Yeah. frig that shit. But if they are scavengers, like other hornets, yellowjackets, and paper wasps, baiting them with that stuff will kill them (if they are in scavenging mode, aka summer). Since I became allergic i went all in hardcore adhd style and learned all sorts of stuff about my enemy. Learned that the solitary wasps won't sting, learned the airplane sized cicada killers won't sting, and learned the different species of social wasps in my area. Since i have random equipment, vehicles, and pipe everywhere (likely their favorite housing site), and work in locations that will literally have hundreds of wasps flying everywhere i researched all of the ways to kill them. I used to not mess with them at all, to the point where yellowjackets took over my sailboat back when i was single/ no kids and had the time to take it out, but couldn't because of nests. Here's a few things I've learned, which would be applicable everywhere.
First, it's the social wasps that will sting you. They defend their nests, the mud daubers will just kill bugs, so you leave them alone. Killing them early in the year is best, because they are less aggressive because they are trying to find secluded spots to nest, and they don't have worker females built up yet (the only ones that sting, of course the males are too cool
). Soap, especially dish soap, is extremely effective, as all bugs breathe through their exoskeleton, so really sudsy stuff will suffocate them and not allow them to fly. The coolest story i have about killing them is when i read this, drank my courage up a bit, and drug my boat to a car wash at 3 am, selected the soap spray, and filled my aluminum sailboat mast up. No kidding thousands of yellowjackets flushed out the other end stone dead, filling the 6 foot cockpit. Pyrethrins are the standard in wasp spray, which are either derived from the chrysanthemum plants or are synthetic derivatives of it. They provide instant knockdown to all species.
I mix my own spray in a pump sprayer, demonmax, Taurus sc, and dish soap. Each of the listed insecticides can be found on Amazon for about 30 bucks a pint (several years worth). I double the recommendations, but I'm certain it's overkill. I spray only the nests, or likely nesting areas (which i have tons on my property). Usually by this time of year in Illinois, my sailboat would have over 20 nests, the chipper would have around 10, each welder would have half a dozen or so, every truck would have the same, e.t.c. The soap and demonmax instantly kill them, the Taurus sc is residual, and anything that crawls through it will kill the entire nest. You obviously need to be careful you aren't spraying anywhere near where bees or bumblebees will go, but spraying that shit will clear em out like nothing else. I've never tried using the Taurus sc for baiting them, but everything I've read leads me to believe that it's effective beyond your expectations, i guess studies have shown 95 percent of all nests that could travel there to forage are dead in a week, 99 percent in a month. I understand many here will balk at that, but the reality is that wasps not only prey on bees, but they often have their numbers greatly inflated due to invasive species, so killing them before the end of the year when they reproduce is likely better for the ecosystem.
www.nytimes.com
