Wasps and wasp spray

[Kris5902]

I wouldn't kill the mud daubers. Those are the ones that make the mud tunnels, and they aren't aggressive, nor do they defend their nests. Leave 'em alone, they eat caterpillars and pollinate things. If you must remove them, you don't need a poison. Just get a chisel, hammer, or whatnot, and knock the nest off.
For the paper wasps, all you gotta do is wait until all the adults are gone off the fresh nest, pull it down, and throw it away. Those small nests only have a few adults at a time, and you can just wait for those adults to be busy elsewhere. And even them, unless they're in a high-traffic area, I'm inclined to leave alone. Paper wasps aren't too aggressive.

Agree, we had a few paper wasp nests in an abandoned vehicle on the property, my little niece (5) and I would watch them for hours, up close, just feet away from the nest. And they will eat less desirable bugs... bees, wasps, mud wasps are all ok in my books, but not yellow jackets! They are jerks...

 

[Fishkeeper]

We get paper wasps in our garage every year, and we've never been stung. They learn pretty fast that you aren't going to hurt them, and then they don't seem to mind you. What was REALLY cool was when some made a nest on the outside of a window, and we could just sit there right inside the window and watch them do their thing.
Did you know they actually make their nests out of paper? It's just wood pulp and saliva. The guy who invented paper supposedly got the idea from wasps.

 

[Kris5902]

We were able to get close enough to observe the larvae in the little paper cups... it was a good learning experience, my niece was terrified of bugs (thanks to her mom telling her ants would crawl up inside her and lay eggs) I’ve been working on that for a while. Now she’s fascinated by most of them, but still scared of ants.

 

[pennyJo1960]

@Doublete how goes the battle?

 

[Scottiemom]

I am curious about getting rid of nests in a run and outside a coop, too. Paper wasps don't bother us much, but we tend to get a lot of Yellowjackets and Bald Faced Wasps (hornets) and both of them are mean! I spray weeds with a mix of 1 part 30% vinegar, 1 part water and a touch of dish soap and wonder if that might work. Has anyone tried anything like that? Or Permethrin, like Saywer's? I know it can be used on dogs for ticks, fleas, chiggers, etc.. This nest is difficult to reach and I really only want to take one shot at it as I would have to walk on a narrow ledge with a 10' drop and spray towards the run!

 

[aart]

Or Permethrin, like Saywer's? I know it can be used on dogs for ticks, fleas, chiggers, etc.. This nest is difficult to reach and I really only want to take one shot at it as I would have to walk on a narrow ledge with a 10' drop and spray towards the run!

Permethrin and won't hurt the chickens should work.
I was going to ask you to video this scenario, but spraying wasp nests is best done just before the break of dawn when it's cool(er) and they are all in there and the chickens are not in the run.