in the water washes away the wax on their coats and they drown.

Wasps are unfortunate visitors to your pool but with care and attention you can rid your yard of them and enjoy the pool without worrying about getting stung.

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