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How To Get Rid of Things: Forums » Pest Control

1. nicky12 (Member)

   Hi. We live in NY and last summer I noticed what appeared to be a black wasp flying back and forth on the 2nd floor of our house. Usually I am not afraid to kill bugs but it was huge and looked threatening. Everyone was afraid of it so we all stayed on the bottom floors that night. The next day a friend came over to kill it and it was no where to be found.

   A few days later I saw one in my room on the wall. I was able to kill that one b/c it wasn't flying around.

   At first I thought they were coming in the house behind us as we entered and exited. But after a few days I realized this is the only bug I was seeing and I was seeing it too frequently. And we only saw it on the 2nd floor.

   Whenever we saw them we were just forced to stay on the bottom floors and hope it wouldn't be there the next day. A few times I'd see one fly into the bathroom and just close the door locking it in there. 2 or 3 days later we'd find it dead floating in the toilet.

   We had a professional come and look around- of course he didn't see anything nor did he find a nest in the attack. I would find dead wasps on the upstairs curtains and on the floor all summer. He said he didn't know where they were coming from and the problem would disappear once summer ends.

   Well here we are summer 2008 and the wasps are back! I saw one in the hall upstairs. My sister had to spray it with something designed to be sprayed at a nest from afar. I can't be a prisoner in my house all summer again.

   What are we supposed to do??

   Posted 4 months ago #

2. samoya22 (Jonathan)

   Well, first of all Nicky, you shouldn't be so afraid of these wasps. If they're big and black, then they're probably just paper wasps. Paper wasps are pretty tame compared to their cousins the hornet and the yellow jacket, unless you disturb their nest. Unless you have an allergy to insect stings (bees, fire ants, wasps, etc.), you should be able to suck these things up with a vacuum the next time you see one instead of spraying potentially harmful chemicals in your house.

   Now, as for controlling these pests I have one question and one suggestion.

   1. Do you have windows open on the second floor and if so, have you inspected them for holes or cracks in the screens or window frames?

   2. If the professional you called last time didn't figure it out, and you continue to have problems, call another professional. Call someone local, not a franchise. Locals tend to have a better understanding of the ecology they're dealing with. This comes in handy when they're dealing with difficult cases.

   Now, if you can answer my question and get back to me, we'll work on finding a solution to your problem. Just be glad these aren't yellow jackets, or you'd have a whole nest of wasps with the hunger-grumps buzzing around your house.

   -Jonathan

   Posted 3 months ago #

3. getagrip (Member)

   Nicky is your friend "chunky" and agressive and black..or slim and graceful..If chunky she is probably a carpenter bee.They don't sting but are looking for a place to bore a hole and lay eggs. Now she will come up to your face and look you in the eye as if to tell you to get lost. Check you facia boards for 1/2 inch holes. you will see "splatter marks" where she dug into the wood.
   If she's slim then Samoya 22 is correct.

   Posted 3 months ago #

4. samoya22 (Jonathan)

   This is indeed the case. Chunky does equal carpenter bee, then again, chunky and dark may also be a hornet. The line between bees and wasps for most people is non-existent. Does this creature have fuzzy hair or does it look like a black bumble bee?

   -J

   Posted 3 months ago #

5. samoya22 (Jonathan)

   Just for your amusement:

   http://johnbokma.com/mexit/2006/12/31/carpenter-bee-resting-on-my-hand.jpg

   Now THAT'S a carpenter bee. Jesus.

   -J

   Posted 3 months ago #

6. nicky12 (Member)

   Hmmm... I looked up pictures of carpenter bees and paper wasps. It is not big and chunky and looks nothing like the carpenter bee. As for the paper wasp, the ones we have are solid black. There is no yellow like in the photo's I've seen. We saved 2 in a jar to show the next "professional" that comes. I will take a picture and post... somehow

   Posted 3 months ago #

7. getagrip (Member)

   Look up polistes wasp. I think I spelled it right but my latin is a little shaky. Dosen't matter what color. Just like humans we come in all colors. If the body and shape are correct that's the main thing. These are domestic docile wasps that make exposed nests usually under overhangs. Let us know if she fits the discription.

   Posted 3 months ago #

8. samoya22 (Jonathan)

   I've seen paper wasps that were solid black, or appeared to be. Getagrip is right about the color being unimportant, unless you're dealing with yellow jackets, which come in only one color...guess which one it is.

   I think the one feature you're looking for are long, thin wings. If you look at the pictures of polistes wasps on google images, you'll see what we're talking about. A yellow jacket or a carpenter bee are chunkier, less elegant than a paper wasp or any other kind of docile/beneficial wasp for that matter.

   Also, try checking your overhangs for little wasp nests that look like exposed honeycombs. Sometimes people see paper wasp nests and think they're a bees nest that's been knocked down.

   Posted 3 months ago #

9. nicky12 (Member)

   Okay, here are some pics we took:

   And note, the last one is a pic of what I think may be eggs or something. We found this in the basement the other day. At first I thought it was mildew or something but now I'm not too sure. I don't think that's where the wasps (or whatever this is) are coming from. But something else may be invading out basement now :(

   http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2095/9531283/19863658/320988001.jpg
   http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2095/9531283/19863658/320987989.jpg
   http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2095/9531283/19863658/320987978.jpg
   http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2095/9531283/19863658/320987726.jpg
   http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2095/9531283/19863658/320987714.jpg
   http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2095/9531283/19863658/320987999.jpg

   Posted 3 months ago #

10. nicky12 (Member)

    Sorry for the duplicate post. There isn't a delete option...

    Posted 3 months ago #

11. nicky12 (Member)

    is it that no one can identify what kind of bug we have from the pictures?

    Posted 3 months ago #

12. otter (Member)

    We recently noticed a few paper wasp nests in 2 locations. We used the insecticide spray on those and it seems to work. The other day I noticed a new one. I have a super soaker that I use to scare the squirrels away from the bird feeders and I got to thinking about using it on the wasp nest. I decided to put some vinegar in with the water so see what would happen and lo and behold the golf ball-sized wasp nest shrunk to the size of a dime and it killed the wasps. Vinegar's an astringent and I think that's why it works.

    Posted 3 months ago #

13. samoya22 (Jonathan)

    That's a pretty neat trick. I've not heard of using vinegar to get rid of wasps. I don't know if I'd recommend it to people, but congratulations. If you try it again, let me know how that goes and maybe I'll put some time into finding out why it works. Your guess, however, is probably a good one.

    Posted 3 months ago #

14. getagrip (Member)

    Yikes..there goes my salad dressing! Jonathon..you're back!!Thank God. Don't get mad and go away again. I'll shut up. Even better I'll put my super soaker full of vinegar up to my head and shoot myself!

    Posted 3 months ago #

15. samoya22 (Jonathan)

    Mad? Who's mad?

    Posted 3 months ago #

16. getagrip (Member)

    You're not? Cool. I looked at a vinegar label and there is 5%acid and sometimes added sulfates in(salad dressing).

    Posted 3 months ago #

17. samoya22 (Jonathan)

    Interesting.

    Posted 3 months ago #

18. getagrip (Member)

    Back to Nicky 12 Hey..I just looked at some pics of a "spider wasp"!!Believe it or not she is related to Polistes and her big nasty sister Tarantula Hawk...Who kills ..Yep Tarantulas. She is killing your spiders. She is benefecial. She needs to be outside. And believe me she will zap you hard.Don't mess with her. You must have a spider problem big time. Get rid of them and she will go away.

    Posted 3 months ago #

19. samoya22 (Jonathan)

    Muchos gracias, Getagrip, for the info. Very perceptive.

    Posted 3 months ago #

20. nicky12 (Member)

    so those are spider wasps in the attic? but we don't have spiders in the house. occasionally ants get in during the summer or centipedes. but we don't have a spider problem... at least i haven't seen spiders anywhere.

    and where are these wasps coming from? they're huge (see the pics) and we don't see a nest or anything on any floor.

    and i am actually looking at pics of spider wasps and they look nothing like the pics i took of what we get in our house...

    Posted 3 months ago #

21. samoya22 (Jonathan)

    I think getagrip might be right. The greenish tint on the abdomen and thorax (shown by the flash of your camera) is indicative of Auplopus, or spider wasps. The problem with this conclusion is the tint of the wings. Translucent wings are more common. However, you may want to consider the possibility that the little white sacs you've found in your basement are spider eggs and the wasps you're finding are preying on those spiders.

    These are simply avenues of inquiry. As of yet, I'm undecided.

    Posted 3 months ago #

22. samoya22 (Jonathan)

    Here's a shot of something similar (as yet indescribable) to a spider wasp:

    http://bugguide.net/node/view/18940

    Note the green hue and the accompanying comments.

    Posted 3 months ago #

23. nicky12 (Member)

    It's really strange I tell you. The wasps only stay on the top floor. And one will show itself maybe once every 2-3 weeks. (We had to spray another to death last night.)Yet we never see any spiders up here. And rarely have I seen a spider in the basement. And then I'm still concerned that we haven't seen a nest anywhere in the attic. It's like this one wasp just zaps itself into existence every 2-3 weeks and flies around in the top floor attic.

    BTW, can we just vacuum those sacs we found in the basement? Still don't know what it is but I don't like it.

    Posted 3 months ago #

24. getagrip (Member)

    Yes vacuum the sacs and be sure to throw out the bag. They look like spider sacs.

    Posted 3 months ago #

25. nicky12 (Member)

    Small Victory-

    we had another guy come and he went up in the attic and found a nest! he brought the nest outside and stomped on it. (i was shocked to see him hold the nest and show is larvae with his bare hands.)

    but now my friend tells me that they probably started that nest last summer and will probably be back and just build another one. he said the fact that there was larvae means there are female wasps around still laying eggs...

    i thought this nightmare was over but now it seems we can't win. how can we permanently get rid of this problem?

    Posted 3 months ago #

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