OT - Bumper crop of wasps - OT

bettysnephew

I certainly do not know about other areas but here in Iowa we seem to have perfect conditions for growing wasps this year. I generally have one nest in a high roof peak that I have to zap with Hot Shot and that is it for the year. This season I have dealt with the regular one plus quite a few others in new places. Discovered one yesterday while relocating the medium Egg to the back deck. After moving the Egg from the front deck to the rear I went to collect the Egg paraphernalia and happened to look up at the ceiling above. One of the inset lamps was totally covered with these vile spawn of Satan. As of this morning, they are no more but I will have to unscrew the light bulb at a later date and clean out all of the built up nest material in the fixture. Is anyone else experiencing such a rise in numbers of these things or is it just a local phenomenon?

TexanOfTheNorth

Just the opposite for us this year. In fact, I have not seen a single nest this year and very few wasps at all!

I suspect that global warming is at play here.

Legume

Tons of them here in Austin, probably 3x normal

bettysnephew

TexanOfTheNorth said:
I suspect that global warming is at play here.

I believe so also, and when the New Madrid fault finally lets loose, @StLCharcoal and I will have beach front property.

          

Ozzie_Isaac

I've already had to hit 3 nests this year.  Usually just 1.

My Jack Russel Terrier spots them for me.  Especially the low ones.

fishlessman

not many yellow jackets or paper wasps seen this year but for some reason im getting mud daubers on the boat, been removing the nests weekly, they seem to be the only kind that dont bite and ive been swarmed by all sorts of bees and wasps

Brisket_Fanatic

Had one get made in my birdhouse but otherwise haven't seen hardly any in NWIA. Just use the egg more so this doesn't happen. 

northGAcock

Call me demented.....but I love shooting them %&%#$@'s with the wasp spray. 25 feet is a good range and distance for me.

MJG

I found a nest under the lip of my pool...or should I say they found me. 

Legume

Ugh, hate that in the pool.  I get a constant stream of wasps landing on the water that freaks me out when I'm in the pool.  The other day I spent 30 minutes smacking them with a pool noodle, they don't die, it just stuns them.

jonnymack

I've had so many I've lost count here in Georgia. Dirt dobbers, black wasps, regular wasps. Been some busy mornings "waking and shaking" them nests with some hot shot. 

GuitarEC

When I worked at BellSouth as a payphone tech (payphones, remember them?) we keep wasp and hornet spray that must be made of liquid death - I mean, I hit one in mid-flight with this stuff and it was like flipping a switch he dropped that fast.

Sometimes I wished I had kept a can or two of that stuff - or at least, remembered what it was so I could get a supply...

Oh, well.

Eric "GuitarEC"
Metro Atl, Ga.

bettysnephew

GuitarEC    I believe the Hot Shot I mentioned above is the same or similar. It drops them right now with a direct hit but if you are just close they flit around on the ground for about 15 seconds before they die. A pal of mine that worked at the local phone company had some of the stuff in a white spray can you referred to for when they had an infested pedestal and it worked about the same.

jonnymack

Yeah Hot Shot drops 'em good. I like to wake up early and deal the death whilst they are roaming their nests. 

theyolksonyou

jonnymack said:

I've had so many I've lost count here in Georgia. Dirt dobbers, black wasps, regular wasps. Been some busy mornings "waking and shaking" them nests with some hot shot. 

Is that the older, more mature version of wake and bake?

jonnymack

hahaha...yes only one of the many concessions to middle age fatherhood.

swordsmn

GuitarEC said:

When I worked at BellSouth as a payphone tech (payphones, remember them?) we keep wasp and hornet spray that must be made of liquid death - I mean, I hit one in mid-flight with this stuff and it was like flipping a switch he dropped that fast.

Sometimes I wished I had kept a can or two of that stuff - or at least, remembered what it was so I could get a supply...

Oh, well.

Eric "GuitarEC"
Metro Atl, Ga.

@GuitarEC still awaiting my SASIL soln  to that box o wasps on my carport.
I would think you'd want to get even.  We missed a good opportunity last winter.. :-(

Eggingaround

I have seen a lot this year as well. The flys this year in North Texas are out of control also. 

MaskedMarvel

Stung for the first time this year since maybe high school. Damn that itch for four days...

YYZegger

I have a nest burrowed underground up against my house covered by a cedar shrub, so its really hard to get close to them because you have to pull the shrub back, and then spray into the hole, crafty little buggers!  Every time I get close to them they go for you!  I put my lawn sprinkler there for an hour and flooded them which really pissed them off, but they are persistent and eventually keep going into the hole.  I tried traps, fake hives because apparently they are territorially, etc.  The only thing I haven't tried is running my shop vac in front of the hole for a few hours and suck them all up!  I may have to hire an exterminator for this one unless anyone has any suggestions I don't know about?

jaydub58

@XYZegger, It's smart to wait until it is just barely dark.  When those little buggers go to bed, they are gone.
Then go out with a flashlight and spray a whole bunch of the most potent wasp killer you know of into the hole.
 I did that with one in my yard, and it worked.
Good luck. 

YYZegger

@jaydub58 Thanks for the tips, so did you use the foaming spray that you put in the hole, or the aerosol type?  Did they come out of the hole when you did it?

jaydub58

I used an aerosol type. Believe me, when you start spraying that into the hole, those little buggers won't be coming out. Just give it a real real healthy spray, and you shouldn't see them anymore.

YYZegger

@jaydub58 Ok, will do tonight!

jaydub58

You'll be glad you did.
If you think of it, post how it went sometime tomorrow.

YYZegger

I may have to suit up with long pants a winter jacket and hood for protection just incase!  I will let you know how it goes, thanks!

Jcpeewee

GuitarEC said:

When I worked at BellSouth as a payphone tech (payphones, remember them?) we keep wasp and hornet spray that must be made of liquid death - I mean, I hit one in mid-flight with this stuff and it was like flipping a switch he dropped that fast.

Sometimes I wished I had kept a can or two of that stuff - or at least, remembered what it was so I could get a supply...

Oh, well.

Eric "GuitarEC"
Metro Atl, Ga.

I bet the wasp spray was called MIST

Carolina Q

YYZegger said:

I may have to suit up with long pants a winter jacket and hood for protection just incase!  I will let you know how it goes, thanks!

They go to sleep at night. No worries.

platypusrex

I'm allergic to the little bastards and we have had a bunch here in Austin. After a bit of research I ended up buying this stuff and a sprayer:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007EC692U

Word is you can spray this in the eaves and it keeps the buggers from coming back for 3 months. As an added bonus I read that while this is the best for wasps, it is also a very good generic bug spray. I plan to stop my quarterly pest control service and just spray this every 3 months. We shall see. Supposedly safe around pets, kids, etc.

YYZegger

@platypusrex let us know how that product works out for you?

YYZegger

So last night I put on my headlight, armed with a can of death spray in one hand, and the other in a leather working glove to pull back the prickly cedar shrub.  As soon as I pulled back the shrub, all I could hear is the buzzing of many many wasps, maybe hundreds of them, scared the crap out of me!  I saw one get up and come to check me out and I sprayed him dead, then sprayed the entire area as much as I thought I could then ran to my garage!  It was kinda funny, but could have been pretty painful as well!  Today there seems to be some wasps trying to goto the nest, but then they fly away, probably the smell of death or the reside of the spray is scaring them away.  Lets see how this works out in a few days?  Thanks for all the insight!