By Dr. Kyle Jordan, Market Development Specialist
It’s just you and the wasp nest — a bundle of fury waiting to be released upon anyone bold enough to challenge it. And when the time comes, you’ll want to make sure to have the right tools for the job.
One advantage pest management professionals (PMPs) have is distance. With some insecticides, PMPs are able to spray these stinging insects from up to 15 ft. away, striking blows upon these pests with a lessened threat of being stung. Extension tools can increase the distance further.
Many insecticides are ideal for treating enclosed nests, nests inside voids, carpenter bee galleries and other places that, for safety or location reasons, require you to use care when treating. And these insecticides don’t just jab at these pests; they’re specially formulated to deliver a knockout blow. In fact, their knockdown is so quick that no stinging or alarm pheromone is released, preventing these pests from being able to retaliate.
But you can’t hit what you can’t see, and sometimes these pests aren’t so easily spotted. Paper wasp and hornet nests are usually found in the open — attached to eaves and other places around the house, but yellowjacket nests are typically built underground, beneath rocks, inside wall voids or attics and other more obscure locations.
To find these hidden nests, try searching in the morning. Bees and wasps are more active then, and therefore easier to track. But don’t hit them yet. Wait until the evening, when they’re less active and more are in the hive. That way, the treatment will affect the maximum number.
That being said, the pests don’t have to be in the nest when the insecticide is applied to feel its effects. Many insecticides are residual. The chemicals stay on the nest, and the occupants that return to it later will meet the same fate as those that were in it — eliminating the entire nest and any chance of a rematch.
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