MetaChat - There's a wasp in my house! How to safely remove without killing it?

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01 August 2007

There's a wasp in my house! How to safely remove without killing it? I'm alone in the house and just noticed a wasp (or maybe hornet) in my office. The dogs and cats are dumb enough to try and eat it, and one dog is definitely allergic (almost died once).

So how do I get it out? I'm afraid to pick it up because I don't want to get stung. I also can't bear to smush it (I'm a buddhist).

It's on a soft surface (laptop bag) so I can't put a glass over it and slide paper underneath to trap it.

post by: desjardins at: 13:04 | 22 comments

Do you have plastic cups? They tend to be light enough that they work on lots of surfaces.

Can you open the window really wide and try to waft it out?

posted by occhiblu 01 August | 13:09

Open a window or door as wide as it can go, and point a fan at the wasp, in the direction of the window. Switch on fan, give bag a wee shake to get wasp airborne and it should follow the air current out of the room.

posted by essexjan 01 August | 13:09

In the absence of a fan, try a hairdryer to propel the wasp towards the window.

posted by essexjan 01 August | 13:10

Also, I find talking to insects (out loud or not) often helps. "You want to go outside, and I'm trying to help you do that. This is the way outside."

Maybe it just keeps *me* calm.

posted by occhiblu 01 August | 13:13

Plastic cup FTW. Thanks, I wasn't thinking clearly.

I did tell him that he'd be much happier outside, and he was, though I think I interrupted his nap.

posted by desjardins 01 August | 13:17

Awww. Sleepy wasp!

posted by occhiblu 01 August | 13:20

he was, seriously. He didn't move for about 20 minutes while I carefully watched him (a puff from the canned air assured me he was still alive). He only moved a bit when I put the clear cup on top. I took him outside and he was all "WTF", then he flew off when I removed the cup.

posted by desjardins 01 August | 13:29

Late to the party but... a handkerchief or a washcloth.
Also, I talk to insects too.

posted by mischief 01 August | 13:40

Don't they have some kind of vacuum you can use to suck up the insects and then release them outdoors?

posted by agropyron 01 August | 13:52

No-harm insect vacuum.

posted by agropyron 01 August | 13:54

They do, agropyron, but I don't own one.

posted by desjardins 01 August | 13:55

The one I linked is only $15 and doesn't kill 'em. I'd think any Buddhist would find it essential!

posted by agropyron 01 August | 13:57

Good point. I just moved to a more rural area - my last two apartments never had bugs, at least none that I felt I needed to get rid of.

posted by desjardins 01 August | 14:06

Put a martini and a pair of Topsiders on your front stoop, then open the door and gently rustle the Wall Street Journal.

Sorry... I'm sorry.

posted by Divine_Wino 01 August | 14:30

lol, Divine_Wino.

posted by Twiggy 01 August | 14:40

Divine_Wino, I'll save that for when I want to get rid of my fiancé for the night.

posted by desjardins 01 August | 14:41

Beautiful, bro. I'm in the main hive right now, this place smells of neckties and tennis balls; a thirty-minute blast of Naughty by Nature oughtta clear 'em all out.

I'm exempt by dint of my suit, undrycleaned after two months of every-other-day wear, and my commitment to civic unrest and boss-pantsing (when the time comes).

posted by Hugh Janus 01 August | 14:43

I've got one of those bug vacuums, I bought it last year when we actually had a summer and I kept getting crickets in the flat. It's great, and has deprived the cats of many a tasty snack.

posted by essexjan 01 August | 14:47

Make room as dark as possible. Open door to outside that's bright as possible. GO TOWARD THE LIGHT!

Always has worked for me in the past.

posted by WolfDaddy 01 August | 15:24

Whoa, Jan! That's the nuttiest cricket I've ever seen.

posted by youngergirl44 01 August | 18:28

late to the party, but you could have picked the entire bag up and set it down outside, poke it with a stick to get the beastie moving

posted by edgeways 01 August | 22:15

Beekeepers use smoke to stupefy bees. Might work on wasps, too.

posted by Eideteker 01 August | 23:30

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