We are having our house painted and some of the wood trim replaced. So much of the wood on the house has been invaded by Carpenter Bees. Once we removed the trim we found wasps nests everywhere. We did notice that there have been a lot of wasps flying around the house this year, more than ever before, so I think the wasps are a relatively new development.
The contractor knocked off all of the nests, but really I can see them building new ones as fast as the old ones are gone. He is also spraying a powerful bug spray along the roof and on all the eves, and really everywhere where there is wood or roofing. The wasps also seem to love nesting in the brick behind the shutters.
I know I have to call an exterminator but I wanted to hear what experiences you have had with this problem. Once they get removed and sprayed, will they just come back? Any treatment method better than others?
I know if we replace the wood trim with vinyl it will stop the Carpenter Bees, but the Wasps don’t seem to mind living anywhere! And really, the Wasps are freaking me out more because they are aggressive.
We live in the woods so there are always new bug and animals adventures around here
We’ve had a lot of wasps this year too. We usually just knock nests down with a long handled broom and run. Or sometimes will spray nest and run. Running is the secret. Too, watch where you stick your hand outside…if you are changing a light bulb in an outdoor fixture look first up in fixture to make sure you don’t grab a wasp nest instead of old light bulb.
We had an infestation of them so bad that I could hear them inside the wall at night when I was trying to sleep. It was scary!! After spraying them and getting as much of the nest as we could (it was deep inside the wall between the brick chimney and siding), we then puffed some horribly toxic powder stuff into the wall and sealed it up completely. So far, it has worked.
We learned that they are attracted to areas that face full sun, so keep an eye on those areas. Also, until you get rid of the stragglers, go buy a few of the yellow jacket traps that go on the ends of 2-liter-bottles. You basically fill them with apple juice and a few drops of soap, and they go in and can’t get out. It will help keep the numbers down around the house.
We’ve had them in our vacation place–which is near water. Carpenter bees seem to be common in the area because non-wooden structures aren’t allowed (historic commission rules). Best thing to do is get an exterminator. Also, you probably need to do it every year.
If the flying pests are inside walls they are probably not wasps. I think wasps mostly build smaller nests up under house eaves and other spots like porch ceilings. If they are in walls they are more likely bees or hornets…which means you probably need a professional. We have African Killer bees here in Florida and they are really aggressive buggers. Too be careful of yellow jackets’ nests that can be underground and if you step on them you can get swarmed big time and stung all over. It’s a jungle out there!
We have chronic problems with carpenter bees at my wife’s family’s vacation home (all-wood, not far from water, in full sunlight). We have paid exterminators regularly to control them, and if they’ve ever been controlled it’s news to me. Those suckers seem as big as B-52s sometimes, and they’re almost as noisy. I understand that they do not attack people, but that doesn’t make them pleasant to have around, even without thinking about the structural havoc they are wreacking.
We had wasps/hornets.
One nest at the base of the lilac, which we flooded and they haven’t been back, another in the walls of the house, under the backstairs, which we sealed inside and out with caulk, early in morning.
They haven’t been back- knock on wood- as I am allergic.
I had to go to the ER, a couple years ago after I was stung 9 times.(& they hurt way more than bees)
The Rescue reusable yellow jacket traps work really well.
Never had carpenter bees, I imagine they are like carpenter ants?( which we did have in another house, they were horrible)
We had to move, as the landlord had used chemicals which had been banned by EPA, and was making both me and our infant daughter, sick. Too bad, it was a really nice house, and she even tried to get us to buy it, but the chemicals stay for years apparently.
There were so many wasp nests that the contractor knocked off the house. He sprayed everywhere but suggested we get a professional in here once he is done with all he has to do. Hopefully they will find a new place to live.
As part of this project we had several trees removed, and many more trimmed. We live in pretty deep woods so I am wondering if we sent them looking for new homes (our home) when we trimmed and removed the trees. We have seen an uptick in lots of bugs. Funny how “pretty” the trees looked when we were house hunting. But boy, living in the woods has a lot of interesting wildlife issues that come with the package. It is not for the faint of heart!
@parentofpeople – I guess you can’t wait to be empty nesters, eh?
We’ve had a fair number of wasps around this spring because it has been so wet. We don’t use many pesticides, but I do make an exception for the wasp spray.
Last fall wasps were found in my son’s room and were nesting at the base of our attic. I had to kill 30 to 40 of them and that wasn’t fun as they can move very fast when they are attacked. I sprayed around a few openings in our outside trim and plan to vinyl side the house over the next two years. I haven’t seen a nest yet.
This year we have houseflies. They don’t appear until it’s 75 degrees out and sunny. I have fly traps out and three fly swatters handy. At night they disappear somewhere in the house. In July, the woodchucks will return to inspect the garden and want some samples.
