Stopping wasp/hornet nests?

[NewJeffCT]

Last year, we had a nice new deck on our house. Unfortunately, we couldn't enjoy it as nearly much as possible due to several nests of wasps/hornets. At least 3-4 of them.

I remember somebody last year mentioning a device that stops the nest scouting wasps & hornets from choosing an area close to the special device as a nesting groun. But, I can't seem to recall what it was called or named? (I tried google, but got a bunch of things on boy scouts!)

[Random_Australian]

1. Do the American thing-

Tell everyone its a Nest Of Mass Destruction and then... well do I need to go into details? Let's just say it involves a sawn-off 48 gauge shotgun...

[NewJeffCT]

2. with my luck

I'd clip the nest & get swarmed...

[Kali]

3. stay out on the deck and be active

they prefer things to be more quiet. You can smash the nest when it is first getting built, but my problem with wasps is they are after water (I am in dry DRY DRY Arizona) so we just live with them until it finally rains. (they eat caterpillars too, which I totally aprove of)

I have found that bee and ant stings are way worse than wasps. Not that that is any consolation!

[Gormy Cuss]

4. Are they paper wasps or yellow jackets?

Paper wasps leave behind those honeycomb looking nests. Yellow jackets usually nest in the ground or at least under dirt.

If you have yellow jackets there are scent traps that work well if you catch the scouts, and work better than nothing if you don't get them in place early enough. RESCUE brand traps are what I use. The cartridge bait is more expensive than the syrup bait but the cartridge bait is the one you need for the first part of the season. It smells like rotten meat and that's what they're looking for. Later in the summer the syrup bait is just as good.

Paper wasps, I don't know short of spraying toxic stuff.

[NewJeffCT]

5. I think they're paper wasps

so, I guess i'll have to wait & spray them as they nest...

[Gormy Cuss]

8. Spray them at night.

Paper wasps aren't that aggressive as a rule but when you're attacking their home, it's a different story. They slow down and return home in the evening.

If a few establish themselves, it's much better than having yellow jackets around -- they're annoying and prone to sting whereas the paper wasps usually want to be left alone. Paper wasps away from the deck would be good beneficial insects IIRC.

[flvegan]

6. Google Insectape. It's a repellant that I've heard is very good.

However, it's also (I recall) an insecticide that will kill those not repelled. Ask about safety with household pets.

Your best bet, though, is to call an expert: a beekeeper. They need to use a major repellent to harvest the honey.

I've also heard that cumarin and almond oil works, but I have no idea as to the truth in that.

[NewJeffCT]

7. Thanks

No pets, but we do have a 3 year old daughter.

[Maddy McCall]

9. Is it under a roof?

Your deck. Is it roofed?

[NewJeffCT]

10. they were under the deck

and, since we didn't go outside for a couple of weeks last year, they also had one under a table on the deck.... and, there was another nest in an air vent in the garage, and also above the door to the basement.

It's a raised deck, by the way.

[Maddy McCall]

11. Well, I don't know how it would work under a deck...

but all of the home owners in Natchez, Mississippi, paint the underside of their front porch--the porch ceiling--sky blue. It works. It tricks the wasps and dirt daubers into thinking that the ceiling isn't there, that it's actually just the sky, so that keeps them from building nests there.

If I were you, I'd just keep the grass mown under the porch, and I'd keep an eye out for nests...and I'd spray the nests as soon as they appear. If you really douse them with wasp spray, the wasps won't rebuild.

We have wasp nests occasionally on our back porch ceiling...we let them stay, because they feast on mosquitoes, and in the deep south, the blood suckers are more of a nuisance than the stingers are.

But I wouldn't want them under a deck or table.

[NewJeffCT]

12. at least it was a cheap table...

There is mostly dirt under our deck, as it doesn't get much sun.

[Maddy McCall]

13. Is it high enough off the ground that you can easily get underneath?

[NewJeffCT]

14. That was the problem last year

The way the table was positioned, it was almost impossible to get a good shot at the nest with wasp/hornet spray unless you were directly under it from 2-3 feet away. So, those sprays that go 20-30 feet were basically useless unless up close.

[TheBaldyMan]

15. is there any chance of you co-habiting with them ?

I don't know if the species involes nests in the same site two years in a row but your garden will be completely pest free that season. And your neighbors gardens as well probably.

They won't bother you if you don't bother them, they don't eat humans.

[nuxvomica]

16. I've got just the thing and it's safe: orange oil cleaner

One day two summers ago I found four wasp nests, one at each corner of my porch. I drenched each one with the orange oil and the wasps fell to the ground. I even sprayed one that was flying toward me and it dropped immediately. The orange oil is more toxic to them than RAID or Black Flag but it's safe to use around the house. It kills ants too but not spiders, for some reason.
I would suggest you spray the cleaner periodically where they might build nests.