Wasp nest removal - Ask Extension
We noticed a huge wasp nest on our house in the backyard under the roof. Wasps are actively going in and out. I read the information on your website t...
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Wasp nest removal #883408
Asked August 29, 2024, 10:15 AM EDT
We noticed a huge wasp nest on our house in the backyard under the roof. Wasps are actively going in and out. I read the information on your website that it can be left until the first frost unless it is in high traffic areas. While it is way up high and out of the way, I have some concerns:
We have small children. Will the wasps bother them. Is there a chance that they would be swarmed and stung while they are playing outside?
Will we still be able to use our grill, or our fire pit without disturbing the wasps? Or do a that too risky?
Will the wasp nest damage the home? We are a military family renting.
If the answer is yes to any of the above questions, we will need to remove it or pay someone. We have a tall ladder and our owner left some pesticide in the garage. What is the safest way?
Do you have the contact information for any companies that safely remove nests?
Thank you so much!
Howard County Maryland
Expert Response
This is a Baldfaced Hornet nest, one of our native wasps that can be quite common, even if nests aren't usually discovered until they become fairly large later in the season. Since the nest has been present (although smaller) since spring or early summer this year, and we presume there haven't been issues with stings, they should be able to continue coexisting with anyone in the vicinity until they die out by winter. Social wasps are only inclined to sting if they perceive a direct threat to the nest or if an individual wasp is swatted or caught. Otherwise, they busy themselves with finding nectar or other liquid sugar sources to drink (for the adults), prey insects (for their larvae back in the nest), and sources of exposed wood where they can scrape off fibers with their jaws to form the paper-like material the nest is built from. They will not damage the building structure or exterior, and eventually an unoccupied nest will disintegrate on its own, or can be physically removed (if preferable) once its inhabitants are dead during winter.
A swarming response to defend the nest is very unlikely with the nest this high off the ground and not easy to reach with regards to disturbing it. While some wasp nests dislike vibrations (like from a mower passing directly under a nest in a tree), some have a milder temperament and don't seem to care much unless something literally attacks the nest itself. While it's probably best to avoid having smoke billow up onto the nest itself, we doubt they'd react by stinging (since wildfires don't have anything they can attack), nor would we expect the smoke to really reach this area since you'd presumably have a fire a safe distance away from the building itself where the smoke will dissipate a bit. We don't know if the odor of any cooking meat (if applicable) on the grill would cause curious workers to approach the grill, but even if they do, they are interested in food and not going to attack someone unless swatted, which can make them defensive. The associated smoke would probably keep them at bay, though.
Since you have been living with the nest (perhaps unknowingly) for months now and it sounds like there hasn't been any conflict, you can almost certainly leave them alone and not have any issues. Of course nothing is guaranteed, but we would not expect the risk to be any higher than from any other wasp nest in the area that you might not be aware of (like a smaller paper wasp nest under a lower roof overhang, deck table, on a branch inside a dense shrub, etc., or an in-ground Yellowjacket nest).
Extension doesn't collect information about businesses that remove wasps, but a pest control professional that has experience dealing with wasps would be a suitable starting point, if you decide to have it removed. They will probably use a pesticide like wasp spray to subdue the workers while they physically peel the nest off the siding, though some might try vacuuming up the workers instead (which will kill them, as nests can't be relocated) if they are trying to reduce pesticide use. In a location this hard to access safely, though, we don't know what their options would be.
Miri
A swarming response to defend the nest is very unlikely with the nest this high off the ground and not easy to reach with regards to disturbing it. While some wasp nests dislike vibrations (like from a mower passing directly under a nest in a tree), some have a milder temperament and don't seem to care much unless something literally attacks the nest itself. While it's probably best to avoid having smoke billow up onto the nest itself, we doubt they'd react by stinging (since wildfires don't have anything they can attack), nor would we expect the smoke to really reach this area since you'd presumably have a fire a safe distance away from the building itself where the smoke will dissipate a bit. We don't know if the odor of any cooking meat (if applicable) on the grill would cause curious workers to approach the grill, but even if they do, they are interested in food and not going to attack someone unless swatted, which can make them defensive. The associated smoke would probably keep them at bay, though.
Since you have been living with the nest (perhaps unknowingly) for months now and it sounds like there hasn't been any conflict, you can almost certainly leave them alone and not have any issues. Of course nothing is guaranteed, but we would not expect the risk to be any higher than from any other wasp nest in the area that you might not be aware of (like a smaller paper wasp nest under a lower roof overhang, deck table, on a branch inside a dense shrub, etc., or an in-ground Yellowjacket nest).
Extension doesn't collect information about businesses that remove wasps, but a pest control professional that has experience dealing with wasps would be a suitable starting point, if you decide to have it removed. They will probably use a pesticide like wasp spray to subdue the workers while they physically peel the nest off the siding, though some might try vacuuming up the workers instead (which will kill them, as nests can't be relocated) if they are trying to reduce pesticide use. In a location this hard to access safely, though, we don't know what their options would be.
Miri
