Wasps everywhere-help!

[happyWImom]

Every year, we have a wasp problem, because they build there nests up in the high peaks of our house. Dh just knocks them down. This year, they are everywhere! In the garage, looking for places to build, on the front porch, all around the lights on the outside of the garage; you name it.

 

Anyway, I'm not seeing tons of nests, but they are obviously attracted to us for some reason. And my dd is hysterical about it-doesn't want to go out any of the doors, wants us to come with her, etc...

 

So, what do we do? Dh had a wasp trap hanging on the front porch, and only 4 went in. We knock the nests down when we see them, and he has sprayed some of the repellant in certain areas (I'm not thrilled) but that doesn't even seem to help.

 

Any ideas?

[RoughCollie]

We called an exterminator when we had a wasp problem.

[olan719]

We always have major wasps every summer. They love to hang around our porches and build nests. Like you, we knock them down and we buy spray like crazy from Home Depot. We kill them every chance we get. We usually have one wasp per year actually get in the house, but I'm scared this year! We've already killed three in the house and it's not even June! I am keeping a can of spray in a central location so I can get them as soon as the kids start screaming!

 

I feel your pain. My girls are terrified of them; one got stung at my uncle's last year and she panics more than ever. I can sincerely say I don't hate many things, but I hate these buggers. I am dreading the summer - they are at the park, the pools, everywhere. I know it sounds silly, but with two terrified children, their fear can be quite unmanageable with those ugly beasts flying around!

 

Truthfully, exterminators here aren't much of a help. We just knock down nests, kill the ones we see, and DH is going to go in the attic this weekend and see if he can find nests; we aren't sure how they are getting in the house. I've read the best time to kill nests is in the early morning when they are less active. You can also build a "sweet trap", but it sounds like you have tried that.

 

Good luck getting rid of these pests! And let me know if you have success with something new!

[happyWImom]

We always have major wasps every summer. They love to hang around our porches and build nests. Like you, we knock them down and we buy spray like crazy from Home Depot. We kill them every chance we get. We usually have one wasp per year actually get in the house, but I'm scared this year! We've already killed three in the house and it's not even June! I am keeping a can of spray in a central location so I can get them as soon as the kids start screaming!

 

I feel your pain. My girls are terrified of them; one got stung at my uncle's last year and she panics more than ever. I can sincerely say I don't hate many things, but I hate these buggers. I am dreading the summer - they are at the park, the pools, everywhere. I know it sounds silly, but with two terrified children, their fear can be quite unmanageable with those ugly beasts flying around!

 

Truthfully, exterminators here aren't much of a help. We just knock down nests, kill the ones we see, and DH is going to go in the attic this weekend and see if he can find nests; we aren't sure how they are getting in the house. I've read the best time to kill nests is in the early morning when they are less active. You can also build a "sweet trap", but it sounds like you have tried that.

 

Good luck getting rid of these pests! And let me know if you have success with something new!

 

 

Oh great, we were thinking of calling an exterminator.

 

Country living, ain't it great?? (I never say ain't, but it sounded better:D)

[olan719]

Oh great, we were thinking of calling an exterminator.

 

Country living, ain't it great?? (I never say ain't, but it sounded better:D)

 

Well, I'd go ahead and try the exterminator. You may have a company that is willing/can do something. When we had pest service previously, and I asked them about it...they were like, well, show me the wasp and I'll kill it while I'm here. :lol: I'm thinking - I can do that! I want you make them go away for good! Seriously, though, they said there was not a lot they could do because more will just rebuild. But if you have a big infestation that is visible, an exterminator may can help.

 

Did I mention I hate these things? :tongue_smilie:

[momof2girls]

I can't stand wasps and we have these problems every year too. I didn't know exterminators could do anything! Thanks for the info...

 

K

 

:001_smile:

[stripe]

I had some start to build a nest (only three cells!), and we knocked it down. Today I noticed one circling around the same spot. It was clear there was a lasting attraction.

 

I want any and all suggestions too.

[Blueridge]

I am wondering what's happening around here, too. We have HORNETS. Those things are HUGE. I am really afraid of them, and they make all the little wasps look like flies. :eek:

[lllll]

..

[katemary63]

Wasps that build paper or mud nests can easliy get into the eaves and cracks of your house. They get in the walls. You have to watch where they are going in. We replaced our windows last year and guy who took the old ones out told us there are ALWAYS wasp/ hornet nests(whatever?) in the walls all around the windows. These things are evil. We have them everywhere and all we've ever done is spray where we see them going in and any outside nest we see built. It's a constant battle. Maybe an exterminator could do something. I don't know.

[Nature]

We live in the country and we usually have at least five different types of wasps, building at least two dozen nests around our house. This year we had three yellow jacket nests. I got stung by one and it was the most painful thing I have ever experienced.

My first goal was to try to get rid of them without chemicals. However, in the end, we ended spraying some.

I called an exterminator and they only come out in the day and will remove the nest. However, all the wasps are usually out foraging, so they will come back, build another nest and be very angry! So my husband bought a beekeeper suit and removed the nests himself. We put one of them in the freezer so that we could “examine†it later. It was about the size of a softball. After about a week, we took it out. How interesting and educational it was to see the inside workings of a hive. There were about 50 yellow jackets and the queen was twice the size of the others. There were many eggs and larvae at different stages of development.

We learned many interesting facts about wasps. If anyone is interested, I’d love to share!

[KJsMom]

I read that they build nests around houses because it is convenient to water sources and protected spaces. I hate them too. They nest in our chimney.

[Nature]

That explains why we have so many at our house. I heard they also eat crickets, grasshoppers and other insects. I'm trying to figure out what attracts them (and remove it from my house) and what would repel them (and then add that).

[gingersmom]

I had a nest at my front door. I have an amazing pest control guy who removed the nest and sprayed the front of the house. I would definitely call a professional.

[3littlekeets]

For those of you who watch too much TV,

 

 

Just call Billy....he'll take care of it!

 

[Hockey Mom]

LOL @ the Billy reference. :lol:

 

We get them in the aluminum rails of our boat. The only thing that remotely works is wasp spray. And even that doesn't keep them away. Would love to find a natural remedy for keeping them off the boat.

[bzymom]

We are always battling wasps. This year they decided my son's car was going to be their favorite place to build nests.:eek: I would watch & see them going in around the doors, under the engine, and in the trunk. We would knock them out, spray, and they would find another spot in the car. At one point, we opened the trunk & they had built 4 nests in 2 days. :auto:

 

At that point, we had to have an exterminator. He sprayed all around the driveway, and put dust down on some areas to discourage them. It kept them away from the car. As for the rest, we wait and spray them well at dusk when most have returned to the nest. Wait a day or so, then knock it down. If you spray during the day, most are out of the nest & when they come back to the damaged nest, they are nasty.

 

Hate wasps. I am a big sissy run-away baby about them.:leaving:

[Mejane]

Wasps that build paper or mud nests can easliy get into the eaves and cracks of your house. They get in the walls.

 

Yes! We heard a buzzing in our basement playroom and removed a ceiling tile, and there was a nest the size of a human head in there behind the insulation. They had come in through a dime-sized hole in the siding. We sucked out the nest with dh's industrial-sized shopvac. He filled the hole, but the wasps circled it for days trying to get in.

[nevergiveup]

You should determine if they are paper wasps, mud daubers, or hornets first.

 

Paper wasps build an open faced papery nest. Generally there are more than one working on a nest. Once you knock them down, you could spray with a pyrethroid and that might deter them from building nests. You have to retreat periodically.

 

Mud daubers are pretty interesting--they are solitary insects that build a nest out of mud. They paralyze spiders and pack their mud chambers with them before laying an egg and sealing it up. Same procedure--knock down the nest and spray with pyrethroid.

 

Hornets are generally cavity nesters and will be entering into your siding or some crack in your walls or foundation. Put some Sevin dust in front of their entrance so they have to walk through it. Do this at night so you don't get stung.

[KJsMom]

So, I overheard a conversation about this yesterday at the hardware store. The lady said that the wasps leave pheremones and that is the reason they keep returning to the same places. She was looking for a solution to remove the pheremones but I don't know if she had any luck.