Ready for WASPS??

Look at the face of that creature! Just this picture itself freaks me out!!! Did I mention that I have a pretty bad phobia of Bees?? No, not Honey Bees. Wasps, Hornets, and Yellow Jackets. I love Spring and Summer, but hate these flying around when I'm trying to enjoy the outdoors. When we bought this house, there were quite a few "nests" gone untreated around our house. One in particular was conveniently located in our RV parking area that went into our crawl space. We'd see 3 or 4 wasps flying in and out constantly. Luckily Alex's twin brother Lance works in Pesticide and "took care" of that problem for us. Of course it was not without HUGE effort. The first time he attempted spraying the nest, he went into the crawl space, used one of my brooms to pull back the insulation, and BOOM...Attack! He came scrambling out of that crawl space so fast, I could hear him throughout the house. When the weather got cooler, he came back all geared up in a suit. He said the nest was about the size of a BASKETBALL!!! Ikes!

Ok, so onto my point. We have this Fabulous Rainbow Playset that my Aunt bought in 1994. It has basically sat at my Grandparents house rotting for several years unassembeled. We are currently using it and love it. The biggest downside is that the wood is so old and hasn't ever been re-sealed. So the Wasps LOVE IT too. They basically like to chew up the old wood and make their paper nests with it. There are also a bunch of holes in it that need plugged up, because they like to hide out during cooler hours. So GOAL #1 this Spring for me (before the baby comes), power wash, plug, and re-stain the whole playset. I'm hoping to start this week while the weather is warming up. I'm hoping this process will keep the wasps away. We haven't had any stings yet, but I don't really want a first. Wish me luck!