I'm fighting a neverending battle against these little buggers. I know they're harmless but I'm constantly trying to clean their nests off my house. Especially on the back patio.

Are there any sorts of repellents or measures I can take to deter them from covering my house in their nests?

Leave them alone if they are at the front door. Wasps are the best door to door salesman repellent I've ever seen.

Years ago when I lived in the Houston area, some wasps built a nest under the overhang above my door. They didn't bother me so I left it alone. After three or four years, that nest was huge.

One thing that I noticed on occasion was that I'd see someone walking up the sidewalk to the door. I'd go to the door expecting them to ring the doorbell but they never did. I'd look out the window and there would be nobody around.

At first I thought I was seeing things, but after a while it became clear -- when they saw the wasps flying around and that big nest under the door, the door to door salesmen would do a really hasty retreat.

Every once in a while they would get a little territorial. As I'd be walking up to the door they would sometimes bump into me to warn me away. When it got to the point one year that they were doing that every time I approached the door, I finally went to the store and got some spray.

[This message has been edited by eric76 (edited 7/28/2012 1:20p).]

As far as ceilings of porches or carports; paint them a "sky blue" color and the daubers will not build a nest on them; wasps either.We painted our carport ceiling this color and have never had a nest in it. Don't have an answer for eaves though.

I've heard this works for swallows, too. Any experience?

Not sure about swallows, but nothing has tried to build a nest. There is a paint store here in Bryan that has a color they call "Wasp Blue" for this purpose.

Ya seen it work for swallows.

But they see color, we are pretty sure insects don't so the blue thing being a wasp deterrent is probably a lucky happenstance.

Haint blue.

There is a product called Vikor that my dad used on his boat dock. One spray and no more spiders or wasps for the season.

Backstrap...sure its not "Viper?"

Brush....you could be right. I just googled both Viper and Vikor and both look potent.

If dad was still alive I'd ask him....but alas.

Friend has a house with boathouse on Cedar Creek and the locals told him to use Viper on the spiders in the boathouse...I use Demon WP but will look for both of those others to see if they work better or have a better residual.

Agree with the light blue paint. Look at the porches in old historic districts. Blue ceilings, and not a spider, or wasp nest to be seen.

Mud daubers. They eat black and brown widows.

Try an extremely low amount of rainfall for about 24 months.

:-(

Have to have mud to build a nest...