How to deal with Wasps and Hornets

ipz2222

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May 30, 2009
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In the middle of this discussion , my wife got stung by a red wasp. She was moveing one of my targets and there was a nest inside the pipe. She has a red rash spot on her leg 3 inches in diameter. Says it doesn't hurt unless she touches it. She went back out there and emptied 2 cans in it, she was mad. Guess I'll have to buy another case of crc brake clean.
 

Missouribound

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Jun 17, 2014
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If you have a nest where you don't want it take it down as soon as you can.
A bit of WD-40 on the spot tends to keep them away. I try not to kill anything unless it's a threat. Wasps usually leave you alone unless you put your hand on one. Bumblebees are clumsy and will run into you by accident. The carpenter bees are hilarious....again, not much of a threat.
It's the yellow jackets that will attack for no reason. They can't be lived with.
I used a powder that you sprinkle on the exit / entrance they use in the ground.
Do that at night. Every time they come and go they spread the powder deeper into the nest. Big results in just a couple of days...in 5 days they are all dead.
Paper wasps do a funny thing if you get too close to the nest...they send a sentry down to whack you in the head. I have never been stung by one of those. They are warning you with that attack. The pollinators are so important. Honeybees and Bumble bees are far more useful than dangerous. Just be aware of your surroundings and take down any nests as soon as they start if they are where they shouldn't be. An HVAC tech that worked for me told me that if you torch the nest they won't build one there again. I have no idea if that works....not something to try on your old dried out barn.
 

Tornado

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May 7, 2019
793
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usa
I deal with wasps here in rural north florida all the time. Sounds like you backed into a small nest, most likely smaller than your fist. The best stuff to use is bengal wasp spray with a 20 foot spray nozzle. It kills on contact. Simply find the nest and spray it, the wasps on the nest will drop to the ground immediately.

It may have been mentioned im not sure as i didn't read every reply, but you can use smoke to calm wasps down drastically, much like with honey bees. A little bit of smoke whiffing around a roused up nest will calm them noticeably. Anytime I am to mow or work in area with lots of brush, like chainsaw work or land clearing, its always smart to wear long sleaves and I never go without gloves.

The last time I got stung I was trying to hook up my utility trailer to my truck. I backed my truck up tothetrailer, and was just going to jiggle it onto the ball. I grabbed the front of the trailer near the ball and electricity shot through my arm. I had put my hand right into the small nest and was stung instantly. It was a nest of just 5 or 6 wasps, and it was just a little bigger than a quarter, but thats all it takes. Thats why I wear gloves when working outside, no matter what im doing. These little nests pop up everywhere in the summer. On my house, on the underside of equipment outside, on the underside of some brush. When I first moved into my house, I discovered a yellowjacket nest under ground near the house - it had just a small opening, once I stumbled across it I got a flashlight and looked down into the opening - It was an an ara where a stump had rotted out and as I looked into the hole I just saw mountains of yellow and black stripes. I estimated over 100 in that hole. I squirted lighter fluid into the hole and dropped a match in it. It worked well, even then a dozen or 2 swarmed out of the fire.
 

SIMPLEARKANSAN

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Jun 11, 2019
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Benton, AR
If you're at home and have run out of wasp spray, or CRC spray, go grab a large cup fill with water, add a squirt or two of Dawn dish washing liquid and mix with a spoon. Don't want to make it foam so you add the Dawn second. Throw that on a paper nest and the wasp are dead when they hit the ground. It's a very cheap fix. I guess you could fill a 5 gallon bucket with water and add Dawn and pour in a hole for the ground jackets also. When throwing it you need a clear line of sight. You may could mix in a hand sprayer and try that also.
 

Gene Blister

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2019 Kubota B2601, FAL LA435, Snow Blower BX2822A, Land Pride rear blade RB1572
Aug 4, 2019
79
20
8
Cocolalla, Idaho
So I***8217;m mowing a field and all of a sudden I***8217;ve got hornets on the tractor hood and then they land on the steering wheel. Only 3 of them, but now I can***8217;t steer. I had just backed into some trees a few minutes earlier. I suspect I bumped a nest but can***8217;t see it.

This field is being mowed as a job, so I need to get it done. What should I do? For now I***8217;m away from that area...shut the tractor off and retreated, sitting in my truck. The hornets didn***8217;t seem overly aggressive. I***8217;m thinking running to the store and getting RAID and hitting any of them on my tractor.

Thoughts?
For everyday concealed carry against stingers, I make up a 5-to-1 solution of water, Dawn dishwashing liquid and several drops of peppermint essential oil in a spray bottle.
The dishwashing liquid breaks down their outer protective oily coating, and the peppermint oil burns them dead.

Set the spray to the mist setting to blast them in the air, stream when they land close by. The liquid is completely harmless to surfaces or skin and leaves the air full of the minty fresh scent of hymenoptera death.

To get rid of the larger problem, youve got to destroy the nest and kill the queen.

Take two plastic Solo cups, put a cotton ball soaked with Rescue yellowjacket attractant in one. In the second cup, poke holes in the bottom and add a golf ball sized lump of hamburger or even cheap pate catfood mixed with 8 to 10 drops of FrontLine or Sentry dog flea control.

Use only the fipronil, if its mixed with other ingredients like methoprene, which interrupts the breeding cycle of the bugs, the wasps will ignore it.

Place the poison bait cup into the attractant cup so the scent can pass through the holes and call the SOBs to dinner.

I just duct tape the cups under the eves of the barn and sheds about 4 feet off the ground and 10 to 15 yards from people areas. The bugs take the poisoned meat back to the nest and everybody gets their share. Renew the meat every day for a week or so.

Set these bait stations out in the early mornings in spring when queens are establishing their nests, and again about a month later. Youll see a profound reduction in the yellowjacket populations as the nest is destroyed. And because honey bees are sugar eaters, they wont go for the poisoned protein.


https://survivalblog.com/guest-post-wasp-control-works-patrice-lewis/
 
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troverman

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MX6000 HSTC; 2020 Kubota Z421KW-54 zero turn mower
Jun 9, 2015
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NH
Excellent post, thank you. I didn’t know any of that.

In the off season, I bought a Kubota with a cab. But I will keep the other solutions in mind for the many times I’ll be in the outdoors.
 

GeoHorn

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I keep a cheap garden sprayer (WalMart $8) filled with a gallon of water to which I’ve added a 1/2 cup of ordinary liquid detergent (laundry or dishsoap). Spray the nests with it.

THEY think it’s raining and couldn’t care less. They don’t even pay attention. But within 30 seconds, the ENTIRE NEST IS DEAD.

Nothing to be scared of. No big reaction. Just dead wasps. Easy on the surrounding plants, animals, and bldgs.
 

SidecarFlip

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Brake cleaner for me. I can shoot them mid air and watch them drop like a rock.:eek:
 

johnjk

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I did the Skeets method when I hit a ground nest of yellow jackets. They got me around a dozen times. Waited till that evening, took a 1 gal gas can and stuck it upside down with the nozzle in the ground. Screw 'em. Nursed my bites with a couple barley pops, removed the can to a safe distance and tossed a lit match. Had quite the large dead area but it was enjoyable to watch that nest burn.

The absolute worse one was a few summers back I was washing my car. Saw the yellow jackets out so I took my bottle of hydration and put it back on my workbench in the back of the garage. Finished my job, walked over and took a big swig. Two of the little bastards had crawled inside and nailed me a few dozen times in the back of the throat on their way to my stomach. That got me a quick trip to the ER and an even quicker admittance. Funny how fast they get you in when you tell them you were stung in the throat and can't breath.

Now in the summer if I have any beverage outside I either keep the cap and put it over the top of the bottle or drink out of a large cup so I can see who is swimming. Man oh man I hate them yellow jackets.
 

SidecarFlip

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I'm going to try the dish soap and water in a sprayer thing this summer.

I dislike yellow jackets too. Had a big nest under the siding on the side of the shop. Set up a step ladder and my shop vac with the crevice nozzle pointed at where the bastards were going in and out (did it at night). Next morning turned on the shop vac and let it run all day and sucked the SOB's into the vac. When no more came out I took the hose and stuck that in the nozzle. Waited until the next day and opened it up. There were thousands of them in the shop vac, dead and stinking. Threw them on the compost pile.

Like the shop vac method and I like watching them get sucked in too. makes me feel good.
 

Magicman

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Gas and a brick over the hole at night works well. No need for a match unless you just want that final bit of satisfaction. :mad:
 

Gene Blister

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2019 Kubota B2601, FAL LA435, Snow Blower BX2822A, Land Pride rear blade RB1572
Aug 4, 2019
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Cocolalla, Idaho
I'm going to try the dish soap and water in a sprayer thing this summer.

I dislike yellow jackets too. Had a big nest under the siding on the side of the shop. Set up a step ladder and my shop vac with the crevice nozzle pointed at where the bastards were going in and out (did it at night). Next morning turned on the shop vac and let it run all day and sucked the SOB's into the vac. When no more came out I took the hose and stuck that in the nozzle. Waited until the next day and opened it up. There were thousands of them in the shop vac, dead and stinking. Threw them on the compost pile.

Like the shop vac method and I like watching them get sucked in too. makes me feel good.
Magicman, Sidecar-
Im thinking of Aliens, Ripley in her hot wife-beater undershirt, Newt on one hip, flame thrower on the other in the queens chamber, sprayin down the eggs.
As one mother protecting her offspring to another, she could have just walked out, but she had to give her toxic masculine side satisfaction.
mmm...toasty....!
 
Last edited:

Gene Blister

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2019 Kubota B2601, FAL LA435, Snow Blower BX2822A, Land Pride rear blade RB1572
Aug 4, 2019
79
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Cocolalla, Idaho
To get rid of the larger problem, youve got to destroy the nest and kill the queen.

Take two plastic Solo cups, put a cotton ball soaked with Rescue yellowjacket attractant in one. In the second cup, poke holes in the bottom and add a golf ball sized lump of hamburger or even cheap pate catfood mixed with 8 to 10 drops of FrontLine or Sentry dog flea control.

Use only the fipronil, if its mixed with other ingredients like methoprene, which interrupts the breeding cycle of the bugs, the wasps will ignore it.

Place the poison bait cup into the attractant cup so the scent can pass through the holes and call the SOBs to dinner.

I just duct tape the cups under the eves of the barn and sheds about 4 feet off the ground and 10 to 15 yards from people areas. The bugs take the poisoned meat back to the nest and everybody gets their share. Renew the meat every day for a week or so.

Set these bait stations out in the early mornings in spring when queens are establishing their nests, and again about a month later. Youll see a profound reduction in the yellowjacket populations as the nest is destroyed. And because honey bees are sugar eaters, they wont go for the poisoned protein.[/COLOR]



https://survivalblog.com/guest-post-wasp-control-works-patrice-lewis/[/QUOTE]

Update on the wasps

Were already sold out of the Fipronil products in our local big box and farm stores up here. I ordered from Amazon and found the prices surprisingly low compared to what Id paid locally.

Sentry FiproGuard for Dogs 45-88 pounds (bigger tubes) about $12.00.

Rescue WHY (wasp, hornet, yellow jacket) attractant refills about $15.00.
I use the WHY to get all the little baxxards around our area.

Ill use the big red Solo cups for the poisoned meat and drop them into a pint jelly canning jar containing the attractant-soaked cotton balls; the cups are held up off the bottom of the jar.
A small wood shelf attached to the house and barn or fence posts makes the contraptions look a little neater.

I am not compensated by nor do I represent, Rescue, Hartz, Sentry, Amazon..yadda yadda yadda....:p