Make wasp nest removal less of a pain
Despite being beneficial pollinators, wasps are known as aggressive houseguests that leave their unwitting hosts on edge. Wondering about the wasp nest removal process is understandable, as nobody wants to risk dealing with their painful stings—especially if someone in your household is allergic. While it’s important to keep their ecological role in mind and coexist where possible, you have options for nest removal if they’re too close for comfort.
Wasp nest removal is an extremely dangerous DIY and is best left to wasp removal professionals. However, if professional removal isn’t an option and you aren’t allergic to stings, you may be able to handle the problem on your own. Here’s what you need to know—and your best options—for removing wasp nests from your home.
If you’re playing host to an angry swarm of wasps, you might be curious why they’ve chosen your home and not your neighbor’s. Was it your bright and beautiful marigolds or a forgotten glass of orange juice that lured them to your yard?
While it’s often a matter of who has the most suitable structures to inhabit, there are a few other things that can draw wasps to your yard:
Colorful, fragrant, and nectar-rich flower gardens
Fruit trees
Unpainted, untreated wood
Old or decaying wood from trees, stumps, wood piles, or similar spots
Water sources, such as bird baths, standing water, or outdoor fountains
Open outdoor trash cans
Bright decorations or toys with flower-like reds, yellows, and other colors
Gaps or crevices in structures, such as broken siding and soffits
Gaps underneath decks or beside basement windows
Wasp nest removal is risky business. If you attempt to get rid of wasps yourself, it’s important to arm yourself with knowledge and the proper safety gear. If you don’t feel comfortable taking a wasp nest on your own, hire an exterminator in your area instead.
But if you’re ready to forge ahead, here’s your need to know before getting started. These steps work best on newer, small wasp nests that have just begun to be built. The larger the nest, the more you’ll want to depend on the pros. Some people are highly allergic to wasp stings, in which case, you should always hire an expert to handle wasps.
Before proceeding with wasp nest removal, take a moment to consider whether it’s necessary. Wasps play an important role in pollination and even snack on pesky insects such as aphids, flies, and crickets, according to Penn State Extension. If the nests are far enough away and don’t pose a danger to humans or pets, you might consider leaving them alone.
Certain wasp nests may be easy to confuse with those of bees, so you’ll want to identify them properly to avoid trouble—up to and including legal complications. For example, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) warns that removing the nests of endangered yellow-faced bees, like the rusty-patched bumblebee, is an offense under the Endangered Species Act and can result in a hefty fine.
Aside from that, different types of wasps behave differently, so it helps to know what you’re dealing with either way. Here are the most common types of wasps and what you can expect from them.
Paper wasp nests are shaped like an upside-down umbrella and covered with a papery material made of chewed-up wood fibers. The insects have long legs and a skinny, spindle-shaped waist. Their favorite nest locations include under eaves, in gutters, or attics.
DIY paper wasp removal isn’t as dangerous as removing wasps or hornets, as they are far less aggressive and only sting when they’re under what they perceive as a direct threat.
Yellow jacket wasps typically build their nests in the ground or in cavities like hollow logs or tree stumps. They are more defensive than paper wasps, especially as summer progresses. Despite being smaller and broader than paper wasps, their nests are larger and covered in a paper mâché-like protective envelope.
The small, common, bald-faced hornet is even stockier than the yellow jacket wasp, with white markings on their face, thorax, and tip of their abdomen. You often find their large, gray nests on the side of buildings or on tree branches in an elevated position. They are very aggressive when disturbed, and their eradication is often best left to the professionals.
Mud daubers are about 1 inch long with slender bodies and a long, narrow waist connecting their thorax to their abdomen. Many are solid black, but some can have yellow markings or an iridescent blue-black body.
They construct their tube-shaped nests from mud and place them under eaves and other protected areas. Since they aren’t likely to sting and are solitary insects, it’s best to leave their nest undisturbed.
Not sure if you’re dealing with wasps or bees? They can exhibit similar behavior, although wasps are more aggressive when protecting their nests (and don’t produce delicious honey). Bees tend to look fuzzy while wasps are largely hairless, and wasps have bolder stripes while bees have more muted colors.
One of the best ways to tell the difference is to find the nest: Gray or muddy wasp nests look very different from honeycombed bee hives. When dealing with bees, it’s best to contact a local beekeeper or other specialist about moving the hive. Wasps generally cannot be moved and, since they can sting multiple times, are a greater danger to humans.
Unlike their docile relative, the bee, wasps can be extremely dangerous due to their incredibly territorial and aggressive nature. Not only are they capable of stinging many times in rapid succession when threatened, but they can also release an alarm pheromone that beckons other wasps to intervene.
With that in mind, it’s crucial to take the proper safety precautions:
Get an allergy test for stings from your doctor if you’ve never been stung.
Wear a protective hat and a bandana or other face covering.
Put on long pants, a long sleeve shirt, gloves, and thick socks
Tuck your pants into your socks and your sleeves into your gloves.
Do not attempt DIY wasp removal on a ladder—a swarm can quickly lead to a fall.
Plan an escape route where you can quickly take cover.
Keep pets and kids away from the nest until you can create a response plan.
Consider leaving the wasps’ nest alone if it’s far enough away from your home and not an immediate threat.
Wasps have predictable behaviors. They tend to gather in the nest at night, which makes evening and nighttime safer for wasp nest removal. That’s because there are less wasps flying outside, ready to defend their nest.
Keep seasons in mind when determining the best time to remove a nest. Because nest-building starts in spring, it’s best to remove nests then before they expand to fit more wasps.
There are multiple methods for removing a wasp nest, from sprays for hanging nests to insecticidal dust or even boiling water for ground nests.
Spray-on wasp pesticides are widely available and highly effective at killing off the insects. Pick up a spray specifically meant for wasps, as those meant for smaller insects might not be potent enough to take out the colony.
Here’s how to use pesticide sprays for wasp nest removal:
Carefully read the manufacturer’s instructions before you begin.
Stand at a 45-degree angle from the nest (do not spray directly underneath the nest, as the pesticide spray might drip down).
Targeting the bottom opening of the nest, spray for around 15 seconds, or as directed in the manufacturer’s instructions.
Quickly leave the site and take shelter.
Allow the spray to take effect overnight.
Observe the nest from a safe distance the next morning, and repeat the process if you still see activity.
Once all activity has ceased, use a long stick to knock down the nest.
Break up the nest and saturate the inside with more pesticide spray.
Dispose of the nest and dead wasps immediately.
Insecticidal dust is particularly effective on ground nests, as pesticide sprays may not penetrate far enough to completely eradicate all the wasps.
Here’s how to use insecticidal dust to get rid of wasp nests:
Fill the duster applicator bulb with about ¼ cup of the insecticidal dust, or follow the manufacturer’s instructions if it specifies otherwise.
Wait until night or early morning and apply the dust generously onto the nest opening.
Leave the nest alone without blocking or covering it—wasps will become coated with the dust as they exit.
Wait 48 hours and repeat the process if there’s still wasp activity.
If you’d like to avoid insecticides, plain dish soap can also get rid of a wasp nest by coating the insects’ wings and causing them to eventually drown.
Here’s how to use dish soap to get rid of wasp nests:
Mix a 1:4 solution of dish soap and water.
For ground nests, walk up and pour the solution into the opening.
For above-ground nests, fill a hose-tipped spray bottle with the solution, stand at a 45-degree angle with the nest, and spray a powerful blast of soap water into the entrance for about 15 seconds.
Quickly vacate the area and seek shelter.
Check the nest after 24 hours and repeat if there’s still wasp activity.
Water and soap can kill wasps, but it’s not usually as speedy as insecticides, so there’s a greater danger of wasps sounding the alarm and swarming to attack you. Be extra careful and wear protective equipment.
This method involves knocking the nest into a plastic bag while the wasps are sleeping, sealing it quickly, and throwing it in the trash. This option saves time and avoids the use of pesticides. This method works best with undeveloped nests (smaller than your fist).
You can use this process to transplant a small nest off your property into a new, dry area where wasps can relocate. That creates a lot more risks than sealing and tossing the nest, but the wasps get to live and continue pollinating. It’s important to work fast and avoid disrupting the nest during transport.
When choosing your nest-removal approach, there are a few options to avoid:
Boiling water: Boiling water can quickly kill off several wasps, and it is effective at disintegrating wasp nests, which are often made from materials like mud or regurgitated wood. But one bucket of boiling water isn’t always enough, and the wasps that survive will likely attack you afterward. Also, wasps often just rebuild afterward. This method is best reserved for wasp species with ground nests.
Setting nests on fire: It’s difficult to effectively set a nest on fire, whether you’re pouring on fuel or trying to cook it from a distance. Instead, you’ll have a lot of smoke and a lot of very angry wasps, making the situation much worse. It’s no surprise this option often leads to accidental yard or house fires, too.
Spraying the nest with a hose: Without soap to ground and suffocate the wasps, spraying water at a nest will only make wasps swarm to protect it. And they’ll usually rebuild afterward.
Smashing a nest: Physical destruction of a nest won’t kill most of the wasps inside, but it will make them attack everything nearby.
Follow the instructions above to remove the wasp nest, depending on the method. If you use a treatment to kill the wasps and have an empty nest, you’ll need to remove it. Otherwise, more wasps may return and make the empty nest their own.
Put on protective gear and head out in the evening or night. To remove the nest:
Grab a large, hefty trash bag. You’ll want it to hold up against any wasps that could be remaining in the nest.
Cover the nest with the trash bag with one hand.
With your other hand over the trash bag, detach the nest.
Quickly tie up the trash bag and dispose of it in a sealed trash bin.
Getting rid of a wasp nest is notoriously difficult, and you’re probably not too keen on the insects returning.
Here’s how to prevent wasps around your home:
Hang decoy nests to try to deter wasps from building near it.
Remove sources of decaying wood from tree limbs, logs, stumps and similar sources.
Avoid having open food containers around your yard.
Keep outdoor trash in enclosed trash cans.
Clear fallen fruit from fruit trees ASAP.
Keep flowers pruned as they start to fade.
Avoid wearing sweet-smelling perfumes and lotions outside.
Seal off cracks, gaps, and crevices around your home’s perimeter.
Repair broken siding and soffit gaps.
Check for rodent burrows that could potentially house wasp and hornet nests.
Even with all the proper prep work and safety precautions, there’s always a chance that DIY wasp removal can result in painful stings. Plus, surviving wasps may rebuild, so it can be extremely difficult to completely eradicate them without professional intervention.
Professional wasp removal costs an average of $375 and is well worth the cost if it’s within your budget. These extermination pros have the tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to safely remove wasps, identify hidden nests, and provide insight on how to prevent more from returning. Hire a local exterminator to help get rid of the wasp nest—and its inhabitants—for good.
You can remove a wasp nest yourself, but it isn’t a good idea. Although it looks easy enough to hit down a nest with a broom, wasps may be inside or around the nest and are known for getting aggressive when their nest is threatened. If you follow our guidelines for removing wasps nests with pesticide spray, insecticidal dust, water and dish soap, or boiling water, you may be able to safely tackle the problem.
The truth is you may not be able to get rid of a wasp nest without getting stung unless you hire an insect control specialist. As far as getting rid of wasps with home remedies, a far-reaching commercial spray or an insecticidal dust are your best options with the lowest risk of getting stung. Wearing protective gear can also help minimize stings.
If there is food sources and other places to build a nest, wasps may come back after their nest is gone. However, if you take measures to repel wasps, like planting pest-repellent plants or sealing cracks and gaps around the outside of your home, they aren’t likely to return. Be diligent at checking for new nests each spring to get rid of them as soon as possible and prevent bigger swarms of wasps in your yard.
