How Effective Is TikTok's New Hack to Kill Wasps Instantly? Let's Take a Look

Stinging insects such as wasps can be a nuisance during the summer months, especially if they decide to build their nest on the ceiling of your porch. If you have a wasp nest you want to get rid of, there is a hack for killing wasps instantly circulating on TikTok that appears to be pretty effective.

In a TikTok video posted by Kylie Gonzalez (@kyliejordan998) on June 26, 2023, she and her husband show off their hack for instantly killing a wasp's nest by testing the hack on a nest attached to their home. Here's what you need to know about this viral hack, plus other ways to get rid of pesky wasps instantly.

In the video posted on June 26, 2023, Kylie’s husband holds a clear plastic cup that is about a quarter-full of a clear liquid.

“Excuse my husband's foul mouth, will never get rid of wasp nest another way again!” Kylie wrote in the video caption.

Kylie’s husband reveals the liquid in the cup is gasoline. He walks over to a wasp nest hanging under the house's eaves. The nest has several wasps on it and larvae in the pockets of the nest. He holds the cup up to the soffit and over the nest so that no wasps can get out and no air can get in.

Almost instantly, the wasps fall one by one into the gasoline in the cup. He then nudges the nest with the cup's rim until it too falls into the gasoline. Once the nest is in the gasoline, the larvae fall out of the pockets in the nest.

Kylie gasps, and both she and her husband appear amazed at how quickly the wasps met their demise. He holds up the cup, showing all the dead wasps and larvae at the bottom of the cup. “I kinda feel bad,” he said.

Using gasoline to kill yellow jackets and other wasps instantly works well. According to House Digest, the wasps are asphyxiated by the fumes and drop into the gasoline, killing them instantly.

However, the problem with using gasoline is how to dispose of it after you’ve used it to kill the wasps. Gasoline must be disposed of at a hazardous waste facility that accepts it.

Thankfully, there are several other, more environmentally friendly ways to eliminate wasps and their nests than gasoline.

Another option to kill wasps instantly without using hazardous materials such as gasoline or toxic wasp spray is to use 91 percent isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol rapidly dehydrates wasps, killing them very quickly, says Nick of the YouTube channel NICKELGANHDI.

Dish soap, such as the brand Dawn, is effective in killing wasps, according to Bath Garden Center & Nursery. The soap suffocates wasps by clogging their spiracles, the pores they breathe through. However, dish soap should only be used on smaller hanging nests.

TikToker Ceith Griffith recommends making a homemade wasp spray with 10 ounces of water and two ounces of Dawn dish soap.

You can also use peppermint oil to kill or repel wasps. The Spruce suggests you can combine peppermint oil with dish soap as an effective repellant or use on the nests.

According to wikiHow, you can make a natural wasp spray by mixing one tablespoon of peppermint oil with 16 ounces of water. Spray the liquid on the wasps and their nests.

If you don’t have rubbing alcohol, dish soap or peppermint oil handy, you still kill wasps instantly by pouring boiling water on them and their nest, reports BobVila.com.