Wasps (thanks for correction) are out of control this year

[WotAGuy]

Anyone else having wasps coming into their house like an invading army?  There was a story on the Syracuse news about them recently.  I’m killing 2-3 dozen a day all around the inside of the house, mostly in and around the windows. Have an exterminator coming to try and find the nest(s).

 

Bastards.  
 

Keeps reminding me of the SNL Killer Bees skits. 

Edited October 10, 2023 by WotAGuy

[LeviF]

This time of year they've changed their focus to just providing for themselves before dying off for the winter. So they're after warmth and sugar. Combine this with a mild winter last year and there's a ton around. I had to deal with more nests during the hot months than I had before.

[WhoTom]

Yellow jackets are wasps, not bees.

 

Bees are beneficial and rarely sting. Wasps are ornery aggressive SOBs.

 

 

[teef]

we had a ground nest that i had a hard time getting rid of.  we finds some in our house here and there.  yesterday i noticed the front of the house was covered with dying bees...likely due to the drop in temps.  I lightly touched one, and even though still alive, it just flopped to the ground.

[k2mountain]

If they are truly Bees, and not Wasps, an exterminator will not touch the job. They will refer you to a Beekeeper. 

 

(your mileage may vary by state)

[dpberr]

I've had intense "Battle of Stalingrad" battles with the German yellowjackets (ones that like a house) here in PA over the last three years.  I haven't seen any Eastern yellowjacket nests (ones in the ground).  The battleground is an epic waste of spray, dust, bodies, and often a field of destruction in siding, soffit and insulation.  I swear they have a heat camera like the Predator.

 

I've long suspected that the German yellowjacket is the cause of the decline in lanternfly here in PA.  The lanternflies are easy food sources for them.  More food, more family.  I also agree that milder winters that lack snow benefit the queens who are hibernating.  

[Kevbeau]

[SinceThe70s]

1 hour ago, teef said:

we had a ground nest that i had a hard time getting rid of.  we finds some in our house here and there.  yesterday i noticed the front of the house was covered with dying bees...likely due to the drop in temps.  I lightly touched one, and even though still alive, it just flopped to the ground.

 

I had one this summer by the foundation of the house that I battled unsuccessfully with for weeks - until one night a critter (raccoon?) took care of it for me.  

[teef]

6 minutes ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

I had one this summer by the foundation of the house that I battled unsuccessfully with for weeks - until one night a critter (raccoon?) took care of it for me.  

same here.  i would spray multiple times, go to the hive, (they made a nest box for our irrigation) and they would be dead.  a few days later they were back.  it must have been very deep.

[SinceThe70s]

1 hour ago, teef said:

same here.  i would spray multiple times, go to the hive, (they made a nest box for our irrigation) and they would be dead.  a few days later they were back.  it must have been very deep.

 

I went through a few cans of spray too. Then I tried covering it - which really p!ssed them off, but they were persistent and made their way back in. I also hung up a bee trap which caught a lot of them, but the nest was still active until the critter dug up the nest.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

2 hours ago, Kevbeau said:

I think the board has finally been subjected to something far far worse than Randy 'Peter Pan' Constan.

[Augie]

I had a ground nest, and both my son and I got stung. I tried spraying multiple times in the evening, but even at 10PM they were still some out and about and I could never kill the nest. Eventually we were leaving for a trip about 5AM and I sprayed before we left. When we got back they were gone. Nasty little suckers would swarm you if you got anywhere close! I do not love all of God’s creatures equally. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

I had four battles this year. I had one black wasp nest on a tree that looked like a beach ball. It was cartoonish. Took 3 sprays bottles To bring it down.

 

I have realized in my battle with the ground nests this past summer that sprays are useless. You need the powder. I dumped a ton of powder on one, and then dug it up, and did more powder the next night. That seemed to work. 
 

here is the powder:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Ground-Bee-Killer/dp/B00QV3YUUG/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=30AR3B3U5HUO0&keywords=ground+bee+powder&qid=1696972621&sprefix=ground+bee+powder%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-2
 

[Mr Info]

Two yrs ago we had wasps periodically flying around the 2nd floor of our house. Not a lot of them but one is too many for my liking. Went into the attic and discovered a whole bunch of the clay-like nests. Was going to exterminate them but also heard a colony of bats behind a wooden support beam next to the chimney. I held my hand to the board and could feel the bats moving around. They were feeding on the wasps. 
Bats are protected where we live so hired a wildlife removal expert to create an easy egress for them and then installed a bat exclusion device to drive them out. After they were removed, covered up all entry points to the attic, and a pest service used a smoke bomb in the attic to kill the wasps. Have not seen any wasps in the attic or house since that time.

Edited October 10, 2023 by Mr Info

[Punching Bag]

7 hours ago, WotAGuy said:

Anyone else having wasps coming into their house like an invading army?  There was a story on the Syracuse news about them recently.  I’m killing 2-3 dozen a day all around the inside of the house, mostly in and around the windows. Have an exterminator coming to try and find the nest(s).

 

Bastards.  
 

Keeps reminding me of the SNL Killer Bees skits. 

 

I blame it on the Dodge Stellantis Hornet car commercials.

 

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

¡Si! Wife was reworking the library window planters a few weeks ago and got stung in fave. It was Sunday morning.  She called me... I said: "Walk to Walgreens across street and get some Benedryl cream." 😏... I stayed a Holiday Inn Express one time...

[Simon]

Ground nest:

Go out at night (if you have a red headlamp(or red cellophane over a flashlight), they can't see it), pour some gas down the hole, cover it with a rag or tshirt and the fumes will do the work for you.

Yes, it's more fun to light it but that doesn't always get them all.

[T&C]

Those gopher bombs/gassers will do the trick. 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

43 minutes ago, Simon said:

Ground nest:

Go out at night (if you have a red headlamp(or red cellophane over a flashlight), they can't see it), pour some gas down the hole, cover it with a rag or tshirt and the fumes will do the work for you.

Yes, it's more fun to light it but that doesn't always get them all.

[Bob Lamb]

8 hours ago, SinceThe70s said:

 

I had one this summer by the foundation of the house that I battled unsuccessfully with for weeks - until one night a critter (raccoon?) took care of it for me.  

Ground nests are easily taken care of by inserting dry ice

[LeviF]

5 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

I had four battles this year. I had one black wasp nest on a tree that looked like a beach ball. It was cartoonish. Took 3 sprays bottles To bring it down.

 

I have realized in my battle with the ground nests this past summer that sprays are useless. You need the powder. I dumped a ton of powder on one, and then dug it up, and did more powder the next night. That seemed to work. 
 

here is the powder:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Ground-Bee-Killer/dp/B00QV3YUUG/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=30AR3B3U5HUO0&keywords=ground+bee+powder&qid=1696972621&sprefix=ground+bee+powder%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-2
 

I’ve used Sevin powder with success on ground nests. Get an empty (dry) Poland spring or whatever water bottle, funnel some sevin dust in there, then turn it upside down into the hole and squeeze the bottle to get some oomf behind it. 

[RichStadiumGuy]

9 hours ago, Simon said:

Ground nest:

Go out at night (if you have a red headlamp(or red cellophane over a flashlight), they can't see it), pour some gas down the hole, cover it with a rag or tshirt and the fumes will do the work for you.

Yes, it's more fun to light it but that doesn't always get them all.

Fuel oil works much better than gasoline. The fuel oil stays on their wings and they can't fly if they do make it out of the hole... gasoline will just evaporate and they will still be able to fly if they make it out.

 

Wait until at least an hour after sundown and pour about a half gallon of fuel oil/diesel fuel down the hole. I've done this five times now in my yard over the past three years and I have never seen any activity at all around the hole the next day.

[Pete]

yellow jackets and hornets are plentiful this summer due to all the heavy rain.  Wet wood is easier to chew, to make their hives.  Bald Hornets are by far the most aggressive and scary

[BuffaloBill]

20 hours ago, WotAGuy said:

Anyone else having wasps coming into their house like an invading army?  There was a story on the Syracuse news about them recently.  I’m killing 2-3 dozen a day all around the inside of the house, mostly in and around the windows. Have an exterminator coming to try and find the nest(s).

 

Bastards.  
 

Keeps reminding me of the SNL Killer Bees skits. 

 

You are a mass murderer!!!!

[sullim4]

17 hours ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

I had four battles this year. I had one black wasp nest on a tree that looked like a beach ball. It was cartoonish. Took 3 sprays bottles To bring it down.

 

I have realized in my battle with the ground nests this past summer that sprays are useless. You need the powder. I dumped a ton of powder on one, and then dug it up, and did more powder the next night. That seemed to work. 
 

here is the powder:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Ground-Bee-Killer/dp/B00QV3YUUG/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=30AR3B3U5HUO0&keywords=ground+bee+powder&qid=1696972621&sprefix=ground+bee+powder%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-2
 

 

This is the correct answer.  The powder is great and with a bulb duster, it works in a lot of different applications.  I had wasps this summer get into a small gap in our siding that ran along an eave.  Sprays, traps, etc did not work.

 

The dust took care of them in about 24 hours.  I've had no problems since.  I used "Delta Dust" which is engineered to delay the kill by a few hours, allowing them to bring the dust back to the hive and kill the rest of them.  Tempo dust is another popular option, but that's an instant kill and requires the target insect to pass over the dust... so any wasps hanging out in the nest won't be impacted.  You want them to bring the dust back to the nest.

[Fleezoid]

Any aerosol can and a lighter should do the trick. 

[Dan in Owego]

4 hours ago, Pete said:

yellow jackets and hornets are plentiful this summer due to all the heavy rain.  Wet wood is easier to chew, to make their hives.  Bald Hornets are by far the most aggressive and scary

Don't i know had a huge bald face nest right under my nyseg meter mfers were attacking me from easily 20 yards away.

[muppy]

[ChevyVanMiller]

On 10/10/2023 at 12:26 PM, WhoTom said:

Yellow jackets are wasps, not bees.

 

Bees are beneficial and rarely sting. Wasps are ornery aggressive SOBs.

 

 

Best description I've read about Yellow Jackets was this: "They want your food and are willing to fight you for it." 😀

[WotAGuy]

I found the nest inside the house. An exterminator came and could tell where they got in.  He took care of the nest, got the queen, and killed pretty much all of them. All clear now, which is a huge relief. My dogs had been stung and my wife was flipping out every day. Best $243 I ever spent. Ready to do battle with the stink bugs next. 

[EmotionallyUnstable]

WD40 is also a great alternative. Works extra well with carpenters if you can find their nest 

[muppy]

who knew rhe WASP thread would have legs. I especially liked the stinger being called the "arse dagger" 

 

props to the author

 

GO BILLS!~!~!!!