wasps attacking timber decking

[Brian Deakin]

I live in the united Kingdom Can anyone provide advice on preventing wasps attacking timber decking

So far the only products I can find in the Uk contain Permethrin

Example below


N-Virol Woodworm Killer Concentrate 1Ltr is a Microemulsion concentrate which when mixed with 24 litres of clean water provides 25Ltrs of solution.

Prevents and eradicates common furniture beetle and other insect attacks in timber.

For professional use only. Concentrated insecticide 0.2%w/w Permethrin on dilution.

Can anyone please advise would this product also help prevent wasp attack on decking

[Wayne Lomman]

Is permethrin a problem? Cheers

[Conrad Fiore]

I'm not understanding your problem.
Are the insects building nests that hang from the deck, or are they drilling holes in the wood?
If they are drilling holes then you have a carpenter bee problem. GOOGLE carpenter bee traps that is really the only way to deal with them besides painting all the wood.

[Lee Schierer]

GOOGLE carpenter bee traps that is really the only way to deal with them besides painting all the wood.

In my experience carpenter bees don't care if the wood is painted or not.

Permethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide. Pyrethroids are synthetic compounds made to mimic the pyrethrins that are isolated from chrysanthemum flowers. Permethrin is a broad spectrum, non-systemic, synthetic pyrethroid insecticide that targets adults and larvae of many species of biting, chewing, scaling, soil, and flying invertebrates.

[John K Jordan]

I'm not understanding your problem.
Are the insects building nests that hang from the deck, or are they drilling holes in the wood?
If they are drilling holes then you have a carpenter bee problem. GOOGLE carpenter bee traps that is really the only way to deal with them besides painting all the wood.

I came up with a way to get rid of carpenter bees that works. I made a 10' extension for a garden sprayer with a piece of copper tubing. I mix up a solution of Sevin in water using the "liquid" version. When the bees are active, I stick the nozzle into the hole and pump it full of Sevin. If it is an older hole it might be connected to another one and I pump until liquid runs out somewhere. This coats the inside of the cavity with the insecticide.

Any females in the holes will immediately come out and drop to the ground and die. Any entering later will get the insecticide on them. Any that hatch will be exposed on the way out.

When I moved into this timber frame house I went from many dozens of carpenter bees one year to maybe 5 or 6 the next year using this method. In the fall, you can plug the holes with steel wool then caulk. The bees will dig through caulk alone.

BTW, carpenter bees make large holes. I have on occasion seen other wasp-like insects make much smaller holes in wood.

JKJ

[Matt Day]

When I moved into this timber frame house I went from many dozens of carpenter bees one year to maybe 5 or 6 the next year using this method. In the fall, you can plug the holes with steel wool then caulk. The bees will dig through caulk alone.


I was told by my local exterminator, after taking care of a bees nest in the eave of my house, that plugging a hole of active bees could make them turn around and start boring a hole into the house. He said wait until there was no activity (a couple weeks) then plug the hole.

[Stan Calow]

Brian, I don't think permethrin is permitted and sold for uses like that in the US so we don't have the experience. Borate compounds are what are often used. For wood decks in the US, commonly we use wood that is pressure treated with a metal (copper, formerly arsenic) compound that keeps bugs away. We also can buy that metal compound in liquid form to paint on wood, but its an ugly bright bluish-green color and not as effective as the pre-treated kind.

[John K Jordan]

From the US gov regs: Permethrin is registered for use on/in numerous food/feed crops, livestock and livestock housing, modes of transportation, structures, buildings (including food handling establishments), Public Health Mosquito abatement programs, and numerous residential use sites including use in outdoor and indoor spaces, pets, and clothing (impregnated and ready to use formulations).

Permethrin is an ingredient in many horse fly spray products. I buy it concentrated from a farm store.

The Manna Pro web site faq addresses safety: So, are these chemicals safe? Pyrethrins and Permethrin are both classified as “Restricted Use Pesticides” by the EPA, which means that their use in products is restricted to certified manufacturers. That said, they are considered relatively non-toxic to mammals (including humans). Because pyrethrin is derived of a natural source (the chrysanthemum flower) it is readily biodegradable when exposed to oxygen, moisture and sunlight, so are not considered particularly dangerous to the environment. Permethrin also breaks down fairly easily and is not associated with any significant environmental issues. Manna Pro is trying to sell insecticides so they may be slanting this a bit, I don't know.

JKJ

[Stan Calow]

What I meant was that there are specific products sold in the UK for wood protection (like Tribor) that contain permethrin, but I don't see similar products with permethrin for wood protection here in the US. So US members not likely to have experience to answer the question. Certainly permethrin is used for a lot of things here in the US but may not be labelled specifically for wood protection.