TearAbite
join:2001-07-25
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
 ·Charter Pipeline
edit:
November 17th, @10:54AM
| Habits of wasps (yellow jackets)
We've had a few yellow jacket nests in the eves this year.. each one was taken out with that wasp foam-spray poison stuff (works great)..
Yesterday my wife wakes me up whining about a wasp in the baby's playroom.. whaaa whaa whaaa...
So i go into the room and find not one.. not two .. not three.. but SEVENTEEN wasps flying around the room, mostly hanging out on the ceiling fan or on the windows..
So i get the dust-buster and suck them all up, one at a time (thinking the ride would kill them).. When i emptied the dustbuster in the trash can outside they all came flying out - no problem, at least they werent in the house anymore.
I checked the windows in the baby's play-room (which do not have screens) and found one was cracked open about 1/4 of an inch and that's probably how they got in. I closed the window, and checked outside for any signs of a nest.. no nest anywhere near the windows (or anywhere)... problem solved...i thought
so i go check today to see if i missed any wasps in the room, and i look out the window and there arou 10-15 wasps just flying all around the window, bumping into it, trying to get in, etc.. they were like a bunch of evil-winged alien embryos trying to get in..
i checked around outside and still cant find any signs of a nest or anything - so the question is... HOW/WHY are they coming back to try and get in? if there is a queen still inside the room will they smell it's pheromones or something?
it's kinda kreeping me out..
EDIT: Turns out they are paper wasps, not yellow jackets:
»www.livingwithbugs.com/epw.html |
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Kayrac
Premium
join:2001-09-29
Lee, NH | coulda been starting to build a nest, and got stuck inside while trying to go back out?
would explain why they wanted to come back |
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Johkal
Cool Cat
Premium,MVM
join:2002-11-13
Happy Valley
clubs:
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 ·Vonage
| reply to TearAbite
Check all around the window for small openings where they may have built a nest in the walls.
Not that it matters, but "Yellow Jackets" aren't wasps. They normally live in the ground. You have wasps. 
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dmagerl
join:2007-08-06
Woodstock, IL
| German Yellow Jackets nest in cavities. Eastern Yellow Jackets nest in the ground. They look similar. The German Yellow Jacket is an introduced species and is more agressive than the native Yellow Jacket.
I've had several run-ins with Yellow Jacket nests in wall cavities. |
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Johkal
Cool Cat
Premium,MVM
join:2002-11-13
Happy Valley
clubs: | What regions are they found. I've not encountered that variety in PA. |
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CurtesyFlush
Chile peppers are my heroin
Premium
join:2002-08-23
Fontana, CA | reply to TearAbite
Ever been stung by one? I had one fly up my uniform pants and
nail me on the inside of my thigh. The pain was the most intense I've ever felt, except for burn debriding.
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Religion is the root of all evil. |
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TearAbite
join:2001-07-25
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
·Charter Pipeline
| said by CurtesyFlush  :Ever been stung by one? no.. and i dont plan on it.. that's why i'm keeping that baby's window closed..
They dont have venom like a bee right? but, they can sting repeatedly ? |
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PrntRhd
join:2004-11-03
Fairfield, CA | They do have venom, usually not a problem unless you are allergic or get swarmed with multiple stings. All females can sting and each can sting more than once. |
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wilbilt
Pronto Resurrected
Premium
join:2004-01-11
Oroville, CA
| reply to TearAbite
We have had a huge problem with European paper wasps here the past few years. (Not Yellow Jackets - although we have them, too. They live in the ground).
The European wasps have overrun the native species, and are more aggressive. Worse yet, they will build their nests anywhere, not just in out-of-the-way places.
This time of year, they are looking for warm places to spend the winter. I have read that only the queens survive the winter, but that is not true here. I have found clusters of wasps huddled just about anywhere they are protected from the cold all winter. These are not nests, just groups of wasps.
In toolbox drawers, crevices between beams under my porch, etc. The queens emerge in the Spring and begin to build new nests, and I assume the others help.
I have taken an aggressive attitude to destroy any and all wasps I see in the Spring as well as the beginnings of their nests. This has made a very noticeable difference in their numbers during the summer.
I do not normally believe in randomly killing things, but these bugs can make my place nearly uninhabitable during the summer months otherwise.
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sdgthy
@optonline.net
| reply to TearAbite
said by TearAbite :i checked around outside and still cant find any signs of a nest or anything - so the question is... HOW/WHY are they coming back to try and get in? if there is a queen still inside the room will they smell it's pheromones or something? I would suggest checking again very carefully for a nest within a wall. They can be very difficult to find when small because they go zipping by so fast into a small hole, until the nest is large and it's almost impossible not notice them coming and going. By that time you'll probably be able to find the nest by noise alone. |
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TearAbite
join:2001-07-25
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
·Charter Pipeline
edit:
November 16th, @11:44PM
| reply to wilbilt
said by wilbilt :.. (Not Yellow Jackets - although we have them, too. They live in the ground). I have found clusters of wasps huddled just about anywhere they are protected from the cold all winter. These are not nests, just groups of wasps. Maybe what i have are those paper wasps of which you speak.. their nests are like upside-down bee-hives and made of paper-like mud (or something)..
also, about a month ago i found one of those "clusters" on the other side of the house - just a big wad of about 30 wasps on top of each other.. it was really weird.. but one shot of that foaming wasp-poison took them out.. with extreme prejudice .. |
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TearAbite
join:2001-07-25
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to sdgthy
said by sdgthy :
I would suggest checking again very carefully for a nest within a wall. They can be very difficult to find when small because they go zipping by so fast into a small hole, until the nest is large and it's almost impossible not notice them coming and going. By that time you'll probably be able to find the nest by noise alone.
i sat outside for 20 minutes watching them, looking for a nest or to see where they were coming/going to.. nothing.. they just want in that damn window.. it's like night of the living dead (wasps) .. |
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Vtblues
if you can't get out of it, get in to it
Premium
join:2006-05-29
Brookfield, VT
clubs: 
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edit:
November 16th, @11:39PM
| reply to TearAbite
A number of years ago I was doing some weed whacking along the side of my house, I was also smoking a cig at the same time (I've since quit) I felt a burning on the back of my hand and thinking it was just a hot piece from the cig I just shook it off. Within seconds I knew just how wrong I'd been about it being a spark. Dozens of yellow jackets were swarming around me stinging me repeatedly. Many were crawling under my clothing to sting me. I never knew I could throw a weed whacker so far, run so fast or disrobe as quickly as I did that day as I made my way inside. For me it's hard to imagine any insect more aggressive than an Eastern yellow jacket.
I should add that they came out of a hole in the ground.
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clevere1
Premium
join:2002-01-06
Vancouver, WA | reply to TearAbite
If in doubt, get a pro out. We had some this summer that was nesting in the corner modeling of our vinyl siding ... not so much fun when you mow the yard...
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dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ
| reply to CurtesyFlush
said by CurtesyFlush :Ever been stung by one? I had one fly up my uniform pants and nail me on the inside of my thigh. The pain was the most intense I've ever felt, except for burn debriding. and they'll just sting you for the fun of it unlike a bee that'll die after stinging so it "saves" its sting for when it needs it.
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TearAbite
join:2001-07-25
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to TearAbite
I just had a conversation with my friend, Mr Google:
What i have are European Paper Wasps:
»www.livingwithbugs.com/epw.html
and not Yellow Jackets:
»www.livingwithbugs.com/yellow.html
it's been so long since i've seen a yellow jacket, i had almost forgotten what they looked like.. |
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TOPDAWG
Premium
join:2005-04-27
Midland, ON | reply to TearAbite
Wait your wife wakes you up about wasps in your baby's room that could harm it and you call that whining?
I got lost on that one if that is what you mean. |
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mikedz4
join:2003-04-14
Weirton, WV
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| reply to TearAbite
let me tell you this much. It was 75 degrees out a week ago thursday and a hornet or yellow jacket was on my co worker's shirt so i told him. BIG Mistake he swatted it and it flew so fast at me and i swatted it about 4 times then it landed on my arm and then before i could swat it again it stung me. It hurt like crazy. Then it tried to sting me 3 more times before i got inside the store.
Let me tell you 10 days and my arm still itches like crazy and is read and I can show you where the bastard nailed me because I still have a bump on my arm.
Someone told me they leave a scent on you when they sting you that attracts other hornets/ yellow jackets in the area to sting you also. I believe it. |
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wilbilt
Pronto Resurrected
Premium
join:2004-01-11
Oroville, CA
| reply to TearAbite
said by TearAbite :Maybe what i have are those paper wasps of which you speak.. their nests are like upside-down bee-hives and made of paper-like mud (or something).. also, about a month ago i found one of those "clusters" on the other side of the house - just a big wad of about 30 wasps on top of each other.. it was really weird.. but one shot of that foaming wasp-poison took them out.. with extreme prejudice .. It sounds like those are paper wasp nests. They may be trying to get inside for the winter. They do not start building nests this time of year, although nothing would surprise me these days.
I buy the long-range streaming wasp spray at Home Depot. It's in a black and white can. I go through about 2 cases per year.
I don't bother the honeybees, or even the ground-dwelling Yellowjackets, as they are not as much of a nuisance here.
Even the mud-dauber wasps don't bother me, as they are solitary and non-agrressive.
After about three years of actively terminating paper wasps, their numbers were reduced around my home this past summer. I plan to continue the campaign.
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We were taking a vote when the ground came up and hit us. |
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TearAbite
join:2001-07-25
Rancho Cucamonga, CA
·Charter Pipeline
| reply to TOPDAWG
said by TOPDAWG :Wait your wife wakes you up about wasps in your baby's room that could harm it and you call that whining? I got lost on that one if that is what you mean. it was the baby's play room.. baby wasnt in there.. she only went in to clean it or something..
and she must be blind because she only saw (and was only complaining about) ONE that was in the ceiling fan..
If i knew there was an entire swarm in there I would have told her to get them herself! |
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