Overrun by wasps

[Acer Rubrum]

In all my life, I have seriously never seen so many wasps. They are EVERYWHERE and I can't do anything around the house or yard without being in danger of being stung by a few or a whole nest full of them. Does anyone know "why" I am suddenly seeing such a HUGE population explosion of them?

I do spray the nests when they are in a location where I could safely do so... but some places I can't (such as on the swimming pool ladder- don't want to get poison in the pool...) or some places I can't reach (under the house). What can I do to solve this overall problem?

I have seen the homemade wasp traps but there seems to be mixed reviews as to how well they work, and what kind of bait to use in them.

Please share info with me. Why is this happening and what can I do? Thank you in advance. (I am in northern Louisiana).

[FakeMountainMan]

Are you having a lot of flies? Last summer when we first came to Mo and were cooking outside a lot, we had wasps and hornets everywhere, and it seems that they are just following their food. Some of the wasps eat the flies or other insects, some of them eat other wasps.

[Gray Wolf]

Are they attracted to the water?

[Awnry Abe]

Tell me about it. I haven't been stung in ages, but got nailed twice in one day from two nests over the weekend. Our tube gates are full of them. The hatches have happened and the nests have turned on the 'angry' switch.

Where spray doesn't work for you, I would try knocking down the nest. They will still cluster at the spot, but seem to lose the aggressive edge, and eventually will disappear. Wear good running shoes and your best body armor.

[fordy]

................Call a pest control person and let them diagnose your problem ! Even IF you can't afford their services . , fordy

[Alice In TX/MO]

Yes, the wasps are bad this year here in Missouri. Worst ever.

Yes they are bad this year and out to get me. Three times in the last 6 weeks, 2 times in the last week.

All are not wasps for me though. First was a Bald Faced Hornet that was on my shirt in my house when I picked it up. That is a painful sting!

Second was walking on a path in my woods and it must have been "The Flash" because it got me on the calf and then flew up and got me inside my lip. So fast I couldn't see what it was. No running shoes on but the flip flops went somewhere I'm thinking Yellow Jacket on this one, they are everywhere to.

Third time near the edge of the yard/woods in a different area, got my leg again.

I'm ready for Fall.

[huzzyjr]

Horrible here in south Texas also, Yellow jackets not flying so much as crawling through the grass, never seen them do that before.

[Wolf mom]

Its that Global warmng, doncha know?

Actually, I'm sorry to hear of this it's scary. All we have here is a few mud daubers.

[NorthwoodsMike]

Must be a bad year all around. Hornets built a nest in the soffits of our cabin. Some found their way through the insulation and were tapping on the backside of our ceiling. Thinking it was a mouse, I rapped on it to scare it away(not like that ever works though) In any event, the hornets found a knothole in the wall at that moment(cedar) and I was eye to eye with a half dozen of them. I had to use bee killer spray in the house-which I REALLY don't like, but I hate getting stung more. Lots of cleanup the next day, and we spent that night in the baby's room.

A combination of "great stuff pest control" sealer, and foaming insect killer did the trick-but it wasn't fun.

[shepmom]

Bad in NC this year,too. Never seen so many in our vicinity as this year! We have cans of the Hot Shot strategically placed around the property. Lots more fire ants/other ants as well.
Looking forward to fall.

[MO_cows]

Dawn dish detergent mixed with water in a hand held pump sprayer will kill them, just not as fast as the chemical sprays. About a 10-to-1 mix.

[Wayne02]

We have yellow-jackets up under the wood siding of the house. The location is right near our deck and the flight path of the yellow-jackets coming and going from the nest all day long directly collides with the humans. The dog has been stung already.

This is a difficult spot to treat as they are entering at the base of the siding where it overlaps the foundation wall and there is less than 2" between the bottom of the siding and the ground.

Having one of those cans that shoots 20' doesn't do much good in this situation. The can would have to be laid on its side up against the foundation wall and the attempt to spray up into the space between the siding and the foundation. I don't think there is enough room there to do that. Plus there is nothing saying that they are building the actual nest right in that spot. They could be entering there but the nest may actually be on the other side of the crawl space under the house.

I don't want to just spray foam sealer in that spot as there may be many spots along the bottom of the siding where there are cracks big enough for them to get through. And I'd rather just know that they are dead for sure.

Maybe some sort of dust that they could track back to the nest and kill the others? Maybe I put some sort of board right under the bottom edge of the siding at their entry point and then lay down 2" wide, 12" long pile of the dust on top of the board right under the entry point. The thought being they might land on the board as they que up to get through the entry point. Hmmm

Anybody deal with these things up in wall cavity or in a crawl space?

Thanks

[o&itw]

All those (at least red) wasps will be trying to get into your house in the Fall. If you happen to get a bunch of them that get in some how, a canister vacuum with the extension pipe works great. I guess the dust in the bag does them in as I have never had them come crawling back out.

[arabian knight]

Try starter fluid spray with high ether content. Kills hornets and bees fast.

[arcticow]

I second the pump sprayer and soapy water... Traps work but they are a pain to deal with... A pyrethroid spray in the pump sprayer for under the house so the stream of spray will reach, and this spray keeps them from coming back for a while... JMO...

[Robotron]

Get the powdered Sevin. Hit it at night with a good blast up the opening. Run, if needed. They will come out but have to crawl through the dust. They will carry the dust inside the nest. Might have to hit it a couple of times for a few weeks to insure the new hatches are killed. But there will be a pile of them below on the ground dead. Victory will be yours.

[BlackFeather]

One year we had a bunch of yellow jacket nests, come fall, after the first frost, they went into the ground and one night the skunks clawed open the nests and ate the majority of them. Most of the advice above looks good, be sure to do your spaying or dusting at night, and don't hold the flashlight.

As I remember it seemed they were populous during a dry year. Watch out for ground nests, nests in the ground can be destroyed with a couple of pans full of boiling water. Inside the siding or roof can be tough, when they are gone leave the old nests it seems that they don't like a place that still has last years nest in it.

[Acer Rubrum]

Thank you all for taking the time with your answers. Lots of good suggestions for me to try.

And as someone else mentioned- it's a variety of stinging flying insects- not only red wasps but black ones and striped ones, hornets and lots of yellowjackets and even bumblebees. And they are spending alot of time crawling thru the grass like they are hunting for something.

I am not seeing many flies; I can probably thank the wasps for that. Somehow I am not very grateful.

I am intrigued to know that others are experiencing the same phenomenon that I am here. Mother Nature, ever mysterious and unpredictable...

[charged]

For the wasp nests that are up high, like under a roof overhang, I use a BB gun to shoot them down. I hide around the corner so that only the gun barrel is visible.