Hello, I have a nest of paper wasps about the size of a football attached to the ceiling of an old travel trailer that I need to have removed. It is...
Knowledgebase
Paper Wasp Nest #761108
Asked July 11, 2021, 12:39 PM EDT
Hello, I have a nest of paper wasps about the size of a football attached to the ceiling of an old travel trailer that I need to have removed. It is easy to get to but a size that I don't think I should take care of by myself. One person recommended 'people who will come remove wasp nests for free because they collect their venom for medical reasons', and I have read about large agricultural places liking them for pest control.
I am interested in hiring someone or finding any means of removing them in which I could avoid killing them if possible. Do you have any ideas or information about wasps?
Thank you very much for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Sheila Thomas
Lane CountyOregon
Expert Response
Greetings,
Thank you for reaching out and for your thoughtful approach to removal. Here is a the service your friend may have been referring to: https://sites.google.com/site/oregonwasps/
You may be able hire a pest control company that does not kill them, but we do not have a list of such. In advance of calling around you can review this information: Selecting a Pest Control Company. You might be able to call a few and ask if they know of any services that don't kill in the process of removal. You can find a list of companies by googling wasp removal Lane County.
Depending on your timeline needs, the usual suggestion is to avoid the nest area until late in the year when all the adults have died of natural causes.
Thank you very much for your helpful, informative reply. I have called the number of the person who removes wasps for venom but have not yet received a call back. In the meanwhile, a ground nest has been identified just to the right of the stand of mail boxes that 4 neighbors share. The mail boxes and nest are on my property and two neighbors have suggested I poison them and I am trying lots of other means and telling them I do not want to poison. Two people in one house have a bee allergy and I am trying to be sensitive to that but feel we should just leave the nest alone and let them do their thing. I have tried 4 days of having a low sprinkler on the spot, (it is a lovely dry spot that I never water), cutting back the brush but this aggravates them and they begin to attack me, and using tea tree, eucalyptus oil, cinnamon and coffee grounds. They seem to like the cinnamon the least so I keep dusting with that. The neighbors think they are yellow jackets but I thought they are mining or sweat bees. Yesterday one was in the house - I think they are trying to relocate - and I was able to get some photos. Can anyone there identify this beauty for me and does anyone have any suggestions for my particular situation? I am very much not one to use poisons of any kind but want to do what it right for my neighbors and my postal workers. Thank you for your help.
These are one of several yellowjacket species we have in Oregon. Nests are currently reaching their peak populations and will be a nuisance into August, after which the colonies start to collapse. Yellowjackets are not perennial, but have to be restarted each spring by a single mated female queen. The best guide to managing yellowjackets comes from the University of Idaho and I have it linked below:
I might recommend using lawn flags to warn people where the nest entrance is. Typically, you need to get within a foot or two of the nest for the wasps to become defensive, so making sure people don't walk directly over the entrance with warning flags is an easy, low-impact way of reducing stinging.
Hello Andony, I wanted to thank you very much for all of your timely help and guidance. Good Earth came and removed the nest that was in the ground by the shared mail boxes using a hook to pull it out. They were Yellow Jackets. He dusted down the hole with something and they were gone the next day. The fellow you recommended came and removed the nest from my old trailer for their venom. He said it was one of the best nests he had seen all year and that they were Yellow Hornets. I thought it was a beauty. I greatly appreciated that there was no spray involved and that will be off to a good use for their final resting place.
