I hate wasps!!! (NOT white anglo saxon protestant)
 

I am trying to paint my house trim and the wasps are getting in my way. I have eradicated all the external nests under the eaves but there are others living inside the house trim. I have emptied 3 cans of hornet spray so far in the cracks trying to kill them but they just laugh at me. These buggers just come out of the cracks when I try to scrape and paint. I was up on the ladder on the 2 story part of the house painting when once came out of a crack and stung me on the ear. I screamed like a little girl and jumped off the ladder.

I hate these dang things and need them out of the house ASAP. What should I do?

Speedy:)

Fire!

Clark, we need you.

You must get into the wasp's mind, you must become one with the wasp, learn their ways, only then can you vanquish them from your home.
(has a mental picture of Speedy sitting in a yoga pose, trying to communicate with the wasp)
hahahaha

pretty much the only critter that makes me run and scream like a girl. wasp.

High pressure washer, get 'r done.

Yesteray I was weldng a couple metal cabinets together in the garage and felt something brush my arm a couple times. I'd forgotten there was a couple of small wasps nests a foot away, and one was reminding me. The others stayed on the hive.
Their behavior varies from place to place, but in general insects will first try to chase you away with some noisy divebombing before stinging.

On a daily basis in the garden, I reach between flowers covered with bumblebees/wasps/etc.. and pick tomoatoes and dead leaves. No problem.
I think people excrete adrenaline through their skin when frightened, and it makes the incects defensive/aggressive.


Japanese beetles and sparrows on the other hand, I will destoy with relish.

Having ignited a soffit on one wasp expedition, I cannot recommend this technique.

Yes, alcohol was involved....

are there any kids near you that you don't like? tell them you will pay them $50 per hour for scarping paint...


Ok - you either need to gas the wasps when they emerge (keep a can handy while up there scraping)

or attract them somewhere and then "git em" - what kind of wasps are they? what do they eat? will they be attracted to a hornet's trap?

Don't all good solutions start off that way?

i think Rwebb is correct...you need a wasp trap.

I am normally not afraid of them but being 15 feet up on a ladder changes things a little. I normally am "one with the wasps" but they are forgetting who pays the mortgage on the house they are squatting in.

Gas is a bad idea as I like my home and being out in the country it would take a good 20 minutes before a fire tanker truck gets here.

Rwebb,
When you see the wasps emerge it is already to late. Have you ever tried to hit a pissed off wasps with thin stream of Raid? It is indeed hard. They can pull evasive maneuvers better than a Mig fighter jet.

I will have to check into the wasp trap if my "plan E" doesn't work tonight.

Speedy:)

Just got stung by a hornet in my face (temple) while on a ladder 2 hours ago. I evicted one huge hornet's nest from an eve on that big house that I posted pictures of recently, never occurred to me that they would simply form smaller sleeper-cells on various parts of the house. (Eves). Man it hurt, I'm usually pretty quick at slapping them, (they're actually quite slow compared to flies), but he got the drop on me the little bastard.

Wait until after dark when they are all in the nest and whack em with one of those wasp sprays. I had a swarm of hornets in an underground nest last fall that got my wife and I while gardening. She got stung about 20 times and came running to me screaming. The one time in my life I could turn the hose on her and get away with it! They got me too, about a dozen times. I waited til dark and got them all while they were sleeping.

Wait until they start itching!

at crack of dawn plan "E" will be executed. Plan "E" is my 5th attempt and calls for a full blown assault using 3 full cans of Raid hornet spray.

If this doesn't work I will go with plan F which includes purchasing some window screen mesh and constructing a wasp suit using my fedora, 1 piece foul weather sailing gear, boots, and gloves and I will just paint in that.

Speedy:)

they wake up pretty early best before dawn.

you need to wear some protective gear - then you can track them with the spray can as they circle out further from you

also - don't get the long distance thin stream spray - get the short distance Phalanx air defense they got past my damn fighter wing spray...

I gotta tell ya tho - the sprays are neurotoxins - they are BAD for YOU.
but good for nasty teenagers....

one more trick - high pressure hose - spray them late at night and just food the H out of wherever they are

or... call a PROF. Exterminator. IF the things are way down inside your wall that is what will really be required anyway.

Amazing that such a small little thing can pack such a punch -- isn't Nature Amazing...

i love bug and reptile stories...............its an everyday occurance here. as for the wasps.................well drop the bucks on a professional. no ifs ands butts. spray cans are a joke and a damn good way to find out how many there are. on a 10000 sq ft home flat roof just imagine 493 viaga (vega) beams and all the birdstops in the tile roofing. we have them all the time. it aint a joke when ya throw in africanized bees either.

spray rig shows up, gets into suit, an hour later all birdstops sprayed, problem gone for a month or so. with pools always close they nest where there is easy water. i put pool cover on all the time unless big ass storm approaching, this drives them to neighbors pool area. hahahahahaha.

anyway been there done this, been on ladder 2 stories up and i feel yer pain. they suck and ya dont know how many will swarm you.

worth the bucks for da bug man to show up, find some cheap outfit that advertises in local rag and if he likes beer make the good buddy discount and have him come back once a month until they split.

if ya can rid area of all water sources.

Take pictures please.:cool:

I have to admit, I kill wasps with pure unadulterated joy. I clearly remember being stung by one on my tricycle as a child, I think that laid the seeds of hatred. In my younger years I worked for a mobile-home company, and we were remodeling an older home that came out of the country. We had noticed wasps around the outside, and figured that they had a nest underneath somewhere. I was prepared to knock out a section of rotten flooring when I heard the buzzing. Thank God I heard it BEFORE.

We formed a two man strike team. I would stand by the door, while my brave partner would knock a hole in the floor with a hammer. As he quickly evacuated the room, I would attack with Raid in each hand, old west style. I fondly remember shooting the little SOBs out of the air, laughing with joy. After killing the brave ones, there were still some entrenched enemies that wouldn't emerge from their insulation filled hideout. Perhaps they trained with the Japanese in WW2. They finally met their maker thanks to a garden sprayer filled with diesel fuel. Those were the days........:D