Paper Wasp Nest

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Jun 16, 2021
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Exactly what the title says. I saw this today out on a hike.


Paper Wasp Nest.jpg
 
If they are in the wild, and a decent amount away from the house, I give those things a wide berth. If they are close to the house, or for that matter ON the house, they get soaked with wasp killer, the nest torn down, and burned.
 
Exactly what the title says. I saw this today out on a hike.


View attachment 704674
That is not a wasp nest. That is hornets. They are in the wasp family, but each nest far higher in numbers and a lot more territorial. Be careful. They will Fk you up and chase you a lot further than ordinary wasps, and they hurt worse, for my money, sting for sting.
 
Because I'm on the cool side of my apartment building and upstairs, the wasps love my balcony.

I've had to knock down several nests since I've been here.

I've found a better, easier, and chemical free way to deal with them.
Carefully place a thick or tear resistent plastic bag over the nest and fasten the top with a twist tie, rope, duct tape, or whatever you have.
Leave it for 3 days.
You should be able to cut it down or pull it down and throw it out.

I used a thick plastic grocery bag on the one on my balcony last time there was one there. They ran out of air and all died.
Luckily they built their nest on the light bulb so all I did was unscrew it and throw the whole thing away.


If you do use a spray, make sure it's a FOAM spray that can shoot at least 10 feet, and is made for wasps/hornets.
 
Exactly what the title says. I saw this today out on a hike.


View attachment 704674
If you live in an area that freezes over the winter, wait a few weeks after you have continuous freezing nights and cut that branch to harvest the nest--don't spray it. People will pay good money for them--the bigger the better. They die in winter except for one drone and the queen. I don't know where they go to hide, but they will become active when warm weather--70 and above comes again. I'll take paper wasps or bald-faced hornets any day over yellow jackets.
 
That is not a wasp nest. That is hornets. They are in the wasp family, but each nest far higher in numbers and a lot more territorial. Be careful. They will Fk you up and chase you a lot further than ordinary wasps, and they hurt worse, for my money, sting for sting.

Yep, that is a hornets nest and they are not to be fucked with. The worst, IMO, are the yellowjackets or "ground hornets" as they're sometimes called - got popped by those more than once hiking in Georgia and Tennessee as a youngin'. They will go for sugary drinks and they won't let you touch that bottle of Gatorade once they decide it's theirs, lol.
 
Exactly what the title says. I saw this today out on a hike.


View attachment 704674
*Those aren't wasps, those are an exotic species of bee that is known for being extremely docile & having the sweetest honey.
They don't even mind if you poke the hive with a stick to drain the honey from underneath.*

*Disclaimer- never attempt this unless you are auditioning for a new Jackass movie
 

Bees are something I like very much, and if you don't pester them, they won't pester you (unless you have something loaded with sugar nearby, then they will come looking for food, but the way to avoid that is to place some of the sugary stuff 10 or more feet away from you. They will go to the easy stuff and leave you alone.

Wasps? Not so much. All varieties are mean little bastards who are easily provoked, and will bug you at a moment's notice.
 
the yellowjackets or "ground hornets"
They call them meat bees in CA. If you have them around your place, the best time to place traps is the first warm day of spring. If you have a big problem, you can fill three of them in short order. I've done this for three years living in the forest and I hardly get any at all in my traps any more.
 
Bees are something I like very much, and if you don't pester them, they won't pester you (unless you have something loaded with sugar nearby, then they will come looking for food, but the way to avoid that is to place some of the sugary stuff 10 or more feet away from you. They will go to the easy stuff and leave you alone.

Wasps? Not so much. All varieties are mean little bastards who are easily provoked, and will bug you at a moment's notice.

Regular North American wasps aren't so bad unless you start getting too close to their nests. I sometimes see the little guard wasps and they've let me pass right under their nests under the siding. But once you break out the spray can and decide you're taking them on, you'd better be covered up 'cause they're gonna first fly away in a panic but they're coming after your ass after that.
 
They call them meat bees in CA. If you have them around your place, the best time to place traps is the first warm day of spring. If you have a big problem, you can fill three of them in short order. I've done this for three years living in the forest and I hardly get any at all in my traps any more.

Within the next 5-10 years Nor Cal may have a bit of an Asian hornet problem. I actually got scared out of hiking when I was in Japan because of those effing things. They're terrifying. They kill people every year. Only takes 10 stings to send a health person to the ER.
 
Within the next 5-10 years Nor Cal may have a bit of an Asian hornet problem. I actually got scared out of hiking when I was in Japan because of those effing things. They're terrifying. They kill people every year. Only takes 10 stings to send a health person to the ER.
They found a few nests in WA a couple years ago. Haven't heard too much about them since--WA winter may be too severe for them.
 
If you live in an area that freezes over the winter, wait a few weeks after you have continuous freezing nights and cut that branch to harvest the nest--don't spray it. People will pay good money for them--the bigger the better. They die in winter except for one drone and the queen. I don't know where they go to hide, but they will become active when warm weather--70 and above comes again. I'll take paper wasps or bald-faced hornets any day over yellow jackets.

Interesting. I didn't know you could harvest and sell the nests. Where exactly would one go to find a buyer, and how much can you get for one. Reason I ask, is because I know where there are a couple, and since winter is coming, I might be able to use the bank I could make, if it's enough to be worth my time.

The best way I know of to deal with yellow jackets? Get a 1 gallon bucket, fill it halfway full of soapy water. Hang it from a tree branch, with a piece of meat (scraps work well, but raw meat is best) about 6 inches above the bucket. Set the trap anywhere from 75 to 150 ft. away from your house. They will be attracted to the scent of the meat, eat their fill and get so full that they fall into the water, and because of the soap impregnating their wings, they can't fly or crawl very good and will drown. But, be prepared to have to empty it out and refill it every few days, as it WILL become full. My aunt Sandy and uncle Bill used that method when I was growing up in Montana, and it worked like a charm.
 
That is not a wasp nest. That is hornets. They are in the wasp family, but each nest far higher in numbers and a lot more territorial. Be careful. They will Fk you up and chase you a lot further than ordinary wasps, and they hurt worse, for my money, sting for sting.


Definitely hornets. Bald Face Hornets most likely. Biden needs to give me some Javelin Anti-Tank missiles for that.
 
Here's Coyote Pearson's reaction to Murder Hornets:



Horrifying.


Yanno, I get that he's trying to educate (and entertain) people with his stuff, but what in the hell possesses this dude to seek out the most harmful and painful insects on the planet, and then tape himself getting stung by them? I mean, I like to think I have pretty decent sized clackers, and my pain tolerance is fairly high, but this dude is NUTS!
 
Yanno, I get that he's trying to educate (and entertain) people with his stuff, but what in the hell possesses this dude to seek out the most harmful and painful insects on the planet, and then tape himself getting stung by them? I mean, I like to think I have pretty decent sized clackers, and my pain tolerance is fairly high, but this dude is NUTS!

No shit, eh? I wouldn't do that if someone paid me $1000. You never know, your body's chemistry could have changed in the last few months and made you hyperallergenic to envenomating arthropod toxins. And then it's good night, Irene. Anyone who voluntarily envenomates themselves is taking a risk, just like boxers take a risk getting in the ring.
 
Here's Coyote Pearson's reaction to Murder Hornets:



Horrifying.

I remember now--memory isn't the best anymore. In WA, they apparently discovered that honey bees have a natural defense to murder hornets. I guess the hornets are very sensitive to heat. The bees instinctively? or learned this. When the hive is attacked, they increase activity in the hive raising the temperature above what the hornet can tolerate and they die. Here's more on it. Murder hornets and thermal defense by honeybees
 

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