I have found the best way to organically get rid of wasps is to find their nest and remove it. Watch or search the web for when the wasps are not at home and wait, knock it off and mash it. they usually get the hint and move along. i have had some stubborn ones start again right next door, but I knock off what they build as they are building, eventually they move along. good luck !!

The problem is that the nest is between the slats and behind the fence; it's early impossible to get back there.

I did try Cloves last night; no dice.

You can splash a bucket of ice water on them in the evening when they are quiet anyway. They will all fall to the ground for hours. Then use a razor blade (or box cutter) to cut the nest from the fence and relocate it to where you want it.

I have never found these paper wasps to be in any way aggressive, so are you sure what stung you were in fact those paper wasps? The paper wasps are very beneficial in the garden and, in my experience, very gentle toward people.

Thanks for the ice water tip; I may give that a try tonight. Their actual nest is sorta behind the fence, between the slats; so it's very hard to get to. Our fence borders a canal, so getting back there is somewhat of a trap if I were to not get them all doused with icewater.

Kimmsr; they are definitely paper wasps, from the research I've done Their nest, bodies, etc. all match the photos I've seen. They are not usually agressive; but anytime you get near their nest the get a little upset. Especially with a string trimmer, lawn mower, etc. I thought it was very strange to get stung when weeding by it though; I'd imagine they're a little on edge from having their nest messed with so much over the past week.

I don't WANT to kill any of them; just move them away from this area. Last night we brewed up a nice little mixture of cloves, cinnamon, garlic, and hot peppers; let it stew for a few hours, then poured it underneath and around the nest. They definitely didn't like it, but this morning they're back to building. Tenacious little creatures!

Haven't tried it myself yet, but I was told that mint extract works for wasps. Apparently it contains a neurotoxin that kills wasps on contact. But if mixed as a 10% solution with rubbing alcohol it can be sprayed on surfaces as a deterrent as well. The alcohol evaporates leaving the mint odour, which apparently insects like wasps don't like.
However, like I said, I haven't needed it, so I can't comment on its effectiveness.
Worth a try though.

I saw a show that says your breath is what triggers them. They showed a guy standing and watching wasps going in/out of their nest, and I mean he was nearly in their face while exhaling out a tube that carried his breath downwind from the nest. No wasp gave a damn. Then, he reversed it and stood away from the nest with the tube upwind from the nest. In no time, the place was swarming with wasps looking for whatever creature was near their nest.

So, I think while weeding your breath was probably blowing towards their nest and long enough for them to feel they were threatened. Mowing you walk by quickly and your breath doesn't stay around long enough to irritate them and the wasps find that less threatening. So, hold your breath the next time you weed :) Just make sure your breath isn't upwind from their nest and you should be fine according to what I saw on that show.

Thanks for the tips guys; It's getting worse out there in the past few weeks; it's been 104*+ here every day, and they seem to be really thriving right now. The lawn is unmowable right now next to them, they get pretty angry when anything comes by them.

I tried to remove it, but the back of the nest (on the backside of the fence) is inaccessable; there is no way to get back there and have any chance of getting back out before being stung 1000 times. I tried a brew of cinnamon, garlic, hot peppers, etc and that seemed to irritate them for a day, but then they just went right back to building away.

It may be time to just kill them. I hate myself for doing it, but I don't know what else to do.

By the way, I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this but I'm sure you've seen bee smokers. Thousands of years ago Egyptians lit a piece of dung, and blew the smoke into the hive. Indians used to find an old dry really soft piece of wood that can crumble in your hands and light it. When you blow out the flame, you get a burning red ember that produces a lot of smoke that stays lit for a long time. I'm almost positive that "punk sticks" are spoofs off that as they burn the same but that old punky wood doesn't have the flavored smells.

Under normal circumstances if a bee hive is threatened guard bee's release a pheromone known as "alarm odor". That alerts the middle-aged bee's, the ones with the most venom, to defend the hive by attacking the intruder. By smoking the hive, you dull the senses of the guard bee's and they fail to trigger the alarm. It also causes the bees in the hive to gorge on honey thinking it's a forest fire and may have to vacate, their honey pacifies them.

How you apply that to wasps, or if they're different I don't know.

Nice theory, but these insects will defend their nests vigorously....breath or no breath. ;-) Though they may be benign and gentle by nature, they will still attack when they percieve something is attacking their nest.

Especially when they are a tad on edge these days!

Well, I wasn't implying that by simply holding your breath you can attack a nest with something like a baseball bat and nothing will become of you. Holding your breath or making sure you're not upwind from their nest while working in the yard should prevent you from being stung. Anyone crazy enough to hold their breath and play pinata with a bee hive thinking nothing will become of them, let me get the video camera first! *:o)

There are several triggers that cause bees to attack and vibrations are the main ones. That's why when you were ten feet from the nest with your trimmer they came after you. They are more mellow in cool weather, but as the weather warms up they get more fractious, just like all the rest of us. Face it the heat just makes us all cranky.

We have a nest or two on our porch every summer and when the temps go up, we keep our voices down and don't slam the door.

But I also have my own rememdy for getting rid of them, but it does include murder. Wait til early morning when it's cool and the bees are feeling kinda sluggish and take the vacuum out there. Using the extension wands, get the hose as close to the nest as you can. Then turn the vacuum on. They fly towards the noise and then *thooop!!* they're gone. I use the hose to knock the nest down and then mash it. Sometimes I just can 't let them stay because they just get too aggressive.

But you have to be very careful with paper wasps, because they most certainly will sting. DH and I have both been stung a couple of times and it's quite painful.

Cheryl

Thanks for the vacuum tip; although that is one of my last options, I suppose it's much better than going with a poison that won't dissipate immediately!

I just took out 4 nests tonight all bigger than a softball. I'm all for organic, but when it comes to wasps or hornets it's raid time!! Was stung once a long time ago and my arm swelled to double normal size, so it's them or me. At least it's a fast death for them, maybe less than a minute.

Lee

Your "no kill" policy hasn't been matched by a wasp agreement of a "no sting" policy. Probably time to kill them since their location is by space you want to use. I use a liquid Rotonone/Pyrethrum mix in an ag sprayer and it kill them well. It has some residual effect on returning wasps but I usually spray again the next day. Tom

Well, something very strange happened 2 weeks ago. I strapped a hose sprayer to a hoe and sprayed the nest for 1-2 hours.

The next day they were as active as ever.

However, 2 days later they are GONE. Another nest in the yard is also gone, occupied now by a spider. And since then, I've discovered 2 dead birds in my yard, lying on the lawn.

What do you all think? It seems too strange to be a coincidence. I know one of the neighbors has been spraying all his wasp nests; could the wasps be bringing the poison to their own nests, and birds be eating the wasps?

if i were you i would just walk up the the nest with some kind of container. put the container over the nest very fast and close the container. now, you have an entire nest in a container. no spraying, no liquid, no crazy process to follow....just easy and effective. and fun! you get to see all the bees come out of the nest once they realize they got caught!

that's what i would do, at least...

can i watch?

Hey - late to this, but there is a non-poisonous wasp killing spray I've used - it is mostly mint oil, mixed w/ a surfactant(you spray it @ night, when they're sleeping/dormant).....

oh yeah - & paper wasps, IMPE, tend to sting to defend their nests when it is shaken or jolted.

Here is a link that might be useful: Planet Natural