Wasps around dishes for feral cats

[Antonio65]

One of the positions where I feed my feral cats is infested by wasps. I don't know where their nest is, but they smell the food the moment I arrive (and the food is still in the bag) and start swarming around me and the dishes.
I don't care about me, if they sting me, well, be it.
But I am worried about the cats, they could be stung and I couldn't help them because they never come close to me.
Is there a way to keep these wasps away?

 

[Kflowers]

we use Dawn dish detergent mixed with a little water 4/5 dawn 1/5 water in a spray bottle. Spray the wasps with it, soak them good. They will fall to the ground and you can step on them then. We haven't tried it on a nest, but this should clear the area for awhile. You may have to repeat every time you put the food out. The Dawn will not hurt the cats or other small animals, though you shouldn't spray them. This doesn't repel the wasps, it kills them, but you need to really soak them. We were getting them in the house and wanted something safe around the cats.

I would put a little food down, wait for the wasps and kill them, then put more food down. I wish I'd known about the dish detergent thing when the ants took over the stray's food and wouldn't go away no matter what.

 

[Antonio65]

Must look for this dish detergent, I don't think it's popular here in Italy. Or any dish detergent is good anyway?

Does it work on ants too?
Because my problem #2 is ants!

 

[Kflowers]

I haven't actually tried it on ants, just wished I'd at least had the chance. Usually, instant grits (dry comes in a box, maybe expensive in Italy) sprinkled by their mound will get them to move. That wasn't something I wanted to try near where the kittens were.

I don't know if they have that detergent in Europe, they use it to wash off wildlife that's gotten in oil spills so maybe. You could look it up on line and see what the ingredients are and if you could match them with something you have.

It's really good to have something that isn't out and out poison to use.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I have heard Palmolive will also work - but tbh, probably most any dish soap will do the trick since you aren't actually using it on the cats.

As far as ants go, have you already tried placing the food dishes in a low sided tray that is filled with water (acts like a moat). That is if you are not talking about ant mounds - then you could try the above referenced grit trick.

 

[Antonio65]

As far as ants go, have you already tried placing the food dishes in a low sided tray that is filled with water (acts like a moat). That is if you are not talking about ant mounds - then you could try the above referenced grit trick.

I tried that trick too, but the water gets murky and smelly in a short time in the heat of summer, and it's a perfect nursing place for mosquitoes.
I should replace that water at least twice a day.

 

[Kflowers]

Remember it is soap and if you use it inside and it spills on the floor, which is okay, wipe it up because it will be a slippery spot.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I tried that trick too, but the water gets murky and smelly in a short time in the heat of summer, and it's a perfect nursing place for mosquitoes. I should replace that water at least twice a day.

I wonder if it would help to add a drop or two of dish soap to the 'moat water'?

 

[Antonio65]

Remember it is soap and if you use it inside and it spills on the floor, which is okay, wipe it up because it will be a slippery spot.

The position I'm talking about is outside, away from other pathways.

 

[terricacatwood]

Do you feed your ferals at a particular time of day? Do you feed them once or twice a day? And are you feeding them wet food or dry food or both? I have a wasp problem at my house where I feed two ferals. Wasps are important pollinators so I do what I can to manage the situation without killing them. Since I feed the ferals twice daily, during wasp season for the cats’ morning feeding I just put out dry food which doesn’t seem to attract the wasps. When I feed their second feeding I try to wait until dusk as the wasps go away then, and that’s when the ferals get their wet food. If you’re limited to when you can feed them could you either just feed them dry food or try to feed them closer to dark until the wasp season passes? I’ve also heard of people putting out a “decoy” food for wasps that’s in between where the wasps emerge from and where the food they’re attracted to is (people do this when they’re having outdoor BBQ gatherings in the summer to keep wasps away from the food). Maybe if you feed your cats wet food you could perhaps take the can of wet food and leave just a little bit of the food in it and place it near to where the wasps are, and place the feral cats food further away from that? I’ve never tried that method so I don’t know if it would be helpful or not.

 

[Antonio65]

I feed them once a day, early morning, between 8 and 9 am, dry food only.
The colony is at my workplace, so I am more comfortable feeding them in the morning.

I can tell that these wasps love dry food, and I see some of them trying to take a kibble away but the load weight was too much for them.

 

[furmonster mom]

Many years ago a boyfriend and I went camping. The spot he chose was inundated with yellow jackets.
So we created a trap…
We took a large deep cup and filled it about a quarter way with water. Added a few drops of dish soap to the water.
Then we set the bait
We tied a chunk of fish with some string and dangled it from a stick halfway down into the cup.
The wasps gorged themselves on the meat, and fell into the soapy water. Since the soap breaks the water tension, they were unable to get out, and they drowned.
We did have to empty and reset the trap a few times, but within 24 hrs our campsite was wasp free.

 

[catsknowme]

We have yellow jackets (aka carrion bees/ meat bees) and it helps to put out a decoy. A tiny bit of raw meat often attracts them away from the cat food; the wasps like old,rotten meat that cats won't eat. Dish soap in the water is very effective against ants because ants breathe through spiracles along their abdomens; the soap breaks down the protective waxy coating of their exoskeleton as well as clogging their spiracles. With plain water, ants close their spiracles to avoid drowning for hours; our fellow TCS members have sent me photos of floating balls of ants, including fire ants , surviving hurricane floods.

 

[Jcatbird]

Around here the wasps do go after cat food but also love humming bird feeders. They are simply filled with a sugar water and might be a way to get certain types of wasps to go elsewhere. Since you don’t want birds eating near them, you can make a wasp trap out of an old soft drink or plastic water bottle. You cut the top third of the bottle off. Remove the cap and turn the top part of the bottle upside down and place it in the bottom part of the bottle. Pour sugar water or something like Coca Cola in the bottom of the bottle but don’t fill the whole space. Because the wasp flies in through the funnel like opening to drink, they have trouble finding their way out and drown. I have read that is you don’t want honey bees to go in, use the sugar water and put a teaspoon of vinegar in it. Not sure if that keeps bees out though. Removing the dead wasps will keep new ones from climbing up the dead ones to escape. Late in the season wasps do look for sugary foods. Early in the season you may need to add a protein like cat food but it should help and these are easy to make so many can be placed around if needed.
The water most worked for me with ants. A little dish soap of any type does help. Ants will link to each other to bridge a flood so the soap makes a difference.

 

[Antonio65]

We have yellow jackets (aka carrion bees/ meat bees) and it helps to put out a decoy. A tiny bit of raw meat often attracts them away from the cat food; the wasps like old,rotten meat that cats won't eat. Dish soap in the water is very effective against ants because ants breathe through spiracles along their abdomens; the soap breaks down the protective waxy coating of their exoskeleton as well as clogging their spiracles. With plain water, ants close their spiracles to avoid drowning for hours; our fellow TCS members have sent me photos of floating balls of ants, including fire ants , surviving hurricane floods.

Yellow jackets seem to be what I have here. Actually they're nearly the only kind of wasps I have ever seen.
The place where I feed the cats isn't property of mine, I would avoid anything that I could be blamed for, like old meat or else.
I often find drowned ants and wasps in the water bowls of my ferals, so it seems that ants can drown in plain water too.

 

[DorasCats]

I have heard Palmolive will also work - but tbh, probably most any dish soap will do the trick since you aren't actually using it on the cats.

As far as ants go, have you already tried placing the food dishes in a low sided tray that is filled with water (acts like a moat). That is if you are not talking about ant mounds - then you could try the above referenced grit trick.

I put the food dish in a larger dish filled with water. It actually worked. No ants. Thank you for this suggestion.

 

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

One of the positions where I feed my feral cats is infested by wasps. I don't know where their nest is, but they smell the food the moment I arrive (and the food is still in the bag) and start swarming around me and the dishes.
I don't care about me, if they sting me, well, be it.
But I am worried about the cats, they could be stung and I couldn't help them because they never come close to me.
Is there a way to keep these wasps away?

I wonder if just the simple act of running a fan near the food will drive them away? It might be worth a shot as a last resort.

 

[Kristin_Happy Texan]

Must look for this dish detergent, I don't think it's popular here in Italy. Or any dish detergent is good anyway?

Does it work on ants too?
Because my problem #2 is ants!

Ants (and the heat) are the bane of my existence where I live, and with feeding a feral and her kittens it was AWFUL!!!!!! What finally worked for me, at least most of the time - not always - was filling a large dish with water. (I used a glass pie pan and those cheap throw-away foil pans). Inside the bowl/pan with the water, place their food bowl.

Spreading Vaseline on the bowls can help as well, but I wasn't a fan of that because it was so messy.

It also helps to have their food and water away from the grass. (The ants were instantly in the food if it was on the grass). What worked best for me was placing the water bowl/food bowl on a folding table I had on the ground with diatomaceous earth thrown on top of the table. (Especially beneath the actual bowls. Just move the table around, as eventually ants will make ant beds under the table).

The best thing I did - that worked most of the time - was placing those water/food bowl inside an old tv stand that I had. (Just those boring black ones you can get at Walmart, etc for placing your printers on). I just took out the shelf, to give them more room, and it not only kept their food bowls off the ground but it offered them some shade... which was desperately needed where we live.

I would also be sure that whenever you refill their food and water, make sure none of it spilled on the ground b/c the ants and spiders will go right to it. (We live in the country and the ants, bugs, critters... they're always around).

 

[Antonio65]

It also helps to have their food and water away from the grass. (The ants were instantly in the food if it was on the grass). What worked best for me was placing the water bowl/food bowl on a folding table I had on the ground with diatomaceous earth thrown on top of the table. (Especially beneath the actual bowls. Just move the table around, as eventually ants will make ant beds under the table).

The dishes and bowls aren't directly on the dirt/grass, they are on a plastic platform three centimetres thick. That is a great thing because it helps me keep the place clean with a wet wipe, but isn't enough to keep the insects away.

I would also be sure that whenever you refill their food and water, make sure none of it spilled on the ground b/c the ants and spiders will go right to it. (We live in the country and the ants, bugs, critters... they're always around).

That is what I always do, but cats are messy, and when they eat they always drop something on the ground, leaving baits for ants and the like.

 

[Antonio65]

In the last two weeks, the weather has changed a bit. It rained about ten days ago, the first rain since May. Something has changed after that, wasps and ants have disappeared overnight.
In the last few days I have been able to feed my cats without having the wasps around me and the dishes, and I saw no ants in the dishes.
At the moment I can say that the problem has temporarily disappeared. Let's wait ad see next year.