Lots and lots and lots of wasps

[lb99]

I was having the obligitory pre shifting cleanout yesterday, and whilst rummaging in the back of the wood bin, I suddenly found myself surrounded by 1000s of wasps. Naturally I bolted, and I was surprised not to get stung at all.
I cracked open a beer and sat down to watch them for a while, it took quite a long time for them to calm down ( about 4 cans), and I was able to see where the entrance to the nest is, the only problem is that its tricky to get to and buried under a whole heap of garden rubbish, which will make it really hard to sneak up on them with a bottle of petrol.
Anyways this morning at about 12.30, I loaded up the pump sprayer with petrol and proceeded to douse the area, paying particular attention to where I suspect the entrance to be.
Then the neighbours came home pissed and procceded to get loose with fireworks - scarey.
This morning I still have a heap of wasps, and to top it off they are on to me, I cant get anywhere near them, has any one got any good wasp killing tips?

[eliot-ness]

No problem. If you are going to use petrol wait until sunset, the wasps will all be back in the nest. Put a few inches off petrol in a bottle and push the neck of the bottle into the hole. leave it for a couple of days and your problem should be over. Wasp killing powder can be put in the entrance to the nest at the same time of day. Takes a bit longer to work.

[apteryx_haasti]

Call in a professional exterminator. That's what they're paid for.

We once went to what had been called in as a house fire (volunteer fire brigade) because people had seen a huge puff of smoke behind this house.

We got to the steep driveway and can't see smoke nor does it look like the house is on fire. So, the officer and I go up the driveway to suss out what's going on. There's this guy with a garden hose, surrounded by wasps. Turns out he had tried to burn out their nest using petrol soaked paper (in the middle of summer when he lives on the edge of bush reserve) and had accidently set fire to a little bit of bush, which he had managed to put out with the garden hose (that was the puff of smoke that had been called in by the public).

The officer explains to our fire chief down in the truck what was going on. I'm watching the wasps buzzing around this guy. Chief asks do we need any more water up there...we just look at the guy and decide nope. Nope we don't.

Good luck with your wasps!

[Jantar]

Go to your nearest garden shop (or Mitre10) and buy a small container of Carbaryl. This is normally mixed as a spray, but instead use the neat powder and sprinkle it as close to the entrance of the nest as you can get. The wasps will carry the powder into the nest and kill it from the inside.

[DingDong]

I use CRC, with the long nossel... they die straight away (if they're all in there)

You could always burn the shed down, I'll bring the beers

[lb99]

You could always burn the shed down, I'll bring the beers

erm the neighbours might be a bit upset, seeing as the woodshed is built against their garage.

ha ha, one of the kids chucked a rock at it "I'll get em out dad" now they are all out, the birds are having a field day, even the cats are having a go.

I'll have to have a go at clearing some of the rubbish out tonight , and see if I can get at the actual nest

I have to adbit it is kinda fun stirring them up, like playing with explosives really

[bull]

Go to your nearest garden shop (or Mitre10) and buy a small container of Carbaryl. This is normally mixed as a spray, but instead use the neat powder and sprinkle it as close to the entrance of the nest as you can get. The wasps will carry the powder into the nest and kill it from the inside.

Yep Carbaryl sp? is the way to go, i normally make a blow pipe with some carbaryl in it, walk to the nest entrance, blow pipe and the carbaryl goes all over the entrance, then walk away. Normally overnight the nest will be dead as the wasps pick it up on their feet and take into the nest.

[Dai]

And when you are finished I'll have the nest.

Very good as wadding in BP cases.

[Shadows]

I've taken out a few nests at night using a 50:50 diesel/petrol mix poured right in the entrance from a nozzled petrol container. Pour it right in there and then plug it really quickly afterwards with a rag soaked in the same mixture. Don't freak out too much when the ground starts buzzing angrily beneath your feet (you can sometimes feel the vibration), unless you find that the nest has other entrances you don't know about!

If the nest is way too hard to get to, as Jantar said before, toss some Carbaryl at the entrance. The wasps will do the rest themselves. If it is really bad then wait until there is a cool evening (plently of those at the moment) and direct a fine mist of water at it from a hose for a couple of hours. This will hopefully cool the nest down a bit and make them sluggish enough for you to get closer.

Either way you'll want to get out of there pretty quickly and stay away for a day or so.

[Timber020]

If its close to the house you can leave a vaccum cleaner running next to the entrance for a while. Then just spray some killer up the pipe before you turn it off.

Poison works best though

[lb99]

I used the trailer cover and built a fumigation tent, I left a small opening for them to get in and out, and gave it a good squirt with some industrial insectiside from work, I came back and gave it another dose every 15 min or so. so to get in or out of the nest they have to fly though a tent full of insectiside, now there is f'n heaps of dead ones writhing on the lawn, and f'k all in the air, so thats got the numbers down a bit, tonight I will clear out the rubbish fron the corner and try to find the entrance.

[kro]

I used an old can of crc, and a cigarette lighter, the little bastards didn't stand a chance. They took over my mates garden shed, and we went all rambo on their asses, and fully torched the colony.

[TonyB]

My old man always used to use a beer bottle (not a stubbie) full of diesel. Seak up on the nest after dark and shove the beer bottle into the nest opening. At this point it pays to scarper. I think there are baits and things you can get these days which are more environmentally freindly...

[Ixion]

Wasps had built a nest within the wall of a house I had some years ago. They entered by a crevice by the chimneystack, but the nest was some distance from that within the wall cavity, and judging by the number of wasps, was a large one.

I obtained a "Borer-Bomb" from the hardware store , lit the fuse and pushed it through the entrance crevice, to fall within the wall.

Vast clouds of stinking smoke emanated from all the joints in the wall, a spectacular sight. Hordes of dying and infuriated wasps emerged also, intent on exacting a final revenge. I was sensible enough to run away as soon as I had tossed the bomb in, and watched from a good distance.I was quite impressed with the spectacle, as were the neighbours.

After an hour the smoke abated, leaving only a lingering unpleasant odour for several days. All the wasps were no more, and no further trouble was had.

I can unreservedy recommend the "Borer Bomb" product, which in those days was to be had , for a very moderate sum, at all good hardware stores, chandlers, station agents and general providers. I do not know if they are still available, having had no need of recourse to them in recent years.

[Motu]

The Borer Bomb was the weapon alright,but I could smell the stuff for years,decades later in some of my stuff.I've only had to deal with paper wasp nests,and WD40 sorts them out.We had a bee swarm go into the ceiling of a bedroom once - they were quiet over winter and I didn't realise they were still there,I thought the swarm had moved on.When they got active again we kept getting a lot of bees in the house,more and more every day,kids were getting stung.I got a guy to come around and get them out,he came after dark and took the queen,poisoned the rest.Then I had to clean up - rip out ceiling tiles,scrape all the wax from the timber (they will come back to that apparently),paint it and fit new tiles.

What sort of wasps? The fat yellow and blacks (German wasp?) make ground nests,the skinny ones make paper nests and are nasty.Wasps haven't been in this country long,the German wasp arrived in the '40's I think.