%*#!ing Wasp

[bad_idea]

So... We moved out to the country about 5 years ago. The house we bought had been vacant for about a year. The place was INVESTED with paper wasps. I have spent the last five years terminating these things. Have really knocked back their numbers. Found them behind the plastic shutters, on every eave, on the bottom side of my shed, behind the fuel door on my jeep, inside the tailgate of the Comanche, in every door jamb of every vehicle, rafters of the garage, and all over the kid's playhouse. Even found a nest inside the rocker of a parts car (was slightly rotted out), and one of those bastards tagged me.

Today was the best one yet. The wife set out to vacuum her car out. I have a shop vac mounted on the wall with a bin under it with all of the attachments in it. There was a nest inside the crevice tool! Fortunately it is winter and they were all dead.

Looking for advice on how to keep them out of the garage. I can only think of two ways they are getting in - the ridge vent (no ceiling in the garage - yet), and the roll up door on the back of the shop (no weatherstripping on the top). Plan is to staple screen on to the underside of the ridge vent and to change out the roll up door for a traditional sectional door. Any other common spots they get in?

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Keeping wasps at bay requires understanding why they proliferate in a certain area- especially as you describe.

What they eat… and what you have in the area. Here’s a read that might help-

What Do Paper Wasps Eat? 5 Foods They Like - Feeding Nature

Paper wasps are important for our ecosystem. So what do paper wasps eat? In this post I've explained everything in details.

feedingnature.com

 

[bad_idea]

I have done my research on them. I have been working on making my property less desirable to them. My current concern is just keeping them out of the garage. Trying to identify paths for them to get in and blocking them.

 

[mmb617]

I sympathize. I have a recurring problem with yellow jackets building nests in various places in my yard. I usually find out about a new nest while mowing grass when I get too close and get attacked. This usually involves me getting a few stings as they gang up on intruders, and those stings really burn.

Once I realize they have a new nest the ones above ground are fairly easy to eliminate, but the in-ground nests are tough to kill.

 

[gba2331]

Once I realize they have a new nest the ones above ground are fairly easy to eliminate, but the in-ground nests are tough to kill.

When you find the hole, wait until night, then take a plastic tube (maybe 1/2" diameter), put some Sevin in it, then blow it into the hole - problem solved.

Note: make sure you inhale before trying to blow through the tube.

 

[Paycheck]

Invested?

 

[dougf]

This post brings up bad memories for me too. For some reason I have an absolute infestation of bees, hornets, and wasps at my property. I'll go inside for a sandwhich and come back out to my shop to find 15-20 hornets bouncing around the ceiling, the screened in deck is unusable because bees come up through the deck floor and there will be 25-30 buzzing around in there. There's just no stopping them and ive considered buying a drone to try and identify where they are coming from. Really tired of spraying all my **** with hornet killer.

 

[ybnormal]

if you find the small holes they are getting thru, holes that need to stay open, like weep holes, use steel wool stuffed in there

 

[ybnormal]

This post brings up bad memories for me too. For some reason I have an absolute infestation of bees, hornets, and wasps at my property. I'll go inside for a sandwhich and come back out to my shop to find 15-20 hornets bouncing around the ceiling, the screened in deck is unusable because bees come up through the deck floor and there will be 25-30 buzzing around in there. There's just no stopping them and ive considered buying a drone to try and identify where they are coming from. Really tired of spraying all my **** with hornet killer.

buy a large roll of cheap screen door material and staple it to the bottom of the deck boards

 

[CN Spots]

This make twice today that I've mentioned this chemical... Malathion. My pop used this stuff and sprayed it in wasp-y places in early spring and later on in the summer to deter them from building nests. It'll stink like a chemical plant for a day (wear gloves and a mask) but I've noticed a significant decrease in their numbers since I copied his method a few years ago. It lasts longer on wood surfaces. Cars/tractors etc. will have to be retreated more often.

Carpenter bees, however, just snort the stuff.

 

[rlmartinson]

I sympathize. I have a recurring problem with yellow jackets building nests in various places in my yard. I usually find out about a new nest while mowing grass when I get too close and get attacked. This usually involves me getting a few stings as they gang up on intruders, and those stings really burn.

Once I realize they have a new nest the ones above ground are fairly easy to eliminate, but the in-ground nests are tough to kill.

I have had good luck with the foaming wasp spray on in-ground nests.

 

[thammel]

I battled yellow jackets last year. Got a number of stings. I had a nest in a bush above ground and about 3 nests in the ground. I used all kinds of sprays and found the best approach was to put a lot of powdered Sevin at the entrance to the in-ground nests. But these rascals are determined and rugged!!!

 

[whitesco]

I feel like the solution should include fire.

 

[WillyBoy]

If the nest is already established, wait until it's cooler outside. Early morning will find most of them in the nest and a lot less active.
This is when I'm able to deal with them and escape. For ground nests, I'll push a garden hose up to the hole and turn the water on so it flows gently into the nest and they can all have a nice swim. A few hours later, I'll hose it down with the foamy wasp spray. Then they get dug up and the raccoons take care of what's left the next night.
A friend who's a railroad signal maintainer describes the lineside boxes he works in by how many cans of spray it takes to get the doors open and get to work. "That one there was a two can box!".

 

[Jim greengo]

Starting fluid and a turbo torch is my go to tool.

 

[metalmagpie]

Different take. Let them be. Don't dump a bunch of poison in the environment.

I had a softball-sized wasp nest. I killed it, and a week later my fruit trees were infested with aphids. The wasps had been naturally controlling the aphid population.

Now I leave wasps alone, and they leave me alone.

And I leave the poisons on the shelf at the hardware store.

 

[Two Pump Chump]

Different take. Let them be. Don't dump a bunch of poison in the environment.

I had a softball-sized wasp nest. I killed it, and a week later my fruit trees were infested with aphids. The wasps had been naturally controlling the aphid population.

Now I leave wasps alone, and they leave me alone.

And I leave the poisons on the shelf at the hardware store.

Yeah but . . . .. . They can set up and then defend in places where you have to fight. Cot legs, gun barrels, inside a jacket on a hook on the wall. I try and take the hornets outside to release them, the wasps with ther mud nests have to die. Those Asalt salt guns don't do jack.

 

[like2wheel]

Stop investing in wasps.

Does anybody remember the Men Behaving Badly episode about the crevice tool?

 

[fourjeepin]

Yeah but . . . .. . They can set up and then defend in places where you have to fight. Cot legs, gun barrels, inside a jacket on a hook on the wall. I try and take the hornets outside to release them, the wasps with ther mud nests have to die. Those Asalt salt guns don't do jack.

I have one of the salt guns. It is a lot of fun for flies, but nearly useless against a bee or wasp

 

[Junkman]

I've put up with them for the past 35 years, and they even make it into the house. Once inside, I use PVC cleaner when they are on the glass windows, and touch the dobber to their bodies. Kills them instantly. Outside I just leave them alone unless they set up housekeeping in my tractor or some other place that makes them difficult to get along with. When you live in the woods, you learn that there are some insects that you just can't control. A couple of decades ago before the home was vinyl sided, it was stained with a solid color that had Dursban mixed into the stain. Once any critter landed on the siding, they were usually dispatched to their maker within a few minutes. Today it is no longer available.

 

[Uncle murph]

Different take. Let them be. Don't dump a bunch of poison in the environment.

I had a softball-sized wasp nest. I killed it, and a week later my fruit trees were infested with aphids. The wasps had been naturally controlling the aphid population.

Now I leave wasps alone, and they leave me alone.

And I leave the poisons on the shelf at the hardware store.

Live and let live doesn’t work with bees,they’re mean little bastards that need to be killed at every opportunity!

 

[mmb617]

Different take. Let them be. Don't dump a bunch of poison in the environment.

I had a softball-sized wasp nest. I killed it, and a week later my fruit trees were infested with aphids. The wasps had been naturally controlling the aphid population.

Now I leave wasps alone, and they leave me alone.

And I leave the poisons on the shelf at the hardware store.

It depends on what you are dealing with. A lot of wasps are not aggressive and honey bees are harmless. Carpenter bees drill holes in your wood but they are also very docile.

And then you have your yellow jackets. I think their mission in life is to sting as many humans as possible. If you even walk close to them the nest they attack. With them all out war is the only option.

 

[duga]

So... We moved out to the country about 5 years ago. The house we bought had been vacant for about a year. The place was INVESTED with paper wasps. I have spent the last five years terminating these things. Have really knocked back their numbers. Found them behind the plastic shutters, on every eave, on the bottom side of my shed, behind the fuel door on my jeep, inside the tailgate of the Comanche, in every door jamb of every vehicle, rafters of the garage, and all over the kid's playhouse. Even found a nest inside the rocker of a parts car (was slightly rotted out), and one of those bastards tagged me.

Today was the best one yet. The wife set out to vacuum her car out. I have a shop vac mounted on the wall with a bin under it with all of the attachments in it. There was a nest inside the crevice tool! Fortunately it is winter and they were all dead.

Looking for advice on how to keep them out of the garage. I can only think of two ways they are getting in - the ridge vent (no ceiling in the garage - yet), and the roll up door on the back of the shop (no weatherstripping on the top). Plan is to staple screen on to the underside of the ridge vent and to change out the roll up door for a traditional sectional door. Any other common spots they get in?

This has me thinking

I'm finishing my wood framed shop right now and will also have no ceiling (open trusses).

My eave and gable vents have 1/4" mesh. Maybe I should install screen instead or??

 

[WillyBoy]

My eave and gable vents have 1/4" mesh. Maybe I should install screen instead or??

In a word, Yes.
There are too many things between the screen mesh size and 1/4 inch that can get in and bother you. Keep as many out as you can. It may be easier to add the screening up against the existing 1/4 inch mesh. The mesh will provide more support to the screen.

 

[Junkman]

I put up with the nests every year, and I find that they usually set up housekeeping under the eaves, at the top of doorways, etc. One year I had a huge wasp nest inside of my tractor and didn't notice it. I heard the buzzing and started to look around, only to find a huge nest in the rear corner of the cab roof. Shut it down immediately and got off the tractor before I got stung. Later that evening I doused it with wasp killer spray, but some of them escaped. I warned my wife to stay away, but she wanted to see where they were. She got stung in the face a few times, and her head swelled up like a balloon. Another time I drove over a ground nest of yellow jackets and didn't realize it until they swarmed the cab. Good thing that they attack from the top down, because they couldn't get in. Once I was far enough from the next they retreated. Later that evening they got the mandatory gasoline and match treatment as they slept. I don't bother them until they bother me. We have flower gardens and feed hummingbirds, which also attract insects. As long as they stay away from me, I am fine with them. The only thing that I won't tolerate is the carpenter ants. It is an ongoing battle every year to keep them out along with the small sugar ants. Guess that is the price you pay for living in the woods with raccoons, coyotes, chipmunks, squirrels, and bears. I finally conquered the battle with the mice with traps and bait. They were so bad last fall that we were finding dead mice in the driveway soon after I introduced a new bait for them. They liked it so well that they chewed into the plastic pail that the bait came in. The bait is called Final from Amazon. Don't forget the bait boxes.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0084NVRQQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[bluedog225]

I forget when, but some times of year, they want sugar, and other times protein. There are some clever dog food and/or fish, hanging over a bucket of soapy water ideas. Never tried one. They get fat and fall into the water.

I think keeping them out is going to be next to impossible.

 

[paulsomlo]

I sympathize. I have a recurring problem with yellow jackets building nests in various places in my yard. I usually find out about a new nest while mowing grass when I get too close and get attacked. This usually involves me getting a few stings as they gang up on intruders, and those stings really burn.

Once I realize they have a new nest the ones above ground are fairly easy to eliminate, but the in-ground nests are tough to kill.

I had a yellow jacket nest in the ground near my front porch - got stung twice, two weeks apart. My leg swelled up from foot to knee. I tried the hose with soapy water, but the next day, they were still coming and going. I went out at night with a red headlamp, layed a rag over the hole. Then, using a 10' length of electrical PVC conduit and a funnel, I doused the rag with isopropyl alcohol. The next day, no more critters. Isopropyl vapor is heavier than air, so it does a good job at getting to the nest. The conduit and funnel were probably unnecessary - an alcohol soaked rag placed over the nest at night should get the job done.

Bees? Seems I can stick my hand into a bush where they're feeding and they just ignore me.

 

[bigcreek]

Sometimes during the summer months when I am welding with the doors open the bees are attracted to the bright welding light and come right to me and annoy the heck out of me. Havent been stung yet though. My wife put on a leather glove and a wasp had crawled in a finger and it stung her thumb pretty good dang things.

 

[Two Pump Chump]

Junkman all those poison containing dead mice are lethal to any other creature that finds and eats them.

 

[RivennHewn]

What do I have here?

Edit: Great Golden Digger Wasp