Topic: Best Way to Get Rid of Paper Wasps?

[Dr. Frankenstein]

I was out working on a CB500 in the garage today and happened to notice a paper wasp silently flying around up high near the apex of the garage...and then I noticed two...and then TEN...! And probably more! They were up high, doing their waspy thing, sometimes dipping down to about head height, but I can't abide that. My garage is a rather new metal pole barn with the corrugated type roof, but I can't see a nest anywhere.

How do you guys control wasps and bees and the like in the garage, especially when you can't see the nest? I really can't spray around the seams of the garage with wasp killer, it would splatter all over the bikes I have; Ideally I need something they're attracted to that they can crawl into and can't get out of once they get in, but I'm open to ideas. Paper wasps are pretty docile, but they have to go!

[HondaMan]

Paper wasps are pretty docile, but they have to go!

The hell you say! Around here, they chase people - and hurt my dogs! (That was their BIG mistake...)
I got some "shoots 25 feet" spray, in a black can. One short shot of it (like 1 second) can (and HAS) wipe out an entire large nest in 10 seconds.
Last year, 8 such nests.
The year before, more than a dozen.
Jihad on all paper wasps.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Hey HM! Yeah, so far they are just minding their own business, but like I said they have got to go. I have no idea where they're coming from, but the plan is to get some of that 20-foot spray foam and try as best I can to soak down the rafters - it's just going to be a PITA to cover up all the bikes...has anybody ever used one of those sticky Wasp Trapstiks?

I once found an old Fiat 1500 Cabriolet behind a derelict garage - I opened the door to look inside and the wasps that had built a nest in the doorframe didn't like that! Chased me for about a hundred yards and got me twice! I hate the little bastards.

[Ichiban 4]

I was out working on a CB500 in the garage today and happened to notice a paper wasp silently flying around up high near the apex of the garage...and then I noticed two...and then TEN...! And probably more! They were up high, doing their waspy thing, sometimes dipping down to about head height, but I can't abide that. My garage is a rather new metal pole barn with the corrugated type roof, but I can't see a nest anywhere.

How do you guys control wasps and bees and the like in the garage, especially when you can't see the nest? I really can't spray around the seams of the garage with wasp killer, it would splatter all over the bikes I have; Ideally I need something they're attracted to that they can crawl into and can't get out of once they get in, but I'm open to ideas. Paper wasps are pretty docile, but they have to go!

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This time of year [even in Virginia] they are probably 'scouting' for new locations to build their nest.  The wasps you see are probably 'foundress queens' and won't increase their nest size much until she has a lot of daughters [meaning laying eggs and enlarging the nest size significantly]..to do the construction and foraging work.

A very effective way to prevent that w/o using a lot of pesticides..etc..is to spray the areas around eves/potential nest sites with a mixture of water and clove oil [also called eugenol]..or vanilla extract.  You can get clove oil usually at the local drug store/pharmacy BTW.  Natural vanilla is also more effective [compared to artificial vanilla or 'vanillan']..which you can determine by reading the ingredients label.

As a long time beekeeper myself..I've had to do wasp and bee prevention measures for my various friends and acquaintances BTW

Any further questions..just PM me..

Best..Al/Ichi

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Well, they're not going to build one in my garage! Lol! I went back in and looked around with the lights off and a flashlight and think I've spotted their little premature nesting site - it's in the apex of the garage, where the tin sheets of the roof come together so I squirted a bit of wasp and yellow jacket killer into the area to try to discourage them. I'm an old AF chemical weapons guy and appreciate a good nerve agent. This usually happens every year, I get a few buzzing around in there, but not like this! I have some sticky traps and fake wasp nests coming too, I heard they work to keep wasps away, so what the hell...

That's interesting about the clove oil and vanilla...what's the ratio of clove and/or vanilla? Vanilla is rather expensive, isn't it? But the garage would smell lovely, I would think! 

[Kelly E]

In the spring I'm always on the lookout for wasp/yellow jacket nests. If they are too much for me I call my pest guy. He has a pesticide gun mounted in his truck made from a pressure washer wand that will shoot 30+ feet up and blows the nests apart.

[Ichiban 4]

Well, they're not going to build one in my garage! Lol! I went back in and looked around with the lights off and a flashlight and think I've spotted their little premature nesting site - it's in the apex of the garage, where the tin sheets of the roof come together so I squirted a bit of wasp and yellow jacket killer into the area to try to discourage them. I'm an old AF chemical weapons guy and appreciate a good nerve agent. This usually happens every year, I get a few buzzing around in there, but not like this! I have some sticky traps and fake wasp nests coming too, I heard they work to keep wasps away, so what the hell...

That's interesting about the clove oil and vanilla...what's the ratio of clove and/or vanilla? Vanilla is rather expensive, isn't it? But the garage would smell lovely, I would think! 

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It doesn't take much of either the Clove or Vanilla oil.  I usually put about 1/4 ounce in a 1-quart spray bottle..shake-up thoroughly..and spray away on areas you don't want the wasps to build nests.  You have to remove any nest material you see first though..or they may try to rebuild the nest. these mixtures act as a repellant BTW.  They don't kill the wasps [or bees] directly.  But they seem to hate the smell of those two materials..clove and/or vanilla.  If the area is subject to rain or after protracted periods [several months usually] the odor dissipates..so I've had to rarely re-apply a spray treatment.  After the wasps have apparently been repelled from that area though..they seem to remember that it's not a good place for them to build nests [at least that's been my theory LOL].

BTW You don't have to worry about poisoning yourself or other people who may come in contact with the sprayed areas.  That's one of the reasons that I've been asked to do this for people who have pets or small children in the area..I've surmised.

Best of luck..Al/Ichi

[HondaMan]

Yeah, bees get a free pass around here: my friends raise them, too, and they aren't aggressive. The paper wasps are, and are a nightmare as our next-door neighbor's tall tree had a huge nest of paper wasps and another of hornets in it for 10+ years until the tree broke and fell. All those generations of wasps from it have a memory of this area, and show up in everything - my motorhome, my garage, my shed, my toolchests (outdoor Rubbermaid types), under the deck, in my patio cover, under both eaves on the house, the bike shed, the rearview mirrors and fenderwells on my cars (all of them) and in their doorframes if the door isn't opened at least every 2 days...yeah, they are a big problem here, starting about 3 weeks ago this year.

[Stev-o]

Yeah, bees get a free pass around here...

Our neighbor down the street, a cop a with a very attractive wife, were beekeepers with a couple hives in their backyard.  We would get bees in our backyard around the water fountain coming over for a drink! I didnt mind them, they are good for the envirement.
The neighbors moved, no more bees, guess they took them with them.

[Kelly E]

Several of our neighbors have hives. Our rhododendrons and azaleas are humming with bees in the spring.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Yes, bees I have no problem with - although I think there are some Africanized honey bees buzzing around that get real interested in you rather than flowers! It's the wasps I can't stand! I picked up some fake wasp nests b/c I heard that when a wasp sees a nest that is not his own, he diddy-bops out of the area, and there may be something to it - I put these up in places in the garage where wasps like to hang out, and haven't seen any yet...I also put up two of the green sticky traps up high in the garage in their flight path, but haven't seen any in there, either - so I hope they have 'bugged out'! I kinda like the green one - it gives off this very 'Seventies' vibe...! 

[Ichiban 4]

Hi all..

Just wanted to suggest here..that many surveys/studies in the past have shown that within the general public..there's a general fear and phobia about 'stinging insects'.  It goes beyond what the actual risks and/or potential seriousness is..and that these critters pose..if I may suggest. I say this after having kept bees for over 50 years..and having studied entomology in college.  I've also taught beekeeping classes and been an officer in numerous professional beekeeping/apicultural associations..over the years.

This is not to say that we shouldn't take reasonable precautions against getting stung or seriously injured by stinging insects. [about 2 to 5% of the general population is 'genuinely allergic' to bee/insect stings BTW]  In answer to a previous comment about "African bee stings"..the risk of that within the general population is about as much as getting hit by lightning..BTW.  As I've tried to explain here previously..generally speaking wasps and hornets are much more aggressive than 'domestic' honey bees.  [The two families of insects are called Vespid and Apis..respectively] Generally speaking..wasps and hornets are predatory and actively go out to hunt other insects/animals.  Honey bees are defensively directed to protect their nests and young [HB's also lose their lives..after stinging.  Wasps and hornets do not..and can sting repeatedly..as some may know from experience]

If I may further suggest here..some of the suggestions on this thread..to me seem a little bit exaggerated and paranoid..compared to the actual risks of getting stung.  Please take all reasonable precautions folks..but it's not necessary to go to some of the lengths that have been suggested here previously..if I may suggest..and as someone who has been there-done that many times dealing with bees..wasps..and their nests.

Bee Happy..

Al/Ichi
 

[Dr. Frankenstein]

Ichiban, please understand - I love Honeybees! I don't kill honeybees, they are generally very placid, don't bother me and are very important for the environment, even the seemingly more aggressive "Africanized" honeybees that seem to show up here, although they tend to get a little too close for my comfort sometimes; I'm not sure if they are "Africanized" or not, but they do seem more aggressive than the garden-variety honeybees... and I'm sure wasps and hornets and yellow jackets have a place too - just not in my garage, or my yard, especially in the summer with my grandchildren running around. Short of somehow convincing them to move and recognizing that they don't negotiate, annihilation is my Go-To. 

Question though: is there any truth to the hypothesis that wasps (and hornets, I suppose) will avoid an extant nest (faux nest, in this case) that is not their own? And how do they know?  Do you know...?