I have them too. I have not seen a nest, but have not really done a search.
If you can find the nest and tear it down, maybe they will build somewhere else, don'T know for sure.
Hopefully someone will post an organic remedy.

My husband sprayed the ones at our shop with brake cleaner. It killed them but I don't know if I would recommend his method, lol.

Soapy water will kill them, supposedly, if you're brave enough. And, if you don't consider soapy water a poison. I use Palmolive original for things like my brick pathways etc. I'll use it on individual plants, but only if I can isolate the one plant and its important to me. Otherwise, I just let the plant go.

I've never tried the soapy water thing on wasps. But it does work on ants! Even fire ants.

They don't like orange oil either. And neither do ants.

The big red wasps are aggressive if you get near their nests and not like the more passive paper wasps where you almost have to bump into the nest before they sting. Neither are aggressive while out foraging for the bugs and caterpillars that they eat, unless you step on them barefooted or something.

The red wasps like to build nests in empty bird houses or other enclosed places. Try to watch and see where they are going and then spray the nest with diluted orange oil. You can find the concentrated orange oil at the garden centers.

Happy gardening!

Beware red wasps.
I was just standing beneath a peach tree a few years ago, and one flew on me a stung me on the arm.
It was one of the most painful things I have EVER experienced.
Stay away from them. They are very aggressive.

Sorry, I'm not much help...I prefer wasp spray with a six foot or greater aim...do spray in the evening/nighttime...that is when the adult comes back to the nest, and you'll be more likely to get them all that way.

Those things are so mean that they are one of the very few things I don't do organically...........

Hmmmmm...thread has got me wondering if the 20% vinegar I just bought to kill Dallis grass would work on nasty insects like fire ants and wasps. I think I'll try it on a couple of ant mounds in the next day or two and see.

I'd be careful of randomly spraying that vineger into the air. It's not good for the lungs or anything it touches. Use the 5% if you have to.

Like Roselee stated, if their paper wasp or mud daubers just leave them alone and they'll do the same. Red wasp, well....

I've been known to kill a few of them myself.

Hi - In a pinch - I use hairspray. I just spray them and as soon as it dries, they are done! Goodluck - tina_2

Good point about the vinegar in the air, kossetx, especially the 20% kind. I was thinking more of spraying the nests directly, not individual ones in the air, but it's a point to consider. I am looking forwarding to seeing how the ants like it, though.

Wasps must love me. Chiggers and fire ants think I'm candy so it makes up for it! I moved a nest of red wasps that was in a turned over bucket behind some over grown bushes. I was doing my original clean up of the yard. I set them up with some apple sauce (hypoglycemia from the stress of moving.) They later moved to my kitchen window. They didn't seem aggressive then or later. Go figure. PJ

I agree with srburk - totally agressive and one of the only things I kill with industrial chemicals - the kind that spray 10'. Nasty suckers. I'd say that if your daughter is allergic, you might have to bite the bullet and go chemical on their butts... Did any of the organic solutions work so far for anyone??? I am WAY to scared to get anywhere near the nest - they will chase you... no thanks.

I found nest in 3 corners of trim work near the roof- waited until late dusk & sprayed 'em with heavy duty chemical spray- the kind that shoots 20 ft.

Really dislike using anything non-organic but after a emergency run to ER from thier stings where Dr. said just one more sting could cause anaphylactic shock I knew I HAD to eliminate them right away. Scared me silly since DH is severely disabled and might not be able to get outside & find me 'til I was a goner.

BTW, pj, I've looked several times for your old post about Fire Ants...the onc where you described them waiting for you for their picnic, I think. It was hilarious & wish I'd saved it!
Suzi

We had red wasps by the droves last year and they made a nest inside one of the corners of our roof. I didn't want to go into the attic to get it but during the winter I went in and sealed the corner from the inside. This year hasn't been as bad for us I think because I've taken away most of the nesting sites, but they forage pretty far away from their nest so we certainly still get them. If you can avoid it, don't crush them with your foot etc. and if you do, hose it down. They release a chemical that can send other wasps into defense mode. The queen will make more than you can kill if you don't find the nest. If you manage to kill dozens then the colony will only see there are less so they will pump up production. Unfortunately they're not as wise as say feral cats and don't report back to the colony that 'there's a crazy guy swinging a fence picket at us in that yard so don't go there'. Our neighbor has less than stellar vinyl siding with gaps by the pound in it and they love to nest in those gaps so there's not much I can do about it. We've tried so many different tactics and traps and over the years just resort to being less aggressive towards them when they're close as they pretty much ignore us while they're foraging. Our dog loves to chase them and she's yet to be stung, even with them on her nose. My wife made traps a couple years ago out of 2ltr soda bottles even though I told her it was a waste of time on account of them just making more wasps. She got several but one day there were a ton of honey bees so we nixed that project then and there. We're pretty chemical free also but we will use wasp spray when needed. If you use the spray, the best we found is the Raid wasp and hornet spray in the black can, yellow letters. It has the fastest kill by far imo than the others. I only spray them when they're grounded and not aimlessly while they're flying and I wash the spot down after I spray them. It doesn't take a lot. I keep telling myself they're good to have around, a necessary evil if you will, like feral cats and just let them be. If you daughter is allergic, the only way to keep her completely safe is to keep her inside (and we had them get inside last year) in a bubble :) Wasps aren't out looking for humans to sting and they will ONLY attack when provoked or feel threatened. If you see them going from leaf to leaf looking for food or at a water feature for a drink, that is what they want to do and are the furthest away from an attack mentality. If you happen to be in the middle of their flight path, let them be and don't swat at them, they'll pass on by. Swatting is a threat to them. My mother, bless her heart, has the spirit of a warrior I tell ya. I've seen them land on her arm, crawl around as she just watches it then off they go. My wife on the other hand tried to swat one off her arm and got stung. If you're unknowingly close to their nest, that's obviously bad so do your diligence and get rid of nests in your yard/house. Then all you will be dealing with are foragers whom are extremely unaggressive without provocation. I'd fear yellow jackets more than the red wasps. They're the most aggressive of the wasps. Sorry if it's not the news you wanted to hear :\

I'm sure you keep antivenin injections for yourself and your family members who are alergic, but if not, don't count on getting to the ER before anaphalactic shock sets in. You could asphyxiate from it before you could get to professional help. So get those injections and keep them on hand at all times. you might do well to also take a first aid course that includes ways to insert an airway in the neck or chest in case that became necessary. With kids, you just can't be too cautious. Cheryl

Buy an epi-pen. Your daughters doc can give you a prescription for one. Keep it on you when she's outside.

Contact the Red Cross for a first aid course.

Wasps are also in danger, they are disappearing right along with the honey bees.

Destroy or relocate any nests that are near the house. There are several natural predators you can use for wasps.
Tally HO!

not so great to read this post. Had no idea how bad the red ones are. Is the one in the picture a red one?
{{gwi:1341732}}
I am going to try the hairspray advice........got LOTS of that around hahahahaha

That's the red one alright! Hairspray sounds like it would work, or you can wait till dusk, stand back a ways, squirt the nest with water, then pull it out and run like heck :-) Whatever you do -- if you spray the area with WD40 and they won't build there again.

As for relocating paper wasp nests I did that when we had our house painted. At dark with someone holding a flashlight just spray a fine mist of water on the nest, carefully pull on the stem of the nest to dislodge it, tack it somewhere within ten feet and they will find it in the morning. Wasps won't sting after dark and/or when they have wet wings.

When the painters were looking the place over to give us an estimate they were eyeing the many paper wasp nests under the eaves. I told them they were good wasps and I would move the nests.

When they were about done I noticed that I had missed a medium size nest covered with wasps, but they had painted within one inch of the stem. When I expressed surprise the painter said, "They're okay. They are good wasps." He equated good wasps with none stinging wasps!

Oh well, it worked for him and testifies to how docile the paper wasps are. Not that they won't sting if you put your hand on the nest! Got stung yesterday, but I swear they know me and just give me a little warning and not the full dose.

Of course if you have family that are allergic all nests will have to be removed.

If not allergic I read to splash hydrogen perioxide on the sting spot as quickly as possible which helps negate the effects.

I have been stung by red wasps twice on my new place in Quitman. Those bad boys HURT!!!

The first time was a year or so ago when I stuck my hand up in a coconut/bamboo wind chime to see why the center "clacker" had come off - red wasps had built a nest up in there and several flew out and stung my hand. My first lesson in country living: don't stick your hand where you can't see.

The last time was a week or so ago when I opened the door to my garden shed - one flew out and stung my arm, then went on his way. I still don't have a lesson learned from that one, unless it's "let someone else open the door for you".

Lin

"BTW, pj, I've looked several times for your old post about Fire Ants...the onc where you described them waiting for you for their picnic, I think. It was hilarious & wish I'd saved it!
Suzi"

That was Susan's (TXorBust)sense of humor. I miss her! She was hysterically funny. PJ

I never kill them. My husband is afraid of them because one of his good friends had a bad allergic reaction and died, but there was a huge nest over the back door one summer and I never said a word about it, and he never saw it. My sweet gum was full of caterpillars last year...web worms, and the wasps made off with them in no time.

In the winter time, I have seen them covering the wall inside one of my sheds. They aren't at all aggressive then because they don't have nests.