Plan Your Attack: Before removing the wasp nest, it's important to plan your attack. Make sure you have an escape route in case the wasps become agitated. It's also important to remove the wasp nest at night when the wasps are less active.
Don't ever try to destroy the nest during day time as the wasps are most active at that time. Wait till evening when they have settled down and you can destroy it at night. If you spot a nest in the initial stage when the queen has just began to build it then you can knock it down anytime.
Try to remove the nest at night when temperatures are cooler, because most wasps and hornets become dormant once the sun sets. If you don't feel comfortable at night, pick a cool, rainy day when the stinging insects are less active.
Although they're not as aggressive as yellowjackets or hornets, they can attack you repeatedly and deliver painful stings. Wasps are active in the daytime, but can they sting you at night? They typically do not strike at night, and you're safe walking near wasp nests after dark as long as the nest isn't disturbed.
Wasps don't fly at night and will be confined to their nest. During this time, they carry out duties such as caring for larvae and making any repairs needed to the nest.
Wasps return to their nest at dusk and remain their overnight. It is a good time to remove the nest, but this still has to be done very carefully. If disturbed, wasps will come out at night to get you.
Wasps are generally more active during the warmth of the day. They get less active at night and dusk. So, you are more likely to be attacked by a swarm of wasps when it's daytime and the workers are out and about and more likely to see you as a potential threat.
Once you find a yellowjacket nest, you will want to wait until nighttime before you attempt to apply treatments. Dawn, dusk, and especially during the day are not advised since the wasps are active during these times. If you treat a nest during the day, there is a strong possibility the wasps will swarm and chase you.
Wasps and hornets are continually looking for suitable nesting places with the right climate conditions close to their preferred food sources. While most species are only dangerous when their nests are disturbed, the late summer and early fall seasons are the peak periods for attacks on humans by stinging insects.
Wasps, like other insects, are at their most active midday when it's warmest outside, and they often return to their homes as night falls. Because of this, stinging insects like wasps tend to be most active while humans are having fun in the great outdoors.
Don't hit it
Whacking a wasp nest with a stick or bat is one of the stupidest things you could do. So is knocking down a wasp nest. The problem occurs when the nest lands on the ground. At this point, the wasps will burst out of the nest and more than likely attack you.
Better safe than sorry! Sneak up at dusk when most of the wasps are inside the nest. Spray an aerosolized insecticide on hanging nests, or apply a dust-based insecticide on underground nests. If you need a flashlight, it's recommended to use one with a red filter to avoid attracting the wasps.
Trying to flood a nest won't get rid of all the wasps inhabiting the hive either. Similar to the effects of trying to burn a wasp nest, the wasps will become vicious and begin to attack, inflicting painful stings.
Wasps and yellow jackets will chase you when they feel their nests are in danger. They step up their defense and will do anything necessary to remove the threat from the vicinity of the nest or to escape – including stinging you.
If you destroy a small wasp nest (golf ball size with just the queen present) and do not kill the queen, she will typically move to a different location and start a new nest. Some worker wasps will be present as nests become older and more established.
The University of Minnesota Extension says late evening or early morning will work. The coldest hours are the best time to spray a wasp nest, so take a look at the forecast to see when the temperature will drop in the evening. Then finish the job before temps rise in the morning.
Wasps can become territorial if they feel their nests are threatened or when the availability of food is low, but most of them are not aggressive. Simply avoiding the nest area can prevent most stings. When wasps are out and about, they are usually searching for food and do not care if humans are near.
They can generally fly in a drizzle, mist, or light rain but if drops of water accumulate on their bodies, it weighs them down and affects their flying ability. Water does not soak these stinging beasts due to its surface tension.
A yellow jacket colony can get quite aggressive when disturbed. Moreover, they can sting multiple times when provoked. Their sting is very painful and may cause allergic reactions in some individuals.
Summer storms are bad for yellow jackets, which tend to also build their nests in the ground. Whether it's in a hole in the ground, under the porch stairs or beneath the sidewalk, a yellow jacket nest has a higher chance of flooding when it rains.
With brains less than a millionth the size of humans', paper wasps hardly seem like mental giants. But new research shows that these insects can remember individuals for at least a week, even after meeting and interacting with many other wasps in the meantime.
114 degrees Fahrenheit is the point at which heat becomes fatal for the wasps, while one bee species can withstand temperatures up to 123 degrees Fahrenheit and the other species up to 125.
Wasps are flying insects, which means they are not big fans of any cold, icy weather that slows them down.