Wasp nest removal? ? ?

[Ray]

What's the best way to get rid of a wasp nest?

[Stubby]

Very carefully. (Budda-bing).

After dark they will be calm. Hit them with a hornet/wasp spray which has strong focused stream. Keep a flashlight on it so you can know if they come streaming out after you. Run!

If you get stung, be alert for breathing difficulties and head for a hospital immediately if the problems start.

Ray wrote:

[Robo]

broom, then run.

[dpb]

Unless it's _really_ large or very inacessible, I just take a stick or whatever it takes to reach it and knock 'em off. Yellow jackets aren't particularly aggressive. If a lot of activity, a shot of a wasp killer will discourage them from hanging around too closely. Only ones I really worry about much are actual hornet nests (the round, papery looking nests, not the celled bee-like ones) -- them suckers are _BAD_! :).

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, I just got rid of one on my apple tree. I did it in the night when dark. Used a flash light with red filter, wrapped it in a garbage bag and off it goes. They are all in the nest when dark and can't see well. I was thinning apples and got stung twice during the day. I did not even know it was there.

[p4o2]

Out in the open is easy (do what others have said). We had one in the wall of the house. You could see them comming and going in cracks under the shingles.

Long process. I calked each and every crack and eventually kept them in/out. The ones that were sealed in came into the house one by one and met their maker. No one got stung. This was last year and theydid not come back (yet).

Did try the spray first but it could not reach the nest(s).

[Goedjn]

I use a 1/2 EMT conduit with an 8' stick taped to it, but that's because the nests are 15' from the nearest window.

[zxcvbob]

Next time, put some 10% Sevin dust in the crack where you see them going in and out. That'll take care of the whole nest in a couple of days. Those sprays are very fast acting; that's not what you want when you can't see the nest.

Bob

[Seth Goodman]

Good advice. Also, dust (when properly applied with a duster), will turn corners in the wall, whereas liquid will not.

[Lawrence]

If you wait till winter the wasps will be gone. You can then knock the nest down with impunity. I do this every time they put one near the house. It works well and avoids poisons and stings.

Lawrence

[Nick Danger]

I've done a couple - one on a low-hanging branch on a tree, another on a roof eave, difficult to reach. For the one hanging low, I borrowed a protective outfit from a beekeeper friend, then attacked the nest at dusk with a plastic garbage bag. Dusk is a good time because people can see but they can't. As I approached it, the beekeeper outfit somehow started feeling less and less safe. It took some time for me to work up the courage but when I fnally did, I got the bag around the nest, broke it away from the branch, and buried it. When I was done, I stood on the front porch and had my wife inspect me under the light. There were no wasps on me.

For the second one, I waited for a heavy nighttime rainstorm, then put on a long overcoat, heavy gloves, hood, goggles, in an effort to cover as much of myself as possible. (Beekeeper friend was no longer available.) Then I blasted the nest with a hose. When the nest appeared to be in tatters, I declared victory and went inside. None of them came after me. A few days later, I observed that reconstruction was well underway and they were back in business again. I waited for the next nighttime rainstorm, and blasted the nest until there was nothing left of it.

[Phisherman]

Get some hornet/wasp spray, the kind that shoots 15 feet. Half hour after sundown squirt the nest--you don't need much, just enough to wet the nest. The next day, knock the nest down.

[bamboo]

D9 caterpillar with an air conditioned cab

Now if you want to tell us where the wasp nest is we just might have a method more suited.

Ray wrote:

[Stormin Mormon]

Some of the aerosol stuff is pretty good, to knock em senseless. I was in a friend's carport today, and the guy had three wasp nests about six inches diameter, each was a six incher. I squirted them with some wasp stuff, but there were still 20 or 30 angry wasps buzzing around. Bugler, sound the retreat! I didn't stay around to discuss it with them.

[Nick Hull]

Those round papery hornets are OK. I had a big one just outside my front door, we went in & out all the time & stacked firewood next to it and no stings. No salesmen either ;)

[lysergic]

BIG Shotgun !!!!!

[lysergic]

Who is their maker?

[Abe]

Stand under it and hit it repeatedly with a stick. Keep hitting it until it drops. Then stand over it and watch for activity.

[jeffc]

I used one of the wasp and hornet sprays that said it would kill on contact. I was shocked that this claim was literally true. They fell from the next dead on the ground. I still would run in case some of them don't get a direct hit, but that stuff really works.

[Bert Byfield]

It's still best to do it at night. Use a flashlight til you hit the nest with the spray, then turn off the flashlight (if they come at you, they will go for the light) and walk (they take running as guilt) inside.