Wasps?

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Alix

Everymom
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OK, we have had our share of nests to get rid of, and have done so successfully. My question actually is about how many wasps you see per day or hour on your deck/patio. I feel we have a very high concentration of them around our deck. (And yes, I know it is August and they are more noticeable now)

I was just out on the deck with my husband and I bet we killed more than 25 wasps and shooed away dozens more. I finally gave up. I can only tolerate so many landings or buzzings at my face before I freak.

We can't find any place where they seem to be more concentrated than others. No sense that there is a nest closeby except for the elevated numbers. So...how many wasps is normal?
 
Don't know how many are normal for your area, but I generally see 10 - 20 per day, depending on where I am. Most people don't know it, but wasps are meat eaters, as are hornets (and some people call various hornets, such as yellow jackets and bald-faced hornes, wasps). I see them more frequently where food is served and where people congregate around food. This is because the food draws flies, and the flies draw the little, winged-predators. I've watched a single hornet gulp down as many as 5 flies that were about half the hornets size. They hover around, flying slowly, hunting, watching, especially around barbecues and picknic tables. When they see a fly land, they pounce on it.

Oh, and occasionally, I know of people who have been bitten, not stung, but bitten by yellow jackets.

The big-black wasps that look so dangerous, from what I'm told, pack a powerful wallop in thier sting. I've never been stung by one and so can't say one way or the other. But I've had my share, and several other people's share of yellow jacket and hornet stings, coupled with a few bumble bee stings as well. That's the price you pay for playing along streams and in the woods as a child. From the critters that have stung me, the yellow jackets are the most painful. My dad said that the bald-face hornet. a black little bugger with a white face, got him between the eyes as a teen, and knoked him off his feet with the pain. I've never been stung by one and so can't say which one is worse. Bumble bees are a cake walk compared to hornets and wasps, especially since bees can only sting once. Then they lose their stinger and die. Hornets and wasps sting again and again. I know, I have trod upon to yellow jacket nests that were built underground. I had many welts from those encounters.

As an added bit of info, if you step on a nest, especially if you squish one of the hornets, they leave a tell-tale scent on you. You can't smell it, but the other hornets can. The first time I stepped on a nest, at about age 7, they singled me out from a half dozen other boys who were with me. I was the only one who got nailed. I was the one who had the scent on my shoe.

Oh, and if you're in the Phillippines, bees don't even need a reason to come and sting you. I was with shipmates at a party that our church put on, on base. I was in a swimming pool. I heard a yelp. Someone had gotten stung on the foot. I figured he'd stepped upon a loan bee. The a swarm of the winged bandits came through and nearly all of us, including me, suffered stings. I got hit on the forearm as I lifted it out of the water while swimming. We all high-tailed it out of there, and quick.

Yep, I know something about stings and venomous insects. I've gotten my share of bites and stings, and as I said earlier, a few other peoples share as well.

Just be careful with the wasps. If you get them mad, they'll nail you multiple times. And one little more thing, it hurts much more on the finger tip than on the forearm. I know that one from personal experience too.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Alix,

Sounds like you might have a nest a nearby. I noticed an abundance of wasps in my yard and started looking around and found a nest under my front porch. See the link below for what interesting times that Claire and I had with wasps or hornets nests in our yards. If you don't feel comfortable dealing with them I recommend that you call a professional. That is what I did.

SC :)

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13772
 
I followed that thread SierraCook. We have removed several nests from our yard over the years. And my uncle is an entomologist so he was a huge help in removing them. Unfortunately, he is not around as an information source right now so I need to ask you guys for help. I think it seems like too many of the nasty beasts not to have a nest nearby, but DH and I have been pretty vigilant in watching for any unusual activity that would indicate a nest and haven't seen any.

I have heard that this is a particularly bad year for them. I am looking forward to hearing about numbers from other folks too.
 
Bad year Alix??? Sierra got bit twice yesterday...once the day before....Seth got bit on the back of his head..huge welt....its awful.

The wasps seem to cling to sweetness...I was at a Bull Buckoff last night and where there was pop the wasps just swormed...ahhh....I cant do all teh little critters.

On CKGY....ok Our local radio station they were mentioning things to ward them off or to help get rid of them...two things that stuck out....

Rub yourself with a BOUNCE fabric sheet...hang them around your deck, ect......supposed to work??hehe

The other one is to hang a wiener above a dish full of soapy water....the wasps will swarm to the meat and there is supposed to be something in the weiner that makes them full. When they get too full they fall into the soapy water and the soap does something to their wings and they cant fly so....the drown...poor things!!! LMAO!! sorry I hate them.....

Only thing is to try these and see if they work.....I havent tried them yet.....just heard about them...I know the bounce works for mosquitos.....its worth a try
 
We have two yellow jacket traps in our back yard and they fill up pretty fast. DH dumps them into a zip lock bag and into the freezer until trash day.
Marge
 
it seems to be to cold in Germany for wasps :cool:
haven't seen some for days except the two we have indoors, but they must be different, they are just interested in our flowers, no bothering us... :mrgreen:
 
Alix, we're having a heck of a time with them here, too. DH and I watched them going in and out of the vent on our gas fireplace when we were outside this afternoon. I sure hope there isn't a way they can get in the house from there! :yuk:

I counted at least 10-15 in just a few moments so I'm sure if I stuck around to count more (which I won't because they scare me to death!) I'd have numbers like yours.

My question now is how to get them out of our gas fireplace vent? They vent is caulked shut to the side of the house and the critters are just getting in and out through a small hole. As DH said, he's not about to spray into a gas fireplace with wasp killer!I hate to spend the $$ to get a fireplace repair company out but I'm not sure what else to do at this point. Any suggestions?
 
Alix, It depends on the kind you have, The big fat Bumble Bees most people call yellow jackets are just that Bumble Bees they are a problem they will build a nest under your house and can cause a lot of damage ! True Hornets Build huge upside down volcano like nests, Leave them alone. They are very aggressive and are hard to kill but they won't be back after that short stay. Small German wasps, like food and garbage they are around for a short time in the fall and are aggressive. The rest of bees and wasps are not that big of a deal. All bees and wasps , (except Hornets and Bumble bees) can be killed with a nice fine mist from a spray bottle with a little gasoline in it. If they touch the mist from gasoline they die in mid air this is the cheapest way to kill them. I love working on cars and carry a bottle with me in case I am working on a old car they have taken over!
 
I call bumble bees, bumble bees. They are big, hairy, and are provoked by running next to them, or disturbing their nests (they fly very fast and are hard to outrun. I was afraid of them as a child and got stung a few times by getting them mad). What I call yellow jackets are a type of hornet. They are slender and long, and like to suck the juice from my rasperries. They also like sugar water, and love to eat flies. They often build nests among thick raspberry bushes, or along the banks of streams. The nests are often underground, with only a pencil thick hole visible where they enter. These are the nests I was unfortunate enough to trod upon twice in my lifetime. But I can tell you that I've seen similar looking hornets build small, paper nests under soffits, on the cieling of my garage, and under my porch roof. These were all small paper nests that held more hornest that I thought could be possible. There was also an enormous nest of these yellow jackets, again made of paper, under the stearring collumn of my boss's jeep. He asked me to knock it out for him. Since I've had some experience, I agreed. I had the door to my own vehicle open, and I was parked just a couple steps from the jeep. I speared the nest with the brush end of a broom and with 2 quick steps, was in my car with all windows rolled up, and backing quickly away. I informed the neighbors and the people in his house what I was going to do, so no one would get stung.

The funniest incident I have ever seen was as a 12 year old boy. I and some freinds were at a gravel pit, knocking rocks to the bottom of the pit by bombarding outcropping rocks from above with other rocks. We nailed this one rock again and again. When it tumbled, we noticed a hornets nest stuck to its bottom. Nothing came out so we though it was an abandoned nest. One of my freinds ran to the pit bottom exclaiming he was going to get the nest and take it home. He did as he said and pried the nest from the rock bottom. When he did so, he found a nest filled with yellow jackets. I never saw anybody run so fast up a steep sand and gravel slope as he did. He never got one sting. None of us stuck around. We all knew better. But with all of the adrenaline pumping, and a youg teen's natural energy just flowing in us, we all laughed until our bellies ached.

My worst encounter was when a hornet got under a face shield, bounced off my chin and got into my helmet. It stung me three times behind the right ear before I could get my motorcycle stopped. And then there's the one that bounced off of my neck and fell into my shirt. Only got stung once from that one. Then the time I put a jacket on and found one in my sleeve... etc.

On the plus side, I've worked inches from hornet and wasp nests with no problems. They knew I was no danger to them, and I was careful not to be, and they were happy to co-exist peacefully with me. I don't kill them as they do much more good than harm. Only if they are a danger to me or my family by putting a nest where it shouldn't and can't be do I get rid of them.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Bad year? Tell me about it. My husband went to trim the hedge and hit a hornets' nest. They swarmed up his sleeve. Had no idea he was allergic. Ambulance, emergency room, and 24 hours in intensive care. We thought it was all over (hubby gets kudos for following through with our annual summer party a few days later!!), a few weeks later, we hired someone to finish trimming the hedge. Saw him running across the yard. Found a large, foot-ball sized hornets nest. Had to call every exterminator in the geographical area before we found someone who'd deal with it.

They're called bald-faced hornets (black and white stripes, very large, very, very, very agressive). The local exterminators call them "hornets on steriods" because they are so very agressive.

We're looking forward to winter!!

Nearly lost my husband (he now walks around with an epi-pen). Yes, it has been a bad year.
 
I Stepped on a Hive of timber wasps one time and was stung somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 times ! for a little while I didn't feel well then it was back to being Maidrite!:ermm:
 
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