How to Remove a Wasp Nest

Wasp nest removal is a common chore during the warmer months of the year, and thankfully, it's easy to do yourself. The key is to find the nest and treat it accordingly. Controlling wasps requires slightly different treatment methods depending on the species.

For some types of wasp nests, it's best to physically remove them. For others, you could try removing them by spraying them with natural ingredients. You may need to rely on professional help for persistent wasp nests located in high-traffic areas of your property. But it's also always best to eliminate things in your yard that may be attracting wasps. Read on to find out more about the effective natural remedies that can be used to remove a nest without the need for chemical sprays.

Before You Begin

It's important to know the difference between aggressive wasps and other non-aggressive pests like paper wasps and various bees.

Avoid getting yourself into a dangerous situation, and if you go the DIY route, make sure you have proper PPE (personal protection equipment) such as a bee suit or other protective clothing. If you use a chemical application, make sure to closely follow all label instructions.

How to Remove Wasp Nests

Physical Removal

This method works best for getting rid of nests that house less aggressive paper wasps. Start by watching your eaves early in the spring, especially on the south and southwest sides of your home where the roof gets the most sun. If you see a small, open-faced paper nest being built, you can remove this yourself before it becomes too large. Even later in the season when the nest is more prominent, you could try and remove it yourself, but the nest will be bigger and maybe a little more intimidating.

Some of the wasps will be in the nest when it falls. While paper wasps are generally non-aggressive and tend to be pretty disoriented by the nest removal, aim to remove them early in the season to reduce the number of adult wasps on your property.

To remove a paper wasp nest, follow these steps:

1. Wear proper protective clothing, including boots, pants, and long sleeves.
2. Locate the nest on the underside of your eaves.
3. Make sure it's open-faced and not a closed paper nest.
4. Select the proper tool for removal. This could be a broom, a long-handled scraper, or even a cob-web brush attached to a mop handle.
5. Disrupt and scrape the nest free. If it is a paper wasp nest and it falls to the ground, stomp the nest quickly with a sturdy boot. To protect yourself, spray the downed nest with a wasp killer spray.
   
6. Foraging wasps may come back to look for the nest once it's gone but they'll move on when they soon realize that their home is gone.

Natural Remedies

Try natural remedies to remove wasp nests. Always try these methods after sundown when the wasps are not active. You can try these methods for eliminating ground wasp nests, too. In addition, avoid stings from threatened wasps by always wearing protective clothing, gloves, and eyewear so you have as little skin showing as possible while you treat a nest.

Mix boiling water and 1/4 cup dishwashing soap in a hose end sprayer. Stand as far away as possible and spray the nest until it is soggy. As an alternate method, mix 4 cups of water and a tablespoon of peppermint essential oil in a hose end sprayer and douse the nest. For a ground wasp nest, try flooding it with undiluted white distilled vinegar.

Professional Treatment

Whether you have a hornet nest or yellow jacket nest or recurring wasp issues on your property, you may want to call a pest control company for help. Have a professional come in to handle the nest, especially if you are allergic to dangerous stings from aggressive wasps, such as yellow jackets and bald-faced hornets. If you're easily startled, afraid of stinging pests, or the treatment of a nest requires a ladder, these are also situations that may warrant professional help.

Signs of a Wasp Nest

Seeing wasps around your home isn't always an indication that you have a nest. A nest could be on a neighboring property or hidden in a tree or underground. When looking for wasp activity, keep an eye out for the active flight pattern that indicates where they are coming and going and it could lead you to a nest's entrance.

What Do Wasp Nests Look Like?

Nest Identification

Wasp nests are made from brown papery material. Foraging wasps create this paper themselves by chewing things like wood and plant particles. A wasp nest can vary in appearance based on the species of wasp that built it. Some nests are open-face, some are closed, and others aren't made by wasps at all, but actually by bees.

Learn to identify which wasp nests are worth treating yourself and which ones should be handled by a professional. You don't want to treat a bee hive that you thought was a wasp's nest.

Where Wasps Nest

The wasps you see around your yard may only be foraging, flying through the yard, and there may be no nest nearby. However, if you do spot a nest, it helps to know which insect may be inside.

• Yellow jackets and certain types of bees (especially bumblebees) are known for nesting underground.
• Bald-faced hornets build gray paper nests that are enclosed and look like large eggs. The nests will hang under eaves and around your home's light fixtures.
• Paper wasps construct open-combed, umbrella-shaped paper nests on the smaller side (3 to 10 inches in diameter). You'll find them in protected areas like shrubs, tree branches, porch ceilings, roof overhangs, under deck railings, and under the deck joists of high decks. These wasps are also attracted to roofs made of ceramic or metal because they generate warmth. Learn to identify paper wasps and give these beneficial insects their space, removing nests on an as-needed basis.

Paper Wasps vs. Yellowjackets, Bees, and More

Learn the differences between insects so you know what you may be dealing with as you begin to observe them. Here's what some of these insects look like:

• Yellow jacket: A yellow jacket has a sleek, smooth, and streamlined body; it is very aggressive and protective of its nest. Yellow jackets and bees are often mistaken for one another.
• Bald-faced hornet: This wasp has a black body with some stripes and an unmistakable white face. It is very aggressive, easily agitated, and highly threatened.
• Paper wasp: A paper wasp has a similar body shape to a yellow jacket, but it's slimmer, has a thinner waist, and is mostly brown with barely detectable yellow coloration. It is the least aggressive wasp when it's away from its nest but turns aggressive if it feels the need to defend its nest.
• Bee: More gentle by nature than a wasp, a bee has a fluffy, slightly furry appearance and a meandering way of flying.

How to Keep Wasp Nests Away

If you're seeing wasps around your property but you're not sure if there's a nest, start by reducing the things that could be attracting them. These attractants could include:

• Standing water
• Sweet or protein-rich foods (yellow jackets are especially attracted to human food)
• Sticky spills
  

If you have a bush in a high-traffic area that wasps love to forage, your only option may be to remove it. However, most people opt to give wasps as much distance as possible and let them perform their beneficial functions from afar. Wasps love to forage the same flowers and bushes other pollinators forage.