What I didn’t see that day was the work it would take to keep that perfect yard looking perfect. Over the past year we’ve found the largest paper hornet’s nest we’d ever seen, had mosquitos take over a summer party, had squirrels burrow throughout all of our flower beds and grass and some critter stole our grape tomatoes. Like I said in our last post, first time homeownership can be downright overwhelming.
A little while back I spotted another (much smaller) hornet’s nest and felt it was time to finally figure out how to control these outdoor pests.
Just as with the inside of the home, a smart way to take care of exterior pests is good lawn maintenance. Mow your yard regularly, clear out piles of leaves and dead branches and move stacks of fire wood and other debris away from the house where insects hide.
Really, your goal is to make your back yard as undesirable of a place as possible for these pests to live.
While I take many steps to help prevent pests, I did recently have a hornet issue that required immediate attention so I wanted to see what products Raid had to offer. I went to raidkillsbugs.com and found this helpful page on how to attack, control and prevent hornets as well as an equally helpful video on what to do to kill the entire nest. Â
Here’s what I learned: The key is to wait until either dusk or dawn when the hornet activity is minimal.  Then grab your Raid® Wasp and Hornet Killer 33, stand a safe distance from the nest and not directly underneath it. Hold the can as upright as possible and point the spray opening toward the nest with the wind at your back. Make sure you spray until the nest is thoroughly saturated to kill the entire nest population and then exist the area immediately. Don’t return to the area until all sprays have dried and wait at least 24 hours before removing the nest.
The spray will kill the hornets in the nest and ones that return soon after. Other tips and tricks from our partners at Raid® to help avoid wasp and hornet infestations include:
- Inspect screens for holes and loose edges that may allow wasps and hornets to enter.
- Keep a tight-fitting lid on garbage cans to avoid attracting yellow jackets.
- Cover exposed food and drinks when eating outdoors.
- Inspect eaves, overhangs, and roofs for new nests and spray as soon as they are found.
To learn how to outsmart the bugs in your home and achieve targeted pest control, create your own customized Raid® Defense System at Raidkillsbugs.com.
This post was sponsored by Raid®. All opinions are ours alone.
