how do I get rid of a wasp nest?
Aser
2,351 Posts
I've got a wasp nest right by my front entrance. What's the best way of dealing with this? Or should I just leave it to the professionals. It appears to be inside my house as they are entering through a crevice.Damn nature, this always happens. I had a racoon that dug a hole in my roof once and was just chilling there like it was his cottage.
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Are they yellow jackets, or black colored wasps? The black colored ones are more aggressive and usually have a ball-shaped nest hanging from a tree that looks like a brown fruit. The yellow jackets are usually the ones in the crevices, so I'm going to assume they're the yellow jackets.
You can wipe them out yourself with a spray. How active is the nest? Are there constantly wasps coming and going, or is it more sporadic? If it's very busy and they are very aggressive when you come in the house it's worth it to just call a pro. But if it's sporadic, just buy a can or two and douse the crevice like a madman well after the sun goes down.
We have to get rid of these nests all the time at my job, wasps make nests in the phone boxes up on the poles. I got wasp knowledge for daaaays. They once caused me to fall 18 feet and land on a car!
looks like I better leave it to the professionals to deal with. Last week I was taking a shower and a wasp showed up out of nowhere (more PASUE material for you guys). Now I know how it got there.
sween - there is a steady stream of them, I think it's yellow jackets. They haven't been that aggressive, although I rarely use the main entrance as I enter through the garage.
I certainly don't want to spray and then forcing them inside the house.
The last part of your post is bullshit (though not your fault). Wasps that return to the nest can smell the shit you sprayed and will not enter it, then they get pissed off and go after whoever is standing nearby thinking you sprayed the stuff.
You're right about the electric shock part though. We've never been able to figure out if it means that it delivers a simulated electric shock to the wasp, or that the spray is protected from conducting electricity. All we know is it kills them, fucks with their nervous system somehow you can tell by the way their body acts when they die.
I was enjoying the sun and a book in my homies driveway in Echo Park and saw one of the June Bugs flying around and had to run inside. those shits are like small birds. scared the shit out of the dog.
and later that night saw some GINORMOUS roaches on the street in K-Town. they are so big I swear these dudes cast a shadow under them as they ran in front of me. easily 3+ inches long (no pasue).
I really wish this were an exageration. I was scared out of my mind. yes soft doggie.
I once had a wasp get stuck in my shirt while I washing the car. Got stung 5 times.
NAUGLES
Fuck it, call Carl.
i don't know, i had yellow jackets and after i had sprayed the nest and killed the ones that were there some others came and died right as they landed on the nest and i had more dead ones on the nest as the week went on, it may not have the same effect on wasps though
Geeze... In Australia if you said that shit and you weren't a frail aged 86 year old war widow, you'd get laughed out of the... wherever you were at the time.
Man up and spray those fuckers. I maybe add a little flamage to the aerosol for a nice cooking effect!
knife? you call that a knife?
Get Raid Wasp & Hornet Killer, hit 'em once or twice (that stuff is scary powerful) wait a day or so.
Fill the crevice (ahem) with expanding foam insulation ($5 from Home Dippo).
Allow a day, rip/trim/sand off excess hardened foam next day.
Watch out for possible survivors trying to find an escape through your house the whole time (keep flyswatter handy just in case).
Easy. Don't be scurred.
I see you've played knifey-spooney before.
Personally I like to hit 'em right in the middle of the day when they least expect it and watch how pissed they get. A good technique is spray them fast and then start running and hold the spray can over your head and spray behind you as you run in case one follows you. Or get two cans and a toothpick and go in sliding or diving as you spray.
But seriously, it seems to me this 'extreme weather' is really fucking things up pest wise. There has been so much rain in central tx that shit is out of control.. roaches.. crickets.. fleas.. mosquitoes.. The giant roaches (3 inches seems about standard) and mosquitoes are expected, but every time I come in the house I check my ankles and grab 2 or 3 fleas off that jumped on me from walking from the car. Every where I go.. bank.. grocery store.. record stores.. there are crickets running wild inside (and some smushed ones people stepped on).
And I too had a raccoon in my attic once... and the bitch is still there... for four weeks now. She tried to chew a hole in my ceiling. I had to spray her down with some Raid too because I didn't know anything else to do to repel her from chewing a hole big enough to jump down in to the living room. I've tried with no success to force her out or trap her but they are smart animals. It has a way to defeat the cage by pushing on it till is springs then walking over it. I caught three possums which only helps the raccoon by springing the trap for it. I know how it will end and that is with me falling through the ceiling in a drunken attempt to physically confront the stupid thing mano y animalo.
So yeah, wasps, spray them.
If anyone has had success evicting a racoon with cub, please let me know. I've tried strobe lights, loud music (jazz, catholic talk radio, rock, NPR), coyote urine, bleach water, mothballs, and the have-a-heart trap.
Put tub up against inside of roof, sealing nest in. Slide tub to dislodge nest. !SWIFTLY! - apply lid. I think a few made it out but by then it was all over.
Put tub in bin. (optional agitation of contents b/w whistling to ponder fate of wasps/binnies).
No lie. They drop.
Using a water based product around electrical boxes, etc.(This is where wasps like to nest) can also be dangerous because of shock potential.
About 5 years ago I came up with an idea and with the help of the design engineers at my company we were able to patent it and get the EPA to approve it's use. We are now in the process of Marketing it.
It allows you to hit a Wasp nest from 50 feet. It reduces the amount of chemical used by 1200% and it actually makes killing wasps fun and is a lot less dangerous than current methods.
Basically we've taken a Paintball Gun and converted it so it will only shoot capsules of 100% natural pesticides. It has a laser scope and is pretty accurate.
If you see the Wasp Blaster in your local Wal-Mart or Home Depot in the future you can say you saw it on SS first!
If I had one of those when I was a kid, I would've gone around my neighborhood offering to buck down wasp nests instead of offering to mow lawns.
For real, this is trully a great invention.