Cheap, safe, effective wasp spray

It's summertime in North Carolina and 'tis the season for our old friends the wasps. Yes, it seems they materialize out of thin air and for some reason or another we have more than our fair share at my house. I suspect the reason is due to the fact we probably have a Buick sized wasp nest in the attic, but to be frank I am too afraid to look up there.

There are plenty outside, which is generally fine with me as I don't spend a lot of time outside in the superheated humid air. Unfortunately, we will occasionally see one in the house and that can make for a bad time.

A couple of years ago I serendipitously found a wasp killer that doesn't cost a lot, is safe around humans, pets, and food, and knocks those suckers right out of the air. Simple Green. Yup, you know the stuff. I am particularly fond of their engine degreaser, which I usually keep a spray bottle of a dilute mix handy in my shop.

One day I heard the telltale buzzing sound of wasp wings beating against my fluorescent shop lights. I really don't know why they do it, but wasps apparently break into my house and beat their wings against my lights. Fascinating behavior really.  Anyway, I did not have anything handy to swat the wasp with (do you realize how hard it is to kill one??) so I grabbed my bottle of Simple Green. I tweaked the spray from a mist to a more directive pattern and gave him a couple of squirts. He dropped right off the light in a fit of anger, but the little devil seemed to be generally immobilized and flightless. That of course allowed me to dispatch him to Wasp Heaven with a step of my shoe on the concrete floor and that was that.

I've sprayed it at wasps and they have literally dropped from the air. I am really not sure if it kills them or just removes their ability to fly and walk correctly, but either way a solution of Simple Green gives me the upper hand in man-versus-stinging insect faceoffs.

The best part is that it does not have any cholinesterase inhibitors as do most insecticides. What is cholinesterase, you may ask? It is an enzyme that helps break down acetylcholine into acetic acid and choline, and is crucial for proper nervous system operation. Without it your nervous system either goes haywire or in to a state of paralysis. To give you an idea, weaponized nerve agents such as VX, Sarin, Tabun, and many others are cholinesterase inhibitors. Oh, and some venomous snakes produce cholinesterase inhibitors too. Personally, I'd rather not be spraying nerve agent all in my house but instead a shot or two of Simple Green seems to be more effective. And, it smells so much better.