Winter paper wasp eradication ideas???

[Hay hay hay]

I am looking for practical advice on how to remove wasp nests and get rid of the Queens so they don't build new nests next spring. I plan to do this in the winter when the nests are not active and the swarm is dead. I have at least one nest in a bathroom vent, so heat from them house may keep them active during the winter in that spot. I have numerous nest around the barns and sheds. I'm hoping that getting rid of nests in the winter will reduce the number of new nests next summer. Will it work? Please share your ideas on how to handle this without getting stung.

 

[MJMJ]

No, it won't work.

 

[kcm.MN]

It has been my experience that a nest gets used one season only.

If they have a safe and dry enough nest site, they may return to the same location.

 

[Steve@Advance]

I spray them with wasp and hornet spray as soon as I find them.

Otherwise they are continually hatching out more through the season. Nuke em at night when they are all on the roost!

You'll never eradicate them, just control the population a little, maybe...

 

[timcasbolt]

(quoted from post at 10:36:33 09/28/21) I am looking for practical advice on how to remove wasp nests and get rid of the Queens so they don't build new nests next spring. I plan to do this in the winter when the nests are not active and the swarm is dead. I have at least one nest in a bathroom vent, so heat from them house may keep them active during the winter in that spot. I have numerous nest around the barns and sheds. I'm hoping that getting rid of nests in the winter will reduce the number of new nests next summer. Will it work? Please share your ideas on how to handle this without getting stung.

uff them with sevin. Dr. Killigan's insect buster is a good example of a puffer.

 

[glennster]

the workers die out over winter. the queen survives by hibernating in places like a woodpile, inside siding ect. best to spray the nests in the spring as soon as you see activity.

 

[showcrop]

I have taken some down with jst the stream of my garden hose. It has been a long time but I think that I taped the nozzle to some sort of pole.

 

[Brian Jasper co Ia]

(quoted from post at 15:36:33 09/28/21) I am looking for practical advice on how to remove wasp nests and get rid of the Queens so they don't build new nests next spring. I plan to do this in the winter when the nests are not active and the swarm is dead. I have at least one nest in a bathroom vent, so heat from them house may keep them active during the winter in that spot. I have numerous nest around the barns and sheds. I'm hoping that getting rid of nests in the winter will reduce the number of new nests next summer. Will it work? Please share your ideas on how to handle this without getting stung.

We got rid of ours when the barn burned down. 🔥 That got the mud daubers too...

This post was edited by Brian Jasper co Ia on 09/28/2021 at 10:06 am.

 

[Hay hay hay]

Thanks, but I do not want to resort to that solution.

 

[John Garner]

If I'm remembering correctly, the late Bob Hoover, one of the gurus of air-cooled VWs, claimed that pray-can carburetor cleaner or brake parts cleaner was more effective than spray-can wasp-and-hornet killer.

 

[JWinIndiana]

By fall the workers all die and the queen goes somewhere else to hibernate. Come spring she will start anew/fresh/at a different address. If they aren't creating a scene, they actually are beneficial and eat other bugs.

 

[Billy NY]

Best way I have found is go find the nests early, you have time as they take time to build up numbers, not so many to deal with, like 2 or 3, or less. That usually takes care of it for the season. Doing so late in the season, way more wasps and aggression, get em as early as you can, they don't come back for the most part. Over winter, like was said, the queens are hibernating under bark, crevices etc. you'll see them all out on a nice spring day, hard to get them until they start a nest and that is the best time to eradicate them.

 

[RobCons]

I keep cans of wasp/hornet killer handy and spray them as soon as I spot a nest. Spectracide used to be good but lately doesnt seem to kill them like it used to. Its usually a 2 pack for just a few dollars.

 

[Texasmark]

My problem is more of a dirt dobber problem but other than nest material, they are the same nuisance. They like to get into anything and everything but when they get into my electric motors they present a big problem.

The best thing that happened for me this year was our -4*F freeze this past winter. Around here the critters hibernate under the bark of dead trees. No protection for extreme cold and I had very few to annoy me.