We have problems with wasp nests every year. The build them in the space between our shutters and window screens. I have to keep the shutters closed because we don't have a way to fix them open. (That's something dh has promised to do somehow for over a year but hasn't, it's complicated because our windows are fairly high up and overlook an abandoned, overgrown lot.) I keep the louvers open to let in as much light as possible, so the wasps are free to come and go as they please. The screen rolls up from the bottom of the window, and last year the wasps built their nests at the bottom, so we couldn't open it at all. Sometimes I think I should just try to live in peace with the wasps, but I'd like to be able to adjust the louvers from time to time, or even just clean the shutters, but I can't do either if I can't open the screen.
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Is there anything I can do to make the space less hospitable to them? The two windows where this happens are in the kitchen and my dd's room, so I don't want to use anything toxic. Earlier today I played target practice with some vinegar in a spray bottle but it had little overall effect, though they were acting strangely for a while. My husband once tried to shock one of the nests with an electrical probe thing he has and it did absolutely nothing. There has to be something that will make them go away, I'm just hoping it doesn't involve buying lots of scary pesticides. Any suggestions?
