Thread: Any Entomologists here?

I have a wasp/hornet/yellow jacket problem. I noticed the problem got bad as we got later into summer. Apparently if you don't take care of them in the spring then in the summer time they are much more populated. Reason why is because in the spring time it's usually just all queens and as you kill them off they will never have a nest.

They love the pool and I found a chemical that I can put in the pool that's also kind of a natural clarifier. Anyhow, it's supposed to break the water tension so when they land on the water they are supposed to just sink. Problem is on sunday after I put it in the water and it circulated for like 5 hours, I still saw some wasps sitting on top of the water.

A few months ago I bought some spray that sprays really far and I bought two traps. The traps didn't catch a single wasp since I put it up but I killed at least 2 nests with the spray. I still have more nests that I can't seem to locate. When I watch them fly away, they fly in every direction and I lose them while they are in flight. I found some do-it-yourself traps and I made one and I only got one wasp. I think I need to do it again but design it differently. Basically, they are attracted to sweet things and meats. I read somewhere that they are only attracted to meats in the spring but I read somewhere else that they are always attracted to meats. Anyways, I boiled water and poured in a bunch of sugar to dissolve it and put it in a gallon jug, I squirted some dish soap to break the water tension and then I hung a piece of watermelon to attract them and cut a hole in the side of the jug. In the new design I will use a piece of raw fish because that's what a lot of people seem to be using in these do-it-yourself traps.

So, does anybody have any other tips. My neighbor must have a lot of nests and when I spoke to him, he said "don't kill them, they eat other insects and are great for the ecosystem." I told him that when we are in the pool they buzz around us like they want to land on us, he simply tells me "when they do that just try to wade away." Well, while my girl and I were in the pool, she was attacked so I'm on a mission to kill all of them.

Also, I'm thinking that I want to attract some insect eating birds so does anybody have any experience with that?

12 gauge with very small birdshot.

Load up on the sprays, and go to town. I'm not sure about Texas (or other warm climates), but up here in God's Country, the bees (and wasps (and other Protestants : ) ) get really aggressive in the Fall. As the weather gets cooler,they move slower, but for whatever reason,they are much more likely to attack.

Kill 'em all, Poop. You just can't have bees attacking your honey. : )

I'm surprised yall used the same vacuum for 15 years! Did it finally break at 15 or are yall still using it?

yea, the sprays work, though, more economical if you find the nest so you can spray them while they are all together, but there isn't much fluid in the can and killing one at a time could get expensive, lol. Plus I'm affraid to get the stuff in the pool, lol.

Check all high dry areas around your house. They will also use dead trees and ground borrows as nests if it offers a good deal of protection. If I can ever find my entomology books I can give you a little more detail on where to look for your area. Are you having issues with all three types or are you unsure which species you are dealing with? Each one acts differently (Hornets are territorial while wasps tend to be solitary or social insects) and knowing which one you are dealing with will help you know how to combat them.

KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!!

Here's a wild ass idea.

Call a professional willing to guarantee their work and call them repeatedly until the problem is gone.

A good pest control firm will not only take care of the bee/wasp/hornet problem, but they will also take care of every other insect that crosses your property line for years to come.

We put empty soda bottles filled with a small amount of dish soap and water in spots all over the yard. This actually works well.

Originally Posted by Jester(TA)

We put empty soda bottles filled with a small amount of dish soap and water in spots all over the yard. This actually works well.

what did yall use to attract them to it? or was it simply the water itself that they were attracted to?