it might help if we knew which wasp ...

the paper wasps.. need the paper nest to stay dry.. if and when you find it.. just hit it with the hose everyday.. and they will move on ..

they will also crawl into any hole and use an area behind such ...

and they are usually not far from a wood source ... like my split rail fence ...

look up at the eaves .. also ...

the suggestions that based on a couple rogue wasps .. you are ready to call in the killers.. is a bit much ... and perhaps a bit of an over reaction.. i am sure they will be willing to take your money .. but until you find them.. it isnt worth it ...

they are ENTIRELY solitary .. and really have no use .. or need to be around you or the family ... how or why this one got in.. will be left as a mystery for the ages...

but until you actually see a couple dozen more.. there is not really much need be done ...

otherwise.. i use the canned wasp killer.. when need be.. which i usually in july in my z5 ...

i doubt you will take me up on this.. but just get a good book [i actually prefer a cold beer.. lol] .. and put the lawnchair out where you saw them.. a few feet away ... and start watching.. and you will soon see them flying in and out of the area.. and just follow them.. they are not microscopic.. and rather easily followed ... and unless you start swatting and flailing at them.. they really arent going to come after you like some insane f-16 ....

good luck

ken

ps: and now you will tell me ... its not those kind of wasps.. lol ... ID is a great way to start the search ...

pps: my porch rail is raw cedar.. and they come and chew off the wood ... they can also be found at a water source ... as those are the two ingredients in the paper production .. plus spit i suppose ... an enzyme .. lol

ppps: the worst magnet i have is the hot tub.. where they go under the plastic lip.. into the innards ... and that is where i use the canned stuff ... water.. heat.. and the split rail all within 10 feet ... oh i gotta hit send.. lol

Thanks for taking the time with the detailed response!

It wasn't just one or two wasps that got us alarmed, my wife did notice "a few" outside this morning, when we don't normally notice any. My wife's phobia of bees/wasps, and the fact that we have a small dog (albeit kept indoors) is why we don't want to take this lightly.

That said, I'm definitely not a fan of parting with my coin, which is why calling in the pest control people would be a last resort.

I'll definitely take your advice and try to identify the type of wasp first. My wife has no doubt already disposed of the one she squashed this morning but hopefully there's one or two dead ones lying around outside.

Will keep you posted, stay tuned!

The paper wasps, which build the little umbrella shaped paper nests, will always build under something that protects them from rain, just like Ken said. For me, that has often meant under the front porch overhang, or somewhere else where people are in close proximity. This species of wasp is very calm in temperament....UNLESS defending that nest against-say-a clumsy human coming into proximity.

There are also the solitary mud daubers and potters wasps, which create, all alone, their little mud chambers or pots for each egg they lay. They don't hang around those mud creations like the paper wasps do, in a small community.

Then there are the hornets and yellow jackets...which tend to be more aggressive. Their nests, above or below ground depending upon the species, can become huge and absolutely stuffed with a big population of insects.

There are also the solitary ground nesting bees and wasps.

So, identification is important as it might let someone help you with what kind of nest to look for and where it might be.

Ken, your suggestion of pulling up a lawn chair and relaxing with a good book reminded me of something that happened to me a few years back. I was doing just as you suggested, sitting outside on a spring afternoon in the dappled shade of a latticed cover over our back patio.

There was always a lot of the paper wasps hovering around, but they kept busy doing their thing (collecting building material), never paying me any attention. Until, that is, one decided that the pages of my book looked like it might be worthy raw material! She must have come back twenty times, landing on my book (which I was holding) and chewing along the edges of the pages...making funny buzzy sounds as she did so. I told my husband that we had a literary wasp that had spent an hour 'reading' with me. "Read any good books lately?" was my usual comment whenever I saw one of those wasps, after that.

Bet that it's not as interesting as your beer, hot tub, and rail fence story.....;-)

I thought I posted to this thread yesterday but it's not here. Anyway, just wanted to say smashing is probably not a good idea. Some stinging critters can release pheromones to trigger their buddies to attack.

Ok so hopefully the first step (identification of the wasp) is done. Here are a couple of pictures I just took of the wasp my wife smashed yesterday. Can anyone figure out what kind of wasp we're dealing with here?

Also purpleinopp -- yep, after getting home yesterday and reading up a little on wasps I did see that bit about pheromones attracting more wasps. Definitely no more smashing of wasps for us!

I'm thinking that it looks like a paper wasp. It appears to be a true wasp rather than a hornet. Look up European Paper Wasp to compare with the corpse. Compare the facial features, which we cannot do from the images.

That looks more like a Yellowjacket to me then it does a paperwasp.
Wasps can be beneficial in the garden, and the paperwasps, as a rule, are very aggressive, although in the house they do not belong.
Perhaps the link attached will help you understand more about the Yellowjackets.

Here is a link that might be useful: About Yellowjackets

As a follow-up to my post back in April, my wife's dad found a couple of small nests (3-4 inches long/wide) on the side of our deck and a few feet from each other --

Does the nest shape help with the ID of the type of wasp? Also, in recent weeks my wife (who does all the plant watering and gardening outside) has been harrassed by more and more wasps, to the point that she only goes out before sundown to water everything.

Should we remove the nests?

An easy way to deal with these Yellow Jackets when they nest where you do not want them is with a cheap hair spray. Did that when the roofers found a couple of small nests a while back and htey were amazed at how quickly the hair spray knocked the buggers down.

Thanks kimmsr. Anyone else have ideas/suggestions?