# Any wasp nest removal tips?



## SunnyPaphos (Jul 25, 2016)

I have a smallish nest growing in the centre of a pampas grass plant I was trying to clear.










Any tips on removing it? I was contemplating turning a hose on it from a distance. Mind you, I've been stung once and it was quite painful, so an easier route may be useful...


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Flame thrower?


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## SunnyPaphos (Jul 25, 2016)

Right, I've got it in a bin bag now. Will they eventually all suffocate?


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

That looks very scary

maybe a can of insect spray emptied into bag will do the trick?


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## SunnyPaphos (Jul 25, 2016)

Arrrggghhhh

Turns out it wasn't in the bag after all. I've now quadrupled wrapped the pool cleaner head and it contains nothing. There is now a wasps nest sat on the flowerbed, surrounded by pampas grass cuttings. I have drenched it in WD40, which is something my wife read. The wasps certainly look very very sluggish now. Hopefully by the morning they will have died.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

:fingerscrossed: Lets hope they are all dead in the morning. I hate wasps.


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## JonandGaynor (Jun 8, 2009)

We had a hornet nest in the garden a few weeks ago, normally I leave them alone with the philosophy of 'don't come near me and I won't come near you' and besides its fun watching the bee eaters catching them in mid flight. However this year the nest became very large with the hornets becoming troublesome around the pool coming down to drink, would have thought the chlorine would have put them off! Anyway I gave the nest a good dusting with Doff and all gone in a few hours, just make sure you've got a clear path to run if need be!


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## SunnyPaphos (Jul 25, 2016)

They were still alive in the morning. So I got some wasp spray during the day, and sprayed it the next evening. They had all gone / died by the day after that.

The wasp spray is really good, it will kill one in mid flight.

With regards to having a clear path to run, I should add that you should make sure you have appropriate footwear for running too. I was wearing sandles, and at one point I had to leg it over gravel. The sandles came off straight away and it was like running over lego.


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## SunnyPaphos (Jul 25, 2016)

Well this is weird. After I got rid of the nest in this thread, another one appeared, in a parasol by the pool. It was only a small one, and when I zapped it I found only 20 wasps. They were however, of a bigger variety than the previous one. These wasps are nearly an inch and a half long. 

Anyway, they still die when you spray them, and I quickly dispatched the nest.

But a week later, I saw another wasp loitering around the parasol. A few days after that, my daughter noted the same. So I zapped it again. This time I got 17 of the ******s. But when you open up the parasol, there is no real sign of any nest. They just appear to be using it for sleep. 

Is this normal wasp behavior in Cyprus? It strikes me as very odd. I was very surprised that they returned so soon after the first parasol zap.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

SunnyPaphos said:


> Well this is weird. After I got rid of the nest in this thread, another one appeared, in a parasol by the pool. It was only a small one, and when I zapped it I found only 20 wasps. They were however, of a bigger variety than the previous one. These wasps are nearly an inch and a half long.
> 
> Anyway, they still die when you spray them, and I quickly dispatched the nest.
> 
> ...


Are you sure these bigger ones are wasps and not hornets?
I cant really comment on normal behaviour for wasps here as we have never had any problems with them. :fingerscrossed:


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Veronica said:


> Are you sure these bigger ones are wasps and not hornets?
> I cant really comment on normal behaviour for wasps here as we have never had any problems with them. :fingerscrossed:


But I bet you've eaten them!

Eating Wasps!

Pete


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I did once have a wasp in my drink when I lived in Singapore and I bit it in half. Yuk
Luckily I killed it before it had chance to sting me in the mouth.


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## bencooper (Mar 20, 2013)

These look like Yellow Jackets (quite small, about 12mm long?). I find them to be quite passive, until I backed into a nest while trimming the hedge The first I knew was when 3 stung me on the back and shoulder- a bit like a red hot needle immediately, and then a bit itchy; next day gone, no sign of the stings! Probably the WD40 did more damage - to the environment?


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## SunnyPaphos (Jul 25, 2016)

Veronica said:


> Are you sure these bigger ones are wasps and not hornets?
> I cant really comment on normal behaviour for wasps here as we have never had any problems with them. :fingerscrossed:


The bigger ones may well be hornets. However, we do have some bigger ones still that most definitely are hornets. However, they tend to leave us alone and concentrate on the flowers.

I will take a photo of the middle ones, as I still have some of their corpses. I put them in a jar.


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## SunnyPaphos (Jul 25, 2016)

bencooper said:


> These look like Yellow Jackets (quite small, about 12mm long?). I find them to be quite passive, until I backed into a nest while trimming the hedge The first I knew was when 3 stung me on the back and shoulder- a bit like a red hot needle immediately, and then a bit itchy; next day gone, no sign of the stings! Probably the WD40 did more damage - to the environment?


I got stung in the eye by one of them. Well, just below it. It was really weird. I saw the wasp fly out of the shrub and dive bomb me, and it felt like a very small, hard, punch. A red hot needle would be a good description. I still have a mark there though. My beauty is forever marred...


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