Having a serious problem with bugs this year. Started with gypsy caterpillars, now its ants, spiders and 'bees' (easier to type, not honeybees though!).
I've killed maybe 5x the number of nests that I usually do in year, and there are 7-8 more to get. Anyone else having problems with bugs this year? Two of the nests I'm not sure how to attack, I can't tell how big they are. One is going into a 'crevice' between the house and an extension of the kitchen, the other is underground. The underground one has these more "amber" than black wasps that are perhaps 2x the size of a normal paper wasp around here. They are huge! I really don't want to get in a mix up with them. I'm just not sure the point at which you call someone. I think my luck of spraying them with stuff you buy at the hardware store and not getting stung has to run out. Also there is alot of traffic to the attic above the chevelle, I just can't tell if the guys are going under the clapboard at the side or just hanging out there before going to the nests under there.

sick of this
matt

I usually chase them down with a hose and a fly-swatter. They can't fly while their wings are wet.
Wife went out and bought me one of those electric fly-swatters from Sharper Image. Wonder how that's going to work out.

Wife went out and bought me one of those electric fly-swatters from Sharper Image. Wonder how that's going to work out.

BTDT - heres what happens. Your wife will end up using it on you when you get out of the shower.

Im about at your point, Matt.

Not so much the hornets and stuff this year as it was last but pincher bugs, spiders and ants outside. Im tired of applying band-aids to the problem and Im about to call someone to spray for a few months.

Im guessing its the weird winter / summer that we've had or they sense a lack of unity and resolve amongst the human population and figure that now is the time to strike and take over the world since we're tied up in world struggles. :D

I've had a lot of wasps this year too. I know your concern about running out of luck when it comes to spray-killing them with the bug-b-gone stuff. My luck ran out the last time :P Its best to kill them in the evening when they are sleeping.

I've got a nest in the Phone companies box in the yard. I called them today and reported it. He ask me if i tried spraying them, i told him i thought it might interupt the phone service.
They're sending someone out.

The ones going into the attic are probably mud daubers. They build the mud nests in the rafters, lay eggs and plug with more mud. You can go up and collect the nests in the winter. They rarely sting and are not aggresive like the others. If you dislike spiders these are your friend. Each egg cell is filled with a dead spider for the larva to eat.

The others are probably paper wasps or baldfaced hornets. They too die off in winter except for the one new queen, but new ones can replace them in the nest in spring if it's not removed, and they are very aggressive and have painful stings. Any spraying of the nests should be done after dark when they are all inside. Then wait a day or two to destroy the nest. Even then watch it because some new ones may have hatched and survived the poison. Burning the nest is effective because the poison is flammable. Just don't do that if it's near something like a house or car. The nests in the ground can be 2' deep and 3-4 feet in diameter with just one small opening.

I learned this while in charge of field maintenance for the local youth soccer club where we had a lot of trouble with stings.

Carburetor cleaner kills them in about 2 seconds :D. I've seen a bigger problem with insects of the stinger pursuasion this year around here too.

Sounds like fun. After about 10 minutes of watching the bugs near the attic, they are certainly going inside there, and we have mud daubers around here, but these are generic paper wasps, had a problem with mud daubers before. Not looking forward to whatever they are making up there.
The underground nest has 6 holes, 3 in one area, and 3 more about 4.5' away. The attic ones aren't going to bother me right now, but the underground one is in a high traffic area. Plus those freakshows are huge!

I wish I could just fog the entire area with permethrin, but I don't think the powers that be would let me buy it... Carb cleaner sounds cheaper, but "two seconds" and "on contact" mean very different things to me. I bought (by mistake) the wrong bug killer, and this stuff takes about 7 minutes to kill a housefly, though the flick their legs in complete nerve-gas agony the whole time at a pace thats hard to describe other than (fast). I wouldn't want to get a nest of something dangerous angry with that stuff. Go chemical weapons!
I don't know what to do about the underground nest if it could be huge by those numbers. with only one hand, I'd spray down one hole and they'd all fly out the others..
Also noticed alot of "leaf eating beetle things" not sure what they are called, but they always appear to be "mating" upon closer examination.

matt

Matt,

What we did on the big underground one was buy a case of the spray that's made for them and goes 20+ feet. I had people stand all around in a circle armed with spray as I uncovered it with a shovel, and at the first sign of a yellowjacket they opened fire. I was able to uncover the whole thing that way, used 8 cans of spray and it was 3'x5' and 18" deep.

I got bit by a wasp the other day... I was hanging some bamboo shades on our patio, and I needed to move a little bird house... I set it don on the table, and turned around and something was buzzing right in my ear. I swatted it away, but it came right back, then I felt a wierd feeling on my temple... Not really pain, just wierd (someone told me they actually bite, and not sting)...

Needless to say my 44 month-old daughter was amused watching "Daddy running across the yard"... Thankfully she was inside...

I waited until dark, and unloaded 1/2 can of the killer in the house... Next morning, I found 9-10 dead, and a silver-dollar sized nest. Glad it didn't get much larger...

Had quite a few pincher bugs in the house this year, but thankfully (knock on wood) no ants this year (Yet!)... saw alot on the fence, so I am waiting...

every year in our shop we have an annual wasp killing spree.. we wear hepafilters and saftey glasses.. about 3 of us go in the shop armed with a couple cans of b12.. good ol southern fun.. oh yeah we drink alot of beer first.haha. and gas does a good number for the ones in the ground.. we just pour gas in the hole.. bout 1/2 a gallon standing by with some b12 then light them on fire.. im easily entertained and have a high pain tolerance though..lol..

Carb cleaner sounds cheaper, but "two seconds" and "on contact" mean very different things to me. matt
It doesn't kill them on contact unless you really unload on them. The carburetor cleaner suffocates them by taking the oxygen out of their bodies. If you get a decent spray on them, they fall right on the ground and die. Using the little red extension hose that comes with the carb cleaner helps accuracy :)

I found that brake cleaner works well too, don't know about big nests.

Yeah, when I used to work at a gas station, boss always wondered why I kept a can of 2+2 behind the desk. He'd never bother to kill all the dang yellowjackets that stayed in the office. Loved to watch 'em drop when hit by the carb cleaner :D

I usually chase them down with a hose and a fly-swatter. They can't fly while their wings are wet.
Wife went out and bought me one of those electric fly-swatters from Sharper Image. Wonder how that's going to work out.


And all the neighbors ride by and enjoy the show!

I watched a friend of mine try to kill carpenter bees with a tennis racket . Sat in his driveway at the top of a hill for about 10 minutes, and watched him dance all over the yard swinging the racket.Looked like he was ready for the "Nut House". One of the funniest things I have ever seen. Keep an eye out for your neighbors John, and see if they have a video camera.

Wasps/hornets/bees are terrible here to, brake-clean kills em asap. Ralph

I had a wasps nest out back of the house. I went out and bought a can of that wasp killer that sprays for like 25 ft. Waited until long after sundown and sprayed the nest.

Let me say this now....not all wasps are inactive at night!!! Because when I went out (at like 10-11 pm) the wasps were crawling in and out of the nest....I had to run in the house after spraying the nest from 20 feet to avoid getting stung!

At any rate, 8-9 wasps died that night after I sprayed them. The can said it will kill anymore wasps that come back to the nest.

I discovered a new kind of Wasp this past weekend. At first fly-by, I thought it was a horse fly... Then it landed. :eek: This sucker was HUGE. Looked like a giant hornet, or a yellow jacket on steroids. This guy was at least 1.5" long. I could count his yellow/white stripes from 5 feet away. Hell, I even saw his head turn at look at me! I ran inside - straight to the internet.
[see my attached picture of it on the handrail of my deck].


After some searching I learned that it is a Cicada Killer Wasp:
They are 1 damn inch curled up!!
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/images/cicada_killer_chris.jpg

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/killerwasps.html

I tried to kill one of them before I knew what they where. That sucker took a few sprays and still managed to fly off somewhere! Since they kill those noisy cicada's, I will be more forgiving. But having 3 or 4 of these guys dive bombing you will make you drop whatever you are carrying and scoot to the nearest clearing! These things scare me more than those creepy velvet ants.

ps. The solid black behind section is the only distinction I could see. With a Japanese hornet, making that distinction is like waiting to see if a Bear will be friendly. :rolleyes: And yes, his beety little eyes are looking at me

Wife went out and bought me one of those electric fly-swatters from Sharper Image. Wonder how that's going to work out.


I zapped myself with that thing on a number occasions.:clonk:

These things scare me more than those creepy velvet ants.




are you talking about the red and black ants that look furry? If you touch them they make noise..... and also sting the living hell out of you?

are you talking about the red and black ants that look furry? If you touch them they make noise..... and also sting the living hell out of you?

Yeap, them. I used to play with them as a kid. They where all around our baseball fields. I learned, just recently, that they are actually wingless female wasps. These damn wasps are mutating from all the chemicals we spray on them! ;)

I discovered a new kind of Wasp this past weekend. At first fly-by, I thought it was a horse fly... Then it landed. :eek: This sucker was HUGE. Looked like a giant hornet, or a yellow jacket on steroids. This guy was at least 1.5" long. I could count his yellow/white stripes from 5 feet away. Hell, I even saw his head turn at look at me! I ran inside - straight to the internet.
[see my attached picture of it on the handrail of my deck].


After some searching I learned that it is a Cicada Killer Wasp:
They are 1 damn inch curled up!!
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/images/cicada_killer_chris.jpg

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/killerwasps.html

I tried to kill one of them before I knew what they where. That sucker took a few sprays and still managed to fly off somewhere! Since they kill those noisy cicada's, I will be more forgiving. But having 3 or 4 of these guys dive bombing you will make you drop whatever you are carrying and scoot to the nearest clearing! These things scare me more than those creepy velvet ants.

ps. The solid black behind section is the only distinction I could see. With a Japanese hornet, making that distinction is like waiting to see if a Bear will be friendly. :rolleyes: And yes, his beety little eyes are looking at me

pretty odd you just postd that pic.. i had one in the house last night when i got home and about **** some bricks.. he came at me several times..i ended up having some 3 in 1 pesticide,herbacide, insecticide under the sink.. 2 shots and he was down.. then i hit him with the fly swatter..haha. what a joke.. he grabbed it and started stinging it.. it took about 10 swings to knock him out.. i put him in a water bottle near by and when i woke up this morning he was flying around in it.. wasp on steriods is a good description..

Mike and Fast Orange, it must be a small world. My Aunt was having problems with a mound of dirt being "rolled" in her garden. She didn't think anything of it, and just put the dirt back in the whole. She noticed something moving all the dirt back out. It was one of those things digging its nest. Supposedly, the don't go after humans, but I still wouldn't take a chance with it. There huge. She took a video of it and sent it to me. Very interesting, as long as its in her backyard.

Chris

I used to have the brown paper wasps only in my backyard making nests in all of the cars laying around, and then i towed home a 70 Mustang coupe that had these paper wasps that were bright yellow.... and man do they pack some punch. I got stung and it hurt far worse than any brown wasp sting i've ever had..... needless to say some wasp spray took them all out.

I also had a HUGE Hornet's nest in the back of a truck body i have laying around. I was going to end their lives until i saw one flying into its nest carring a stick into it's nest that had to be 5 times the size of the hornet. At that point i figured that we could coexist.

Guys:

Warning to all on the hornets. A guy I know of thought it would be cool to take down a hornet's nest and put in his house as a conversation piece during cold weather. Needless to say he was quite overcome by the sound of flying hornets in his place. I did not see this for myself but heard others talking about it. I would guess it had not been cold enough to kill them and the warm indoor air revived them from their "sleep".

Durand

Guys:

Warning to all on the hornets. A guy I know of thought it would be cool to take down a hornet's nest and put in his house as a conversation piece during cold weather. Needless to say he was quite overcome by the sound of flying hornets in his place. I did not see this for myself but heard others talking about it. I would guess it had not been cold enough to kill them and the warm indoor air revived them from their "sleep".

Durand

LMAO!

You should rephrase the first sentence - "A warning to ALL IDIOTS out there about the hornets"


I think some people were born with the mental capacity of a hornet. :clonk: