How to catch wasp nest with net?

[CanebrakeRattlesnake]

So you've never tried to collect an active wasp nest yourself? Wonder why that is...

...Because I live with my parents, who do not want me to have wasps in the house, and I respect their wishes? I have no issues trying to collect wasp nests and I offered to move the one in the yard somewhere else, but my parents said I can leave it since we don't use the stove anymore.

*Edit* Also I have nowhere suitable to put them, and I don't want to risk relocating the nest and putting them into an unsuitable environment that doesn't have enough room for them to fly around. I would much rather them be in the yard where they have all the room they want to fly around and hunt.

 

[NMTs]

...Because I live with my parents, who do not want me to have wasps in the house, and I respect their wishes? I have no issues trying to collect wasp nests and I offered to move the one in the yard somewhere else, but my parents said I can leave it since we don't use the stove anymore.

*Edit* Also I have nowhere suitable to put them, and I don't want to risk relocating the nest and putting them into an unsuitable environment that doesn't have enough room for them to fly around. I would much rather them be in the yard where they have all the room they want to fly around and hunt.

That all makes sense. I was just wondering what experience you were leaning on when you decided it was a good idea to tell a kid how to try to do it. Just clarifying that the answer is no experience. Hope that isn't lost on the OP.

 

[CanebrakeRattlesnake]

That all makes sense. I was just wondering what experience you were leaning on when you decided it was a good idea to tell a kid how to try to do it. Just clarifying that the answer is no experience. Hope that isn't lost on the OP.

Yeah, that's why I linked the thread by the other poster who has more experience with pet wasps.

 

[WhiteMoss]

That all makes sense. I was just wondering what experience you were leaning on when you decided it was a good idea to tell a kid how to try to do it. Just clarifying that the answer is no experience. Hope that isn't lost on the OP.

You must really hate wasps. Can't blame you, I'm not a fan myself. I'm also not a fan of centipedes in the least, but I don't tell people it's a bad idea to keep them. To each their own.

 

[Edan bandoot]

assuming this isnt bait, i grabbed a wasp nest today.

you will need:
a ziploc bag
a stepladder

wait for it to rain or for it to be nighttime ( i did mine in the rain ) and you can just walk up to the nest (when it's small like this) set up your step ladder and put the bag around it, then squeeze the top. You'll end up with a wasp hive in a ziploc bag.

after that you're free to do whatever you want with it.

as for keeping wasps, that container seems small.
The way i've seen it done is people use some-sort of container to keep the hive in, but also allow them free access to the outdoors, where they can come and go as they please.

 

[The Snark]

We had a gal inadvertantly step on a tarantula hawk. By the time she got her foot off it it had whammed he quite a few times. Passed out, psychogenic shock, vomiting, screaming, diaphoretic and the whole shopping list. It subsided as I went to get her in a vehicle. But I made a mental note to put them up beside rattlers on the avoid at all costs scale.

 

[NMTs]

You must really hate wasps. Can't blame you, I'm not a fan myself. I'm also not a fan of centipedes in the least, but I don't tell people it's a bad idea to keep them. To each their own.

I'm not telling just anyone it's a bad idea to keep them (although I can't see how you could do it in a way that is beneficial at all for the wasps). What I do believe is that it's a bad idea for a kid to try to do it when he has no idea what he's doing. I've got a son around his age, and I understand well just how flawed their thought processes are most of the time. But like I tell my boy a lot, sometimes you just have to learn things the hard way...

 

[WhiteMoss]

He's 13 and they're wasps. He knows the risk.

 

[RatBrick]

Hey, I don't know how old/new this post is, but might I suggest attempting peaceful coexistence without the captivity instead? Wasps can be pretty chill buddies, but if you capture them in a box they probably won't want to be your friend anymore. Plus, you're likely to destroy their nest, which they're really not going to be happy about. Why not just leave it where it is and go visit them every day with treats? Then once you've gained their trust you can try moving them individually.

That's how I personally would do it, at least. I've always been kinda close with wasps, but I only ever collect the nests if they're abandoned.

 

[XxMochiixX]

I found a small wasp nest under the roof of my neighbors apartment, and I wanted to catch it for myself. I have a butterfly net and an enclosure too.

Here is the nest, may have to zoom in to see.
View attachment 423298

The net and enclosure I’m using
View attachment 423299
Ok so my problem is that I have NO IDEA how to catch a wasps nest with a butterfly net. How do I do it? Especially without being really nervous?

This reply may be really late, but i thought i'd share my experiences anyway! With nests around this size, I find it easier to get the wasps off it first and then collect the nest to avoid damaging the nest or getting attacked.

I try to very carefully get the wasps to crawl onto the net individually and then put them into a container - they tend not to react defensively once i've gotten them onto the net, but they may try to fly back up to the nest. I stick the net very close to the nest and gently push it towards one of the wasps until it crawls onto the net (or clings onto it in an attempt to bite it) and then put the wasp into the container. I just keep repeating this until all adults are caught and off the nest. It may take some time but this method of catching nests has never resulted in any stings for me. Now you can safely collect the nest, it's a good idea to make sure the pedicel is intact to make putting the nest in the setup easier. You can glue the nest by the pedicel, which i find much better than taping it. once the glue is dry and the nest is secured, you can re-introduce the wasps directly onto the nest or into the enclosure, though they may take longer for them to find the nest if you do it that way. In around 3 days to a week even my most defensive wild caught colonies have tamed down in captivity to the point where the nest can be gently touched without upsetting the wasps, so stings are never an issue with my captive nests. Polistes sp. can be raised and bred for multiple generations indoors, free ranging a colony may allow it to grow quicker but the wasps will return back to their wild and defensive state over time

The species here is almost certainly Polistes exclamans, not the most aggressive species but they tend to be flightier in my experience (compared to, say, P. fuscatus). My exclamans would freak out and try to escape if i so much as touched their enclosure, but eventually even they settled down. Every nest seems to have its own temperament though, so good luck with these ones