Unless you're allergic, I would leave them be. Generally they're not aggressive unless interfered with, and they're patrolling your garden for worms that would otherwise be chomping on your plants and flowers. They feed them to their young in the nest. Ever since I started noticing paper wasps building nests around my home, I have not seen a tomato hornworm or similiar nasty guys anywhere on my tomatoes. So I swear by those little killers :)

wasps are good unless you are allergic.

>>> wasps are good unless you are allergic.

I definitely support beneficial insects ... but the logic just makes me laugh. I guess it sounds like this to me:

wasps/yellow jackets are good if you don't mind getting stung.

For the past couple weeks I've at least a few dozen hovering over the entirety of my back lawn mid-day. Makes it tough to take the baby girl out to work in the yard with me.

Get this: Yesterday I had her in my backpack style carrier and apparently one was hovering inches away from my right shoulder as I was standing on my patio at the grass border. In my periphery, I noticed her REACHING for something in the air I turned and had to swing her around quickly to get inside. I looked later, there are no nests or anything I can find. There are some scattered/hidden cutter-bee nests around, but not wasps.

They seem to be "passing through" this season -- I guess! :(

I don't have any particular fear of wasps but have been stung many times in my life without doing anything particularly/intentionally offensive to them -- like just walking from my car into my front door. My youngest son has been stung thrice (once on the scalp) and is finally developing the inner strength at age 11 to not scream "AAGGHHH WASP!!!" every time the smallest flying creature (or dust particle) comes within eye shot :(

Exactly cebury....My DH accidently disturbed a ground nest one year and one wasp chased me up a hill. I covered my head with my sweatshirt hood. It got inside and stung me over and over again on my face/head/neck!!!! OUCH!

We want to cook outside but they LOVE the BBQ! So, I have seen the bottles that will trap them. I only want to enjoy my garden - like you!

Wasp traps this time of year are marginally successful. You may trap quite a few, but they still keep a-coming. Traps are most effective earlier in the year, when you trap those ready for mating. This time of year usually finds me on the back patio cleaning and filleting tuna and yellowtail. That attracts wasps from the whole neighborhood. I try to tolerate them if they are just 10-15, much more than that and I get out the fly-swatter. So far (knock on wood) I have never been stung. BTW fresh fish flesh is a very good bait for the traps.

>>> wasps are good unless you are allergic.

I definitely support beneficial insects ... but the logic just makes me laugh. I guess it sounds like this to me:

wasps/yellow jackets are good if you don't mind getting stung.

I think you missed the point entirely. If you are allergic the harm is so great that it doesn't matter that the risk of being stung is small. Of course children will get stung more often because, as you have pointed out, they panic, probably waving their hands and swatting at the insects. But just because there are wasps in your backyard doesn't mean they are going to sting you. I am around large numbers of wasps and bees all the time and I haven't been stung in over 20 years.

One time I was pruning our hedge. There was a huge nest hidden down in there. All of a sudden lots of wasps came pouring out and went after me I got stung 10-12 times. They can sting you more then once and if you are wearing a light t shirt like I was they can sting right through the shirt. It really hurt.

>> I think you missed the point entirely. If you are allergic the harm is great...

I did get the point and I understood and very much agree with you and the other poster. What inevitably happens (and as you've also just demonstrated) is people interpret a given statement differently based on their own experience, mood, etc. It's exacerbated by unedited written communication (such as forum posts and email).

When I read the posted replies to the original question, I knew what was meant, but couldn't help but chuckle. Reminded me of a Far Side cartoon. I can imagine a stung-covered Tressa angrily sneaking up on a wasp in her yard holding a flyswatter -- but they are so "good" since she's not allergic ;-) Yeah, tell that to all the scarred wasp-weary tressa's out there!

It's all in good fun.

Cheers ,
Chris

Regarding traps -- those 2 liter traps that use the one-way door thingies didn't work for me the two times I tried them. I haven't used the new disposable plastic-bag versions.

A few years ago I had a bush right at my front doorway that attracted tons of wasps (not bees). It was a buzzing menace to my kids and a liability when I had any visitors--excepting those door-to-door people who weren't here to "sell" me anything.

I eagerly bought the traps and several 2 liter coke bottles, envisioning myself a dad-hero triumphantly standing with my kids around an empty, yet safe, bush. Some hours later when all the carbonated belching subsided, I set out to create my masterful traps that would certainly work upon a bush brimming with stupid ole wasps too dump to know how to U-turn through a plastic yellow doorway. A few more belches and a nap later, I gave the directions and equipment to my oldest son and explained how his contribution would make him feel proud and we'd be a great team; I would supervise from my recliner.

I did however carefully brew the magic concoction all-the-while holding back an evil-genius laugh. I even added the secret Chicken of the Sea ingredient.

At night, I put one IN the bush and three underneath it.
The bush buzzed along for another week or two, until the wasps eventually split (perhaps anticipating a slow painful death at my hands). Examination of my traps yielded a whopping 3 flies, some gnats, and a dreadful case of nostril-sensory damage as the stink seemed to be in my nose no matter how far away I was from it.

The "buzzing menace" bush transformed into a "smell-come mat" at my front door. Suffice it to say, we donated that bush to the Green-Waste trash can a short while later.

LOL....you are too funny cebury! Thanks for your early morning humor!

Last summer we had literally hundreds waiting in line for their turn at the Hummer feeder. I sucked them up with the shop-vac for days..... the more that were gone the more that arrived to take their place. I think the sugar water became more inviting then the caterpillars.

I noticed this morning that they have arrived!