Decking/wasps

[DeusXM]

My new property has a natural wood (unstained) decking.

My property also appears to be in close proximity to a wasp nest - as a result, there are almost always a few wasps rasping away and the wood and the entire decking is essentially covered with scrape marks.

I'm dealing with the wasp nest separately, but is there anything I can do with the decking to make it less attractive to them?

Apologies, I'm a complete DIY novice. My assumption is I'd need to sand the decking down (and get a pressure washer on the mossy bits) and then I'd like to stain it with a nicer colour. Would woodstain repel wasps anyway - or is there something else I need to use? For instance, is there a woodstain that is specifically designed to repel bugs, or is there an additive I can mix in with woodstain to get the same effect?

 

[sodthisforfun]

Yeah, wood stain should help, can't imagine that's all that appealing to wasps. Worth a try, esp if you're going to get rid of the nest.

If that doesn't work, Barlow wasp solution is the only stuff I know of, but would work out expensive on decking.

 

[foxhole]

Decking oil is better than the woodstain which washes off. You will make far more scratched with footfall than any wasps.

 

[conny]

Wasps will go after bare wood so applying any sort of protection all round will deter most of them. Don't forget to do the end grain as well. If the decking is raised off the ground you will need to protect the underneath as well or prevent the wasps gaining access under there by some other means.