Wasps

[WanderingOak]

I was hanging some trim around my front door yesterday, and I wasn't payin close attention to where I was putting my hands. Well, it turns out that I wound up sticking one of my hands up inside a recess, right into a swarm of wasps. There was no nest in sight, but they were flying in and out of a gap in the eaves. I jerked back in suprise, and wound up getting stung repeatedly on the head and face before I was able to fully retreat. Now, that the swarm was aggitated, I couldn't go anywhere near my front door without being stung again. After a quick trip in through the back door, I returned with a can of Raid 'All-Natural Botanical' wasp spray (it was all I had on hand). I soaked down the wood around the front door and any wasps that I could see, and kept spraying until the can was empty. I didn't get them all, so the survivors, noticing that I was unarmed, and upset at my use of chemical weapons, proceded to sting me about the hands until I was able to retreat once again. Half an hour later, I could still see the wasps buzzing around the eaves above my front door. Apparently the 'Green' Raid wasn't strong enough a deterrant.

So, where did this horror movie script come from? I have never seen wasps around my front door before. Then again, I have never actually looked for them around there either. I did close up an open eave on the other side of the house a few days earlier, and there may have been an nest up in there somewhere. If that is the case, it could be that the only exit they found was above my door.

Anyhow, I'm done playing games with the eco-weenie 'environmentally safe' wasp spray. I'll be returning this afternoon, armed with several cans of 'weapons of wasp destruction', and dressed appropriately in long sleeves, (hopefully) sting-proof leather gloves, and broad-brimmed hat. I'll probably have to open up the eave again, and spray up there as well.

Anyhow, once I am rid of the wasps, I'll be sealing up my eaves nice and tight to make sure this never happens again. So, does Raid (either the 'green' or the 'mean' varieties) make it difficult to caulk or paint afterwards? How long do the sprays last?

[Little Quacker in OR]

Wow! That was not fun! I hope you went with the Hornet and Wasp "guns" that shoot out in a stream as opposed to just a spray?

IT is also good to ID the culprits. I am guessing you had Yellow Jackets there? Or a species of Hornet. They are both really grumpy! You will need to kill the Queen in any case(usually)before they will vacate the area. Dang! Or of course the first freeze will kill them off.

This usually involves ripping out stuff until you get to the actual nest site and then spraying that liberally with the hot stuff. The really good spray is Oil based and lasts a real long time. The "weenie" products are just water based.

You might check with your county extention service for advice. Here in our county they will send out a vespid expert to help with these situations. Then there's always calling in a professional exterminating service.

Good luck...that is really bad stuff!

LQ

[limey]

Don't just close up the eaves and think you have solved the problem. I had yellow jackets buzzing around the eaves on my last house - they were using a tiny gap in the siding to get into the space between the ceiling and the attic over my bedroom closet. Believe it or not, they ate through the drywall ceiling and entered the closet. Fortunately I heard the buzzing in the closet and was able to vacate the room before being stung. Long story short - the exterminator had to come out twice before they were all dead - the contractor repairing the closet ceiling said there were thousands of dead wasps up there. Ugh! So be warned - call in an expert. It is no fun to be awakened by a loud angry buzzing coming from your clothes closet!!

[Calfkeeper]

Here on the dairy my husband uses a product called: CV-80D Farm and Dairy. On the label it only lists flies, cockroaches...etc, but it gets the wasps too. The only thing is that even though the stuff touts itself as "instant knockdown" it takes awhile for it to kill and the buggars buzz around for awhile. I think it's one of a few products like this approved for dairy barn use. It's spendy, but worth it.

[bill not in oh]

I don't mess around with them.... This shoots a stream about 10-15 feet and drops them on contact.



I never use this near the barn, around any of the livestock or within 100 yards of any waterway (we have a small creek). But any wasps or hornets around the house are toast....
Let the flaming begin.... I have my fire-proof suit on!

I'd probably give it a week before painting.

[1_gunner]

I was told many years ago by a bee keeper that the best way to kill bees and wasps was to fill a garden sprayer with almost boiling water and a degreasing soap. The hot water knocks the bees and wasp from the air and the soap disolves the wax on their bodies that keeps their liquid internals in. The bleed to death in seconds. Very effective and non-toxic. I never use anything else.

[Maura]

1 gunner, thanks for the tip.

[WanderingOak]

WOOOOHH!


Well, I wound up getting Ortho Hornet and Wasp killer, and Enforcer Wasp and Yellow Jacket Foam. The Ortho was pretty much useless. It dribbled a weak foam about 5 feet or so, and the wasps seemed to brush the stuff off and keep on going. I'm going to see if I can get my money back. The Enforcer, OTOH, sprayed at least 10 feet, and covered everything with a foam thicker than shaving cream. It turns out there was a nest inside the wall. How I never noticed it before is beyond me. I guess I just didn't look up when going out the door. Anyhow, I was able to get at it without tearing up too much of the wall by removing the porch light. It was a HUGE paper-wasp nest, and of course I saturated the dadburn thing as soon as I could see it. There isn't enough light inside the hole to take a good picture, but I'll try tomorrow when I remove it.

These were persistent little buggers. For a while it seemed as if they were moving with a purpose. I wound up getting stung twice today during this ordeal. First, one wasp managed to get up inside my glove through the wrist. Afterwards, I was able to tuck one glove inside my jacket sleeve, but then ran into an impasse when I tried to to the same to my other hand while wearing gloves. Then, I was stung on the tip of my nose. Now THAT hurt. My sinuses went temporarily haywire, and my eyes were watering so bad I could barely see. I ran inside to wash my face and put witch-hazel on the sting to help draw out the poison and relieve the pain. Once I could see clearly (and find my glasses, which I threw across the living room on the way to the medicine chest), I put on a dust mask to protect my nose, and dove back into the wasp mine. Thus armored, I was able to keep my head clear enough to remove the light and nuke the bastards.

That was fun, NOT!!!!!

At least it's done except for the cleanup, tomorrow.

[bill not in oh]

I'm sorry, but....

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by bill in oh

I'm sorry, but....

It IS funny in retrospect. I'm thinking about getting a part time job writing humor some day.

[lgslgs]

Glad you got them. Any of you wasp hunters have any ideas how to deal with this one? The nest is 10 - 12 inches across and 30+ feet in the air, and in a lousy location. We think they are baldface hornets.



Lynda

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by lgslgs

Glad you got them. Any of you wasp hunters have any ideas how to deal with this one? The nest is 10 - 12 inches across and 30+ feet in the air, and in a lousy location. We think they are baldface hornets.

Lynda

Yeeep!!!!


I thought I had it bad. What you might want to try is roping off the tree so it falls either uphill, or parallel to the creek. Then cut the tree, and abandon ship as quick as you can. If you have a bee suit, wear it. After dark, when the hornets are calmer, go back with your favorite WHD (Weapon of Hornet Destruction) and nuke the living daylights out of the nest.

[horsefarmer]

I'd recommend just moving.

[Farmerwilly2]

Lgslgs. Just leave them alone, winter will take care of them. If you must, I knock mine down with a 3 foot long stick of wood, just throw it up like a boomerang and knock it to the ground. Then run like hell. Come back after dark and torch it.

Wanderingoak. Me and the Mrs. lived for a year in an old farmhouse that hadn't had tennants in several years. I went trough cans of wasp spray. We bought ours at a dollar store, their brand. When it hit them they dropped and died. I made the rounds of that house spraying. Under the siding, in the window frame, in this crack, in that crevice. Got to the point I could shoot them out of the air with it. I managed to kill off an entire species 'waspish farmhouses' without being stung. I think your technique needs some improvement.

[bill not in oh]

Originally Posted by WanderingOak

It IS funny in retrospect. I'm thinking about getting a part time job writing humor some day.

Go ahead and make the full-time commitment - you've definitely got talent...

[bill not in oh]

Originally Posted by lgslgs

Glad you got them. Any of you wasp hunters have any ideas how to deal with this one? The nest is 10 - 12 inches across and 30+ feet in the air, and in a lousy location. We think they are baldface hornets.



Lynda

$25, a meal and travel expenses and I'll get 'em for ya.

OOPS - what kind of livestock is that?

[bill not in oh]

Originally Posted by horsefarmer

I'd recommend just moving.

Another aspiring comedian!!!!

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by Farmerwilly2

Wanderingoak. Me and the Mrs. lived for a year in an old farmhouse that hadn't had tennants in several years. I went trough cans of wasp spray. We bought ours at a dollar store, their brand. When it hit them they dropped and died. I made the rounds of that house spraying. Under the siding, in the window frame, in this crack, in that crevice. Got to the point I could shoot them out of the air with it. I managed to kill off an entire species 'waspish farmhouses' without being stung. I think your technique needs some improvement.

Well, a craftsman only as good as his tools. Both of the sprays that I got were foaming (even though the Ortho didn't say that on the can), so it had a tendency to drop in the air while shooting. The cheap stuff is probably better for hitting on the wing. When I got stung today, I was pulling boards off of the house. If I had a wingman to shoot down incoming Zeroes while I was working, I wouldn't have gotten stung. After all, the nest was inside the wall, and I couldn't pry with a crowbar and wave a can of insecticide around at the same time...

[bill not in oh]

Originally Posted by Farmerwilly2

I think your technique needs some improvement.

There may be the makin's of a comedy book here...

[lgslgs]

Well, I think we're going to see what the local pros say about how they'd take out our hornet nest. If it wasn't so close to the goat house I'd be happy to leave it there, but I'd hate to have a storm front come through and drop it close while they're in their shelter.

Lynda