Everywhere a wasp wasp...went to the farm and was in the shed where we keep the mower. I looked up and saw wasp nests...
A small nest was just starting here...
Then there was another nest behind this piece of wood leaning up against the wall...
Another nest on one of the posts of the shed...
And finally, a nest behind a sheet of glass that was leaning against the wall!
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| Raid Wasp & Hornet spray |
What the heck?
I didn't even see any a couple of weeks ago, now all of a sudden it was like wasp central! Well, after a few squirts of "Raid", they no longer exist. Some of you suggested that we leave the nests up in order to deter other wasps from building in the same spot so we did that too. Hopefully they'll stay away. I also roamed around the perimeter of the house and found a few more nests in the eaves up near the roof and so I took care of those as well.
Wasps are on the list of allowable kills. We hate them and rank them up there (or is that 'down' there?) with fire ants, scorpions and poisonous spiders.
Any suggestions on how to deal with them in any other way or is this best? Anything that will prevent them from building in the first place?
Gaaa! I was stung twice just this week! In cases of Wasps, Fire ants, Scorpions, Chemical Warfare is my personal choice.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely!!! Sorry about your stings, it's definitely not pleasant (had one last summer, still remember it, ha).
Deletei hate wasps...i am so allergic!
ReplyDeleteThey can be dangerous, especially to those allergic. Be careful!!
DeleteFor control of insects in my garden, I use a solution of liquid dishwashing detergent and enough water to thin the thick soap for spraying. This could be a non-chemical treatment for your yellow jacket wasps. In the garden, I wash it off after 15 minutes to prevent burning of the vegetable leaves, but for the wasps you would leave it on. Spray them in the early morning or night when they are less active and all in the nest. You could use a hose-end sprayer to give yourself more distance.
ReplyDeleteI used to have yellow jackets making nests on my front porch until I started planting mint in pots there to use in cooking and for some nice scented greenery - since I planted the mint, no more yellow jackets. I later read that mint is a wasp deterrent.
Hanging up a crumpled brown paper bag is supposed to deter them. Wasps are territorial so they will not make a nest where one already exists.
I’ve heard that one reason for the old Southern tradition of painting the ceilings of porches sky blue is to deter wasps, dirt daubers, and other insects from building nests.
Good luck!
That's a great idea. I will check that out. Thank you. And mint? Really? That's neat because I've bent thinking of planting some mint in containers on the porch once the heat is gone a bit. I think they'll survive with once a week deep watering. Or maybe those diy watering things that you fill up and let slowly leak out.
DeleteLiving in the Heights area of Houston, lots of old homes have the sky blue ceilings on porches. Love that idea. Not sure if it works but it's a great story behind why you could paint your ceiling blue on porches. :-)
We generally leave them as they are beneficial for the garden but by the end of summer their nests are getting huge (which are on the eves of the house) and they start to get a bit aggressive. At this point I spray them. I have found the best time to spray them is at night or very early morning when it is cool. If you spray when it's warm, they will attack en masse. I then knock down the nests and then spray the area with surface spray.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize they were beneficial. Well, when they are big and in my space, I"m afraid I'll have to spray, ha. What if it's never cool? LOL! Just kidding. When I took care of these nests it was late afternoon, early evening so that was probably good. Thanks!!
Delete1st Man,
ReplyDeleteTry using soap. Check this out:http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/05/29/natural-wasp-spray-we-got-rid-of-our-wasps-no-raid-required/
Awesome link, thank you! It fits right in with the suggestion for soap. Who knew? I have a hose on sprayer and we always have dish soap, ha. Thanks!!
DeleteI don't like wasps either - aggressive little friggers! Last year there were a lot of nests on the ground, so you had to be really careful walking in the tall grass. This year they haven't been bad though. I typically only get nests up in the rafters of my barn which I just knock down as soon as I notice them.
ReplyDeleteI sure am glad we don't have scorpions around here!
On the ground???? Holy cow that would be scary!! I will have to watch for that. They did make a nest in the rosemary bush once, I guess they didn't mind the smell, ha. Ugh, scorpions are scary little things, be glad!!
DeleteWasps are a problem around here now especially because I had quite a reaction when I got stung in early July. I now have to carry an EPI pen in case I get stung again. We use the same spray here on their nests.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've never had a reaction but with beekeeping coming up soon, I've read that we should have an EPI pen on hand 'just in case'. I will need to research where to get one of those, not sure if you have to have a prescription or what. Thanks for the tip! And be safe!!
DeleteYes, you have to have a prescription. They spoil and are not effective if they get warm. So, I leave mine at home where it will do me no good!
DeleteI guess I'm the only outlier. I don't mind wasps. In fact I love them like I love the bees. Well I HATE yellow jackets (scary wasps, those I'd get rid of fast). I love the Great Black Wasps that I often see in the garden (they kill katydids and grasshoppers). The most common wasp here is the paper was as they seem to love the old wood of my compost pile. They only seem to build little nests though. The worst one I got rid of when they weren't looking. They built it in the handle of my pitchfork. Freaked me out when I picked it up. Freaked them out too. And the other bad one is right behind my fig tree. I practically put my hand on their nest. They all came flying out. I jumped back so fast. I left them there, but I'll be careful. Since they aren't very aggressive I've yet to be stung by any of them even with me sticking my hand within an inch of their nest. And they kill caterpillars to feed to their young. So unless they put a nest near my front door or something I leave them be. But then your wasps might be more aggressive than mine. I wouldn't keep them if I thought they would sting me. I'm really glad we don't get fire ants or scorpions here.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've been around these fairly closely a few times and sometimes they don't seem so bad but then other times they are aggressive things. Maybe there are different varieties. I am going to read up onto them more so I know what we have out there.
DeleteBe thankful for no scorpions or fire ants. Now THOSE need to go, ha.
I try to get along with whatever creatures are around. We have lots of wasps and hornets, but unless the nest is in a really bad spot, I leave it alone. There were a dozen little paper wasp nests in the barbecue last month – and i needed to cook on it as the power was out for a couple days – so I gently scooped each off with a long shovel and put it in an old bucket. Didn't get stung. The wasps stayed with the nests until the young ones hatched out. I would worry more if I had young kids, but again I'd try to relocate rather than kill. I try to go around the house and barn early in the spring and knock down any worrisome nests before there are any eggs or larva, and the mother wasp will go build another someplace else. I try not to kill any creature that isn't a direct danger to me and mine, even if it gives me the creeps. That being said, I do pick slugs and grubs and grasshoppers in the garden and feed them to the chickens. And swat flies. And mosquitos and stock flies.
ReplyDeleteI toally understand. It makes me feel bad too. These are aggressive though and they were all around the mower and no way to start it up without agitating them and that wouldn't be good. But I'm with you, I leave most spiders alone (killed a black widow once), and I leave other things alone too. Thank you for the reminder. We all share the Earth with everything right? ;-)
DeleteWasps make nests all over around here. The nests that scare me are the ones that are on the grill under the cover. I frighten them and they frighten me. Wasp nests on the back porch and on porch to basement have to go. The rest I leave alone.
ReplyDelete