Dealing with wasps while cooking.

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El Gordo

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Last weekends trip was great but every time we started the stove or even opened the ice chest there was a group of at least 10 yellow jackets being obnoxious. I can deal with a few but this was overwhelming. Didn’t see a nest anywhere near either.

Does anybody have a suggestion on traps or secrets to clearing them out? Trying to avoid chemicals because of the kids.
 

MidOH

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Usually your can of ether will wipe out Yellow Jackets. Really, most anything in a spray can will kill them.

I nuked a few nests with sun tan lotion spray last week.
 

JimInBC

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This works in my experience. Be careful when you finally decide it is time to dispose of this contraption. Duct tape over the hole is you friend.

Thanks for this. Am allergic to a few of the yellow stripey things. It is like the larger version of my fruit fly trap, and will make life around camp when they get bad much calmer.
 

Viking1204

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Bees are more important than pain. You should just let them sting you and carry on.
Some people get stung and die so that is not an option for everyone! I don't disturb bees or wasps if they stay out of my personal space, invade my personal space and it's on, they will be eliminated! Generally I only have issues with wasps, luckily they make good sprays that kill them on the spot! Bees on the other hand don't seem to bother anyone, they are just there to pollinate things like my holly trees. In the spring my big holly tree is loaded with so many bees you can here the buzz, I can mow around the tree and they don't even care that I am there, they carry on pollinating the tree!
 

El Gordo

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Thanks everybody for the help on this subject. Just to make sure I clarify, these are yellow jackets I am talking about. Any other bee I would leave to their business, especially honey bees, but yellow jackets seem to serve no purpose other than making camping life miserable. I’ll give a couple of the traps a try.
 
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Anak

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We pack an aluminum pie tin just for yellow jackets. Soapy water and a piece of food they can't fly off with makes a good trap. They dip the tip of a wing in the water while trying to flying off with the food and it is all over. Soon they are entirely in the water and then they are done for.

I have never seen a bee show up for that trap.

Wasps are evil and every one that is eliminated makes the world just a little bit better.
 

grubworm

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Wasps are evil and every one that is eliminated makes the world just a little bit better.
yeah, we got several strains of wasp down here, there is a smaller red wasp that is just vicious...they are very aggressive and come from out of nowhere to sting. my wife wears a white musk perfume that really seems to attract them. i think they are drawn to certain scents as well as motion around their nest. i use a can of brake cleaner to kill them....the wasp spray is too big and hard a stream to target individual fliers. i also use a can of no name lysol to spray them in flight...works good and leaves a fresh lemon smell :)

i hate wasps...i'll knock down their nest and while some are still clinging to it, i'll get a stick and poke it and carry it to an ant pile and watch the battle. i saw a wasp covered in fire ants taking multiple bites and then flew off with a few still stuck on him. wasps are pretty tough
 
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Anak

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I like to spray their nests early in the morning. That way I know the whole family is home. Kill 'em all and then scrape the nest down and stomp it into oblivion.

I like the brake cleaner idea. I know exactly what you are talking about regarding the stream from the can of wasp spray. I will have to try the brake cleaner. Maybe with a lighter too. You know, just for good measure.
 

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Naw, I spray and walk away. Let them suffer.
 

old_man

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WD40 is great on nests and sprays several feet with the little tube attached. It kills them virtually instantly and takes care of the larvae as well. I have problems with them building nests in the door jambs and behind the mirrors on my Jeep Cherokee. My son in law used wasp spray on them and it melted the paint on my Jeep.
 

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I’ve always relied on a kind of weird method. It’s not the easiest to get set up, but once it’s in place you can pretty much forget about it.

We find the biggest red wasp nest we can (they are the aggressive @*%holes in these parts), usually in the woods, and kill them all with spray. Then take the nest (it has to be on the larger size for the species), clean it out somewhat (too much larvae weighs it down) and then give it a few coats of clear acrylic spray. Hairspray will work in a pinch. This helps it last longer in weather and when being handled. Then hang/attach it in a prominent location when you’re camping/recreating, usually 6 to 10 feet off the ground. The idea is the wasps think that there is a much larger swarm here and they naturally avoid the area altogether out of self-preservation.

If you have had the pleasure of living with/ being around the southern red wasp, you know why great lengths can potentially be worth going to. Even the yellow jackets and other annoyers around here pay heed to the red wasp.

We’ve had good results with this method over the years, although sometimes it can obviously be more difficult to procure a nest. One of my buddies who is a surveyor comes across the really big ones pretty often.

YMMV, especially depending on different species behavioral patterns.
 
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Dave K

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So... you are hauling a wasp nest around with you? :flushed:

What if there are wasps that desert their original hive for the new on and move in?!
 

old_man

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So... you are hauling a wasp nest around with you? :flushed:

What if there are wasps that desert their original hive for the new on and move in?!
No, I park for a week or so and bingo...there are wasp nests.
 

old_man

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You know that one of a wasps
i think in california there are some wasp nests that are part of Section 8 housing and some are Sanctuary City wasp nests and are protected by law
You know that one of a wasp's main food sources is grubworms???...
 

Dave K

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You guys don’t know how these CA wasps identify. Some of them are bees born into the wrong body and are perfectly harmless. Some are undocumented wasps. Some are economically disenfranchised wasps. Some have been push into your campsite being victims of the housing crunch and gentrification. We have wasps with the disease of drug addiction and simply can’t do anything about it. Wasps with mental health issues. You should all be more accepting of our special wasps in CA.

I have been pushing for higher taxation, especially businesses since they ALL have so much money, so we can combat this wasp plague. Seems if we just throw more money at the issue there has to be a resolution! I dream of a world where ALL yellow stripey things can be treated equal, have free healthcare and free education so future generations of yellow stripeys can live good lives without want.

I should stop. Some screwball out in the interwebs somewhere thinks I am making valid points I’m sure. :joycat: