Bad year for wasp nests...

recycled sixtie · recycled sixtie's Garage

as it has been so dry. The latest one we had under the deck. I sprayed between the gap in the boards right at the nest and covered the deck with a tarp. Half an hour later there was no activity. As I could see the nest I cut it down with a knife. I got lucky and never got stung.

Two days later a girlfriend of my daughter has wasp nests in her rental property. One under the front wooden outdoor stairs and another under the rear door stairs. I have said to her if the quote from a professional is reasonable then go for it. I cannot even see where the nests are.

What are your experiences with wasp nests? Do you neutralize them yourself?

sammyg2 · 07-11-2021, 05:37 PM

Sorry, can't help. We don't have bugs here.

masraum · 07-11-2021, 05:47 PM

I usually keep a can or two of wasp and hornet killer around and spray when I see them.

If yippy want to spray something that will kill all of the bugs where you spray for a period of time, get some Demon WP. It kills everything but isn't that dangerous to us and pets once it's dry.

Dantilla · 07-11-2021, 09:00 PM

Nothing kills wasps as quickly as a squirt of brake cleaner.

HobieMarty · 07-12-2021, 02:08 AM

I sprayed one the other day with some pb blaster, lol. The ones that survived started building a new nest right beside the old one. I've just been watching it , though the wife wants it gone.

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KFC911 · 07-12-2021, 02:40 AM

I keep a can of hornet/wasp spray in my truck within handy reach... shoots a 20-25' stream and drops 'em instantly. Though it would be a VERY last resort, it will also drop a human too ... those neurotoxins are nasty bidness.

cgarr · cgarr's Garage

Just put up some decoy nests it will keep them from building a nest near it. We put these up to keep the carpenter bees away.

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masraum · 07-12-2021, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgarr

Just put up some decoy nests it will keep them from building a nest near it. We put these up to keep the carpenter bees away.

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Interesting.

I've never actually seen a nest of that type in person. The closest that I've seen to that type was in the Amazon.

Otherwise, what I normally see is this sort of thing.

sammyg2 · 07-12-2021, 11:47 AM

john70t · 12:05 PM

There are different types of wasps. Some are beneficial.

I usually leave them alone after seeing them munch on the asparagus bug larva.
One year I had a couple small nests inside the garage near the eves. No problems. They buzzed once at night.

I did get stung by a honeybee the other week while walking down the drive with an orange leaf blower.
It hurt and swelled up for a day. The first sting in many decades with sticking my hands between dozens.

Dog once got stung by a dozen ground bees which are normally very docile. I don't know what happened there.

masraum · 07-12-2021, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john70t

There are different types of wasps. Some are beneficial.

I usually leave them alone after seeing them munch on the asparagus bug larva.
One year I had a couple small nests inside the garage near the eves. No problems. They buzzed once at night.

I did get stung by a honeybee the other week while walking down the drive with an orange leaf blower.
It hurt and swelled up for a day. The first sting in many decades with sticking my hands between dozens.

Dog once got stung by a dozen ground bees which are normally very docile. I don't know what happened there.

We are in the country, tons and tons of various types of bees and wasps. We have some mason bee houses. Apparently, the mason bees are great at pollinating (better than honey bees, I've read).

We have tons of mud dobbers. I don't worry about them.

The other day I saw a tarantula hawk which was pretty cool. It was easily 2-3 inches long, but then I guess if you use tarantulas for baby food, you probably need to be bigger than a regular wasp.

If I see paper wasps in spots that are too close to us, I'll spray them as they will protect their nest by stinging, and I'm not looking forward to having the grandkids (2 and 5) stung by a wasp on my watch.

For most critters, I'm a live and let live kind of guy as long as we all stick to our own stuff. snakes and scorpions should stay outside of and away from the house. tarantulas are also fine as long as they are outside of and away from the house.