Wasps!

[Eilan]

Last week, I discovered a wasps' nest in our newspaper box. My husband sprayed it down with some spray that we bought at the store (Real-Kill Wasp and Hornet Spray, if that matters). Guess that pissed them off, because then they decided to migrate to the mailbox. So my husband sprayed that as well.

This morning I went to get the paper and there was a wasp sitting on top of it, just daring me to pick it up. Those fuckers seem hellbent on building a nest down there.

My husband and I don't want to get stung, nor do we want out letter/paper carriers to get stung. What can we do besides spraying the hell out of the mailbox and paper box? Is there something else we should be doing to make those places less attractive to them?

 

[EJFan]

dryer sheets... bounce, snuggle, etc.

 

[Eilan]

dryer sheets... bounce, snuggle, etc.

Seriously? What do they do, make it smell too good?

 

[EJFan]

i don't know exactly how it works but it tends to work in a closed area. my uncle even puts one in his collar when he mows the lawn to keep mosquitos away. the smell is what it boils down to but i can't explain any more deeply.

 

[Halo_n_horns]

WD-40. DEAD IN SECONDS. The oil clogs their breathing hole along their abdomens and they sufficate VERY quickly. The oil also keeps them from flying while they're being sprayed, so no threat of retaliation on their part. I haven't seen a wasp spray do the job as well as WD-40 EVER!!!

 

[Ravin the Poet]

AK47!!

COME ON...you know that would be fun!



Seriously, maybe call your city and tell them off the problem. We had a beehive growing in the neighbours yard in a tree. City came and removed it.\


Ravin

 

[Matadore]

Last week, I discovered a wasps' nest in our newspaper box. My husband sprayed it down with some spray that we bought at the store (Real-Kill Wasp and Hornet Spray, if that matters). Guess that pissed them off, because then they decided to migrate to the mailbox. So my husband sprayed that as well.

This morning I went to get the paper and there was a wasp sitting on top of it, just daring me to pick it up. Those fuckers seem hellbent on building a nest down there.

My husband and I don't want to get stung, nor do we want out letter/paper carriers to get stung. What can we do besides spraying the hell out of the mailbox and paper box? Is there something else we should be doing to make those places less attractive to them?

The little buggers like enclosed areas. You could burn them out, but that has it's pitfalls, too.

Any of a number of commercial, OTC products should do the trick.
Best of luck

 

[Halo_n_horns]

AK47!!

COME ON...you know that would be fun!



Seriously, maybe call your city and tell them off the problem. We had a beehive growing in the neighbours yard in a tree. City came and removed it.\


Ravin

Cities and counties will remove hives because of the killer bee threat. Wasp nests are a different matter.

 

[Eilan]

Seriously, maybe call your city and tell them off the problem. We had a beehive growing in the neighbours yard in a tree. City came and removed it.

Unfortunately, we don't live in the city limits, and our township trustee isn't much help because he seems to think water will flow uphill, and that creates its own set of problems when it rains.

WD-40. DEAD IN SECONDS. The oil clogs their breathing hole along their abdomens and they sufficate VERY quickly. The oil also keeps them from flying while they're being sprayed, so no threat of retaliation on their part. I haven't seen a wasp spray do the job as well as WD-40 EVER!!!

Sure couldn't do any worse than the sprays we've been using. Last fall my hubby burned out a nest of ground hornets because they stung one of the kids. If we could use fire without burning down the mail/paper boxes, that would be great. Mmm. . . fire.

 

[Matadore]

Wasps

Wait until dusk when they have gone to bed, then spray charcoal lighter fluid on the nest. Be sure to have a waterhose connected and turned on. Use a torch made by wrapping and wiring a rag onto a broomstick to ignite the nest. Be prepared to spray more lighter fluid onto the nest if you have to.

You may have to repaint the mailbox.

Try a different brand of insecticide first before the fire.

 

[Eilan]

Wait until dusk when they have gone to bed, then spray charcoal lighter fluid on the nest. Be sure to have a waterhose connected and turned on. Use a torch made by wrapping and wiring a rag onto a broomstick to ignite the nest. Be prepared to spray more lighter fluid onto the nest if you have to.

You may have to repaint the mailbox.

Try a different brand of insecticide first before the fire.

What if we see wasps but no nest? Does that mean that there's a nest somewhere and we just don't know where it is?

 

[leanoir]

What if we see wasps but no nest? Does that mean that there's a nest somewhere and we just don't know where it is?

Most likely, yes. I know back at my parents' house, they liked to nest in the corners just under the roof. I'd suggest checking the branches of any nearby trees, as well as your porch/garage/etc.

 

[mywifdigstriprz]

When you find the nest use "Hot Shot" bee bee and wasp spray. Make sure that you go out after dark and preferably on a cooler night. Spray like half the can on the nest. Whatever spray you use be VERY liberal with it.

Good luck

 

[Matadore]

Some wasps do not nest. Mud daubbers will use mud to seal a 1/4 inch hole after they pack live spiders into it and lay an egg on top.

But most are gragarrious and nest. Look for either a flat, gray, paper disk or a cone shaped gray paper spheriod. Maybe under the box; maybe between or in a crack. That is what you are after. Killing or burning won't rid you of the problem unless you get the nest.

 

[AngelicAnguish]

We just killed a wasps nest in our apple tree out front of our house. They where paper wasps from what I've read because they had a grey "paper" like nest that was about the size of a cantelope.

We got some foaming wasps nest killer, went out at about 3 am, sprayed the cover of their nest and listened to them buzz like mad! They couldn't get through the foam though and now we have a pile of dead wasps under the tree!!! Still haven't removed the nest though, will do after we spray it once more to ensure it's completely dead!

Same tree also has a bee's nest inside of it, but so far the bees have not caused any harm to the family, etc.

Find their nest and kill'em!

 

[Matadore]

Honey bees are a most benigin insect. They pollenate our fruit crops. Of course if thee hive has been contaminated by the African strain, then they can be dangerous! If you haven't been stung yet, it is almost certain that you won't be.

These little insects are way too busy to waste prrecious daylight bothering us.

 

[Private_Label]

What if we see wasps but no nest? Does that mean that there's a nest somewhere and we just don't know where it is?

Around here that means they have found a crack to crawl through and set up a nest inside something (usually the attic or wall space). If there is an area that they congregate, you will have to find the crack they are using then figure out where the nest is inside. At that point, you may want to call a professional exterminator to deal with removal.

 

[karndav]

hang cloves of garlic. I remeber my mom doing this around the awning when I was young. It kept the wasps from building nests!

 

[Ravin the Poet]

Sorry Jonny, I am still going with the AK47 myself.



Ravin

 

[BarnabySchmidt]

Wow, it seems like WD-40 is good for EVERYTHING. Is there anything it can't do?

 

[Guest]

 

[Lynxie]

Some wasps do not nest. Mud daubbers will use mud to seal a 1/4 inch hole after they pack live spiders into it and lay an egg on top.

But most are gragarrious and nest. Look for either a flat, gray, paper disk or a cone shaped gray paper spheriod. Maybe under the box; maybe between or in a crack. That is what you are after. Killing or burning won't rid you of the problem unless you get the nest.

Having just moved into my first house, we're learning to deal with wasps, too. I've seen mud daubbers building their nests in the past, but I just saw them in action trapping spiders for the first time last week. It's so neat! They fly from web to web, wiggling them to lure the spiders out. When they get one to come out, they pounce on it and carry it off. Call me a discovery channel geek if you must (I'm not afraid to admit it), but I thought this was damn cool. I hate spiders with a passion, and anything that kills 'em is my friend.

Paper wasps, on the other hand, aren't quite as cool. Neither are yellow jackets or those nasty black & white bees. Eilan, what's your mailbox mounted on? If it's on a hollow pole, they could easily be nesting inside of it. I'd also suggest checking the area around the box - as others have said, the wasps can nest in the eaves or siding of buildings, or in trees/shrubs. If you do find the nest, you definitely need to wait til after dark to spray it. That way you can be sure you'll hit all the wasps, and they're generally lethargic enough at night to pose less of a danger. I'd suggest trying another brand of wasp spray, as setting a fire in your mailbox doesn't sound like the best idea (unless the nest is somewhere else that's more fire-friendly). I've also heard that fire extinguishers come in handy for killing wasps, and the WD-40 trick sounds really neat.

In the Caribbean, people generally paint the ceilings of their front porches light blue. Something about the color keeps bees and hornets from nesting there. When I lived on Martha's Vineyard, a bunch of locals had adopted this technique, and it worked like a charm. I know it doesn't help with the mailbox problem (though maybe you could paint the inside light blue? ), but I thought it'd be worth mentioning in a thread about wasp prevention. I've also heard about using dryer sheets to keep all manners of insects away, as EJ mentioned. They smell a heck of a lot better than mothballs, too!

 

[Tele2047]

You know, if WD40 is supposed to do the job, and fire is supposed to work, why not combine them? WD40 is highly flammable, nothing keeping you from giving it a good spray down then lighting it, hold a burning thing in front of the spray to make a flamethrower. But be careful doing this, you don't want the fire jumping back into the can.

 

[silverwhisper]

funny; i was thinking exactly that myself. :>

ed

 

[Guest]

Last week, I discovered a wasps' nest in our newspaper box. My husband sprayed it down with some spray that we bought at the store (Real-Kill Wasp and Hornet Spray, if that matters). Guess that pissed them off, because then they decided to migrate to the mailbox. So my husband sprayed that as well.

This morning I went to get the paper and there was a wasp sitting on top of it, just daring me to pick it up. Those fuckers seem hellbent on building a nest down there.

My husband and I don't want to get stung, nor do we want out letter/paper carriers to get stung. What can we do besides spraying the hell out of the mailbox and paper box? Is there something else we should be doing to make those places less attractive to them?

This is going to sound silly, but try using a smoke bomb. I'm talking about one of those little colored balls that you light, and it makes colored smoke--the things teenagers like to play practical jokes with.

Go get some of those, put them in your mailbox (preferably at night, when the box is empty and you're not going to scare the heck out of your mailman, or your neighbors. Let it smoke until it's done. The smell will linger in your mailbox, and may do a pretty good job of detering them for a while.