Red Paper Wasp invasion, need some help getting rid of them

Moakmeister

Arachnodemon
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Messages
741
I have a big dilemma here. At the start of the summer, my residential area became infested with Polistes carolina, the Red Paper Wasp. These things are everywhere. At any given time, there are probably three in my front yard. These wasps are territorial and defensive, and my dad has been stung three times and is apparently allergic to the stings, since each one hurts worse and affects the stung area more badly than the last. I also have several milkweed plants in my backyard, and I've seen Monarchs laying eggs on them and there are a lot of leaves with holes eaten in them. But I see wasps landing on those plants all the time, and I can never see any caterpillars because the wasps eat them. Do you guys have any suggestions as to how I can get rid of them? As I am to understand it, the nests are some of the largest of any wasp species in the world with 3,000 to 5,000 workers.
 

WeightedAbyss75

Arachnoangel
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
921
This is what I just found:
https://www.thoughtco.com/controlling-paper-wasps-1968424

"If a nest is located near an entrance to your home, or by a porch or deck where you spend a lot of time, you may need to take action to control paper wasps. Check eaves, shutters, and other high traffic areas in your yard early in the spring, when paper wasp queens are first building their nests. If you find a nest before the first generation of workers have reached adulthood, you can simply knock the nest down with a broom to discourage the queen from nesting in that location.

Larger nests, or those found later in the season, should be handled cautiously.

Never attempt to remove an active wasp nest during the day, when paper wasps are actively flying in and out of the nest. Wait until evening, when the wasps have settled in for the night, to treat or remove any paper wasp nest. During periods of cool weather, you may be able to treat wasp nests, as wasps become lethargic when temperatures dip down to 50°F or lower.

Though I rarely recommend the use of chemical pesticides, the safest method of eradicating paper wasps in a problem area is, indeed, with a commercial wasp spray. Look for a product labeled for use on wasps and hornets, and remember, the label is the law. You must read the label and follow all directions for using any pesticide product. Wasp sprays usually come with a propellant that allows you to spray the pesticide from a safe distance.

Coat the nest in the pesticide, making sure to cover all the cells of the paper wasp nest. Never stand below the wasp nest while applying the pesticide. Wasps may drop from the nest, and you also risk getting the chemical in your eyes or on your skin.

Be sure to check the nest the next day for any signs of wasp activity. Before you remove a nest, you must be sure that no workers survived the pesticide application. Wasp sprays kill on contact. Wasps that were absent from the nest at the time you sprayed may return to the nest site. If you don't observe live wasps near the nest, use a broom or other long-handled tool to knock it down. Dispose of the nest properly. I recommend placing the nest in a sealed baggie and placing it in your household trash"

Sorry for the large verbatum, just figured it was easier to read here for the future :D And the actual article is up above, I cut quite a bit out.
 

Moakmeister

Arachnodemon
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Messages
741
This is what I just found:
https://www.thoughtco.com/controlling-paper-wasps-1968424

"If a nest is located near an entrance to your home, or by a porch or deck where you spend a lot of time, you may need to take action to control paper wasps. Check eaves, shutters, and other high traffic areas in your yard early in the spring, when paper wasp queens are first building their nests. If you find a nest before the first generation of workers have reached adulthood, you can simply knock the nest down with a broom to discourage the queen from nesting in that location.

Larger nests, or those found later in the season, should be handled cautiously.

Never attempt to remove an active wasp nest during the day, when paper wasps are actively flying in and out of the nest. Wait until evening, when the wasps have settled in for the night, to treat or remove any paper wasp nest. During periods of cool weather, you may be able to treat wasp nests, as wasps become lethargic when temperatures dip down to 50°F or lower.

Though I rarely recommend the use of chemical pesticides, the safest method of eradicating paper wasps in a problem area is, indeed, with a commercial wasp spray. Look for a product labeled for use on wasps and hornets, and remember, the label is the law. You must read the label and follow all directions for using any pesticide product. Wasp sprays usually come with a propellant that allows you to spray the pesticide from a safe distance.

Coat the nest in the pesticide, making sure to cover all the cells of the paper wasp nest. Never stand below the wasp nest while applying the pesticide. Wasps may drop from the nest, and you also risk getting the chemical in your eyes or on your skin.

Be sure to check the nest the next day for any signs of wasp activity. Before you remove a nest, you must be sure that no workers survived the pesticide application. Wasp sprays kill on contact. Wasps that were absent from the nest at the time you sprayed may return to the nest site. If you don't observe live wasps near the nest, use a broom or other long-handled tool to knock it down. Dispose of the nest properly. I recommend placing the nest in a sealed baggie and placing it in your household trash"

Sorry for the large verbatum, just figured it was easier to read here for the future :D And the actual article is up above, I cut quite a bit out.
My family and I can't seem to locate the nest despite searching throughout the summer.
 

WeightedAbyss75

Arachnoangel
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
921
Sadly, I don't think there is much to be done then :( Without the nest, any that you kill will bring more to attack and be replaced with little to no effort. If you wait until next summer though, you should probably search very thoroughly and destroy the nests before they become too big. Also, is it possible to simply "follow" the bugs? I may be underestimating their speed, but couldn't you see where they are returning or coming from?
 

Moakmeister

Arachnodemon
Joined
Oct 6, 2016
Messages
741
Sadly, I don't think there is much to be done then :( Without the nest, any that you kill will bring more to attack and be replaced with little to no effort. If you wait until next summer though, you should probably search very thoroughly and destroy the nests before they become too big. Also, is it possible to simply "follow" the bugs? I may be underestimating their speed, but couldn't you see where they are returning or coming from?
I was looking more for a way to repel from my house and milkweeds than to find the nest. Also, I don't think following them is practical. These wasps can fly, so that's already gonna make it difficult, but they also just spend basically the entire day doing what appears to us humans to be just aimless wandering, for hours on end. And in Houston, the temperatures can reach almost 100 degrees or more, with insane humidity. I don't want to have to spend so much time out there.
 

WeightedAbyss75

Arachnoangel
Joined
Feb 22, 2014
Messages
921
I was looking more for a way to repel from my house and milkweeds than to find the nest. Also, I don't think following them is practical. These wasps can fly, so that's already gonna make it difficult, but they also just spend basically the entire day doing what appears to us humans to be just aimless wandering, for hours on end. And in Houston, the temperatures can reach almost 100 degrees or more, with insane humidity. I don't want to have to spend so much time out there.
Hmmm, true. Yeah, I honestly have no idea. I would guess and wasp repellent would affect the milkweed and monarchs, but maybe if you sprayed around it would deter the wasps? Other than that, I have no idea. Stinks that they kill the monarchs. Good luck to you either way ;)
 

schmiggle

Arachnoking
Joined
Nov 3, 2013
Messages
2,220
Are you sure they're eating the monarchs? Monarch caterpillars and adults are protected by toxic chemicals sequestered from the milkweed (that's why there are so few kinds of insects that can eat milkweed--I can think of four, including monarchs--and those that do are usually obligate to milkweed and aposematically colored). I'm not saying it's impossible, it would just be surprising.

You probably won't be able to easily follow wasps back to the nest--if they're anything like bees, they wander around until they've found as much food as they want, then fly straight back to the nest at high speed. In addition, wasps can go pretty far in search of food--I don't know how big your property is, but there's a good chance the nest is actually on someone else's.

If your goal is to restrict them to a certain area, you might try setting up a nutritionally complete and tasty bait--peanut butter, with carbohydrates, fats and proteins, comes to mind. You'd probably have to suspend it, and I sort of doubt it would be effective. But if you're out of other ideas it might be worth a shot.

The only other idea I have would be some kind of parasite. I bet it exists, but I don't know what it is and you would need to be very careful that it's not invasive. The advantage, though, is that you wouldn't need to find the nest--the parasite would ideally do it for you, or would latch on to a worker going back.
 

TylerFishman5675

Arachnosquire
Joined
Jun 9, 2017
Messages
105
These wasps have annual nests, next year you will not have this problem, I would just get a hose and water it down at night and remove it, wasps eyes sre very photosensitive and require a large amount of light to have coordinated flight, essentailly, they cant see you at night
 

Wolfspidurguy

Arachnobaron
Joined
Feb 1, 2017
Messages
546
one tip... whatever you do DO NOT SQUISH THEM!!! THEY GIVE OFF A CHEMICAL THAT LETS OTHER WASPS KNOW THERE IS DANGER AROUND AND COULD CAUSE SOME TROUBE!
 
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