What a wasp looks like - photo
There are about twenty thousand species of wasps all over the world, differing in color, body shape, type of housing construction, size and degree of aggressiveness. In addition to being aggressive stinging insects, wasps are known for the distinctive construction of their nests, which look like paper jugs. It should be noted that the types of nests are quite different. For example, there are open nests, with honeycombs, and there are closed ones. Some Hymenoptera prefer to build nests in hollow walls and other inaccessible places. It is in such cases that we can say that there are wasps, but where they are flying from is unknown.
A wasp nest can be found in a barn or garage.
Wasps can also take shelter under the roof of a house, on a tree, in the corners of terraces and other similar secluded places. Sometimes the nest consists of honeycombs fastened together.
The body of the average wasp (16-21 mm) is black, with a yellow pattern on the head and chest.
Common wasps nest in the ground, for example in burrows abandoned by rodents. They are even able to expand their home to a significant size, so that more than one thousand individuals can live in it. Their length is 13-19 mm.
Below you can see a closed wasp nest in the ground, which was apparently destroyed by a forest animal.
Hornets prefer to live in hollow trees, in birdhouses, under roofs and in the ground. Hornets are much larger than wasps; working individuals have a body 22 mm long, and females up to 35 mm. Their color is brownish with a yellow pattern on the head and abdomen, the tint of the wings is yellowish.
Wasps in a house or country house are found on the surface of old buildings and fences, where they scrape off wood, which they use to build nests.
Hornets love tree bark.
When building a nest, the female first creates a cell in which she lays eggs; it turns out that along the edges of the nest there are cells in which one egg lies.
Wasps feed on meat, insects, fish, berries and tree fruits. They chew off pieces of food and feed them to the larvae.
Having gotten to know wasps better, it becomes clear that they should be quite comfortable in nature. Then why do they fly into houses and apartments?
If wasps settled at home
Wasps prefer country life: they make nests in barns, bathhouses and attics.
But sometimes you can find them in a city apartment on the balcony, especially if it is not glazed. If the nest is large and you are afraid of wasps, then do not play hero: call exterminators and they will destroy the insects. This is the safest option - only the price can bite you: the price starts on average from two thousand rubles per trip, but depends on the size of the nest, their location and quantity, as well as the distance from the city.
If the price of specialist services is too painful, or you are determined to deal with wasps yourself, then here are some brief instructions:
- The operation is carried out in the dark, when it is cool outside. The ideal time of year to remove a nest is spring or autumn: when wasps are returning from hibernation or preparing for it. In winter, the nests are empty: the swarms sleep in tree hollows, and the “summer apartments” are left empty. If you find an empty nest in winter, simply tear it off and throw it away, and thoroughly clean the attachment site with detergent.
- Protect yourself from bites: put on thick pants and a jacket, mittens or work gloves on your hands, cover your head with a mosquito net, and protect your respiratory system with a respirator.
- Spray the nest with an insecticide in an aerosol. This could be Moskitol, Dichlorvos or another suitable product labeled “for wasps”.
- Place a tight bag without holes over the nest and carefully cut it from the base with a long knife. Tie the bag tightly.
- Place the bag in a bucket of water or burn it. If you are a supporter of humane methods, then take the package with the nest to a deserted place where people will not stumble upon it.
- Do not smoke the nest under any circumstances - the strong smell will only anger the wasps.
- Clean the place where the nest is attached from its remains and wash with a cleaning agent or soap solution, otherwise the wasps will return to the same place next year.
How insects get into an apartment
In summer and autumn, at any time you can find a striped guest in the apartment. She can get into the room in various ways:
- through an open window or vent;
- fly into an open door;
- crawl through the crack of the window frame;
- get through the ventilation duct from the attic;
- if the nest is located on the facade, its inhabitants gnaw passages in the wall.
If a wasp flies into the house in the spring, then it is a queen looking for a place for a nest. One insect easily hides from the eyes of residents and builds a house for its family somewhere in a secluded place.
Attention. Insects often settle in the drawers of the lifting mechanisms of roller blinds or blinds.
The queen feeds her larvae with flies and food scraps from the table. Until the first generation grows up in June, uninvited neighbors do not attract attention. Having noticed 6-7 adult individuals in the room, you need to find a nest. To do this, you should put bait from pieces of meat or minced meat and watch for insects. You can get rid of the entire colony at once using poisoned food. An insecticide is added to the meat bait and left in the open. Wasps chew food before feeding, they will poison themselves and poison all the larvae.
Attention. If there are animals in the house, it is necessary to place poisonous bait in places inaccessible to them.
There are several reasons why wasps fly into an apartment:
- They are attracted to the smell of food. Do not leave jam, compote, or honey in an open container. Fruits lying on the table or cores in the trash can are also liked by insects.
- One of the reasons is the search for a place for a nest. Females remember the place of their birth and instinctively look for a secluded corner not far from it.
Wasp behavior in an apartment or room
If a wasp has flown into a house, it is in no hurry to attack or attack people or pets with bites. It circles near the window or in the room into which it flew through an open window or door. The goal is to get out. The wasp helplessly hits the glass in the hope of getting free. If a way out is discovered, he will happily leave the apartment. If the entrance to the room is closed, you need to help her free herself from the trap.
Wasp in the apartment
Why you should get rid of wasps
Some people are ready to put up with buzzing neighbors who only occasionally visit the house. A humane position is not always justified; if wasps fly into an apartment, they are a potential threat to the health of its owners.
- The insect bite is very painful, especially children and allergy sufferers. An angry individual can bite several times, because it does not leave a sting in the wound. The affected area turns red, swelling of varying degrees appears. The wound must be treated with an antiseptic (iodine, hydrogen peroxide, calendula tincture).
- Wasps do not hesitate to feed from animal corpses and garbage dumps, and after visiting these places they run over the table and food in the kitchen. They are carriers of intestinal infections that pose a danger to human health.
- Having powerful jaws, insects gnaw holes in fruits lying on the table.
Advice. If wasps often fly into your room, install a mosquito net on the window. It will allow you to ventilate the room, preventing insects from entering it.
Why are wasps dangerous in the house?
Many people, when they see a wasp in the house, are immediately frightened, the reason is simple: their bite is very painful and often causes an allergic reaction. In addition, one wasp can sting several times, which is even more unpleasant.
Wasps have powerful jaws with which they can gnaw holes in fruit lying on the table.
The danger of wasps appearing in the house lies in the fact that they can feed on garbage or even animal corpses, which is why insects are carriers of dangerous intestinal infections.
Safety precautions
In the fight against stinging insects you need to know that:
- At night and in the early morning, the reaction of wasps is slowed down, so it is better to destroy the nest in the dark or in the predawn hours. But insects react quickly to a flash of light, mistaking it for daylight, so it’s better to do without a flashlight.
- You can’t “go into battle” without equipment. You need clothes made of thick material that completely hide the body, rubber boots, durable gloves, and a mosquito net to protect your face.
- Ice and antiallergic drugs (Adrenaline, Suprastin, Prednisolone) should be prepared in case of a bite.
- You cannot climb a ladder to reach the nest. If during the “operation” the wasps begin to attack, you can fall and be seriously injured. If the nest is located out of easy reach, you can either try the smoke method (see information below) or contact a professional.
- When using pesticides, it is important to ensure that there are no children or pets in the treated area during the extermination of insects and for at least 24 hours after. Any dead wasps should be removed immediately to prevent a child or pet from eating them.
- An escape plan is needed. During the destruction of the nest, wasps may begin to attack; you should take care in advance of the shortest route to the shelter and make sure that there are no obstacles on the way. If many wasps begin to fly out of the nest, move away along the planned route without sudden movements or panic.
- If one or more individuals fly out during the destruction of a nest, they cannot be killed: the death of insects leads to the release of a special secretion, the smell of which will attract relatives, increasing the likelihood of an attack by the entire swarm.
A person may not even be aware of an allergy to wasp stings; it is advisable to undergo a special test at a medical center. If you have an allergy, it is better not to take risks and entrust the fight against insects to another person or professionals.
Effective methods of dealing with wasps
If wasps appear on the site, it is important to understand what brought them here and whether they are going to stay here for a long time. If there are a lot of wasps, then most likely there is a nest somewhere nearby, which is sometimes quite difficult to find. To determine the location of the nest, you need to leave in a visible place the remains of food that wasps love. They don’t mind eating a piece of fish or meat, a juicy pear, an apple or grapes. All that remains is to trace where the wasps fly away after their meal, although this is not so easy.
On the day when it is decided to get rid of these insects, there should not be a single living soul on the site, except for those who are engaged in this complex and responsible procedure. Since wasps show maximum aggressiveness if their nest is attacked, the work must be done quickly and carefully. The presence of other people, especially without protective clothing, is life-threatening.
To destroy wasps, there are several proven methods:
- Smoking out insects using smoke . In this way, it is possible to expel dangerous insects and then destroy the nest. Naturally, this method is most effective indoors, but it will be difficult to do this outdoors.
- Use water against wasps . This method is available if there is access to the socket. To do this, you need to take a bucket of hot water and go to the nest, then immerse the wasp’s nest in the bucket. After such actions, most wasps die, and the nest itself becomes wet. Naturally, for such an operation, you should carefully prepare to provide yourself with safe clothing.
- The use of "Dichlorvos" against wasps . To do this, you will need an aerosol and a plastic bag, as well as protective clothing. In this case, you will have to protect yourself not only from wasps, but also from a toxic drug. You will need to quickly approach the nest and spray the aerosol into a plastic bag. After this, the bag is put on the wasp's nest and tied tightly. After 2 hours, the plastic bag, along with the wasp’s nest, just needs to be burned.
- Using boiling water against wasps . Again, this method is only available when the wasps have settled in a visible place and the nest can be reached without problems. To solve the problem, you need to boil a kettle of water and quickly pour boiling water over the nest. Again, care must be taken to ensure that insects cannot bite. After completing the procedure, the nest must be placed in a bag and taken out to the trash.
How to destroy a wasp's nest. How to destroy the hornets' nest.
There are other ways of fighting that are no less effective, which are worth mentioning:
- Fighting wasps with poisoned baits . This method of control is effective if the swarm of wasps is not large. To implement this method, you need to take leftover food and treat it with insecticides, after which the treats should be placed in a visible place where wasps like to fly. After such a treat, the insects will begin to die.
- Insecticides against wasps . To do this, you need to take drugs such as Actelik or Cypermethrin and dilute 5 ml in 1 liter of water. Before spraying the nest, you need to prepare a working solution. Actions must be quick. After spraying, it is better to put a plastic bag on the nest. After 3 hours, the nest along with the package is removed from its place and burned. The operation is carried out only in protective clothing, since the insects are biting and the drugs are poisonous.
- Making traps for wasps . Simple traps made from readily available materials help in the fight against wasps and other flying insects. To do this, you need to take a plastic bottle with a volume of 1.5-2 liters, after which the upper cone-shaped part is cut off from it. You need to place some bait in the bottle in the form of meat, fish, jam, or pour in a little sugar syrup. You can also add an ampoule of “Aktelika” or “Cypermethrin”. There will be enough bait if it covers the bottom of the bottle. After this, the top part is turned over (cut) and inserted into the bottle. It turns out a container with a funnel. Wasps can easily get inside the bottle, but they will not be able to get out.
- Application of polyurethane foam . This is a rather expensive, although effective way to get rid of these insects. To do this, you need to buy a can of foam (can be small), and then use it with a little skill. Using foam, you need to quickly blow out all the holes in the nest. As a result, all individuals will die. At the same time, we should not forget about personal protective equipment against bites. In fact, you won’t be able to foam the nest quickly, so you need to be prepared for an attack by a whole swarm of wasps.
- Use of kerosene or gasoline . This method can be effective if the nest is located somewhere in a place where there are no residential or outbuildings nearby, since the use of open fire is assumed. To do this, the nest is doused with kerosene or gasoline and set on fire. Before using this method of killing wasps, you need to think carefully about everything, otherwise you will have to call the fire brigade.
- Application of carbide against wasps . The method is quite effective if there is easy access to the nest. A piece of carbide is placed in or near the socket, after which it is watered. As a result, poisonous gas begins to be released, which will destroy all insects. With this method, it is also important to take care of personal protective equipment.
It is important to know! It is better to fight such insects in rainy weather or fog, when the entire swarm is in the nest and does not intend to get out of it.
How to get rid of wasps
Ways to destroy a wasp nest
Having discovered the colony house, it is necessary to destroy it. The sooner you do this, the better. The number of inhabitants of the nest is constantly increasing. Depending on the location of the structure, different methods must be used. The general recommendation for any method is to act in the evening or at night, when the wasps are inhibited.
Mechanical
To prevent insects from flying out of the house when it is knocked down, it is necessary to plug the entrance with a piece of fabric. Another way is to pour foam into the hole.
Attention. Before you start destroying a nest, you need to be suitably equipped - cover your hands with gloves, cover your face and neck with a cape, and clothes should be made of thick material.
Boiling water will help remove the wasp house on the balcony. A bucket of hot water is placed under the nest, and then the leg that attaches the structure to the ceiling is cut off. It is better to knock down a nest with a shovel with a long handle. Insects will not be able to get out of the house and will drown in the water. The place where the nest was built should be treated with a wasp repellent liquid.
The most difficult thing to deal with are insects whose refuge is outside, and they make their way into the apartment through gnawed passages. It is recommended to insert an aerosol spray into the holes and treat them thoroughly with poison. You can leave pieces of fabric soaked in insecticide (Karbofos, Aktara). Plaster the passages and also add insecticide to the solution. If the nest on the facade cannot be reached, it is recommended to contact a company specializing in insect extermination.
Chemical
When starting to destroy a wasp nest, it is important to take care of the safety of your household. It is better for them to leave the apartment during insect poisoning measures. The control tactics are as follows: the wasp repellent Dichlorvos, Dr. is sprayed into a thick garbage bag. Klaus, MOSQUITALL. The bag is placed over the nest and left for several hours. During this time, the insects will die from exposure to the poison. The structure can be removed and thrown outside, and the room can be ventilated. In cases where the bag cannot be put on, poison from aerosols is sprayed onto the nest.
How to make a house uninhabitable for wasps
It is best to prevent the appearance of wasps and make your home unsuitable for their habitat. To do this, you need to take a number of steps:
- Use screens and close doors to prevent insects from entering.
- Remove leftover sweets so that there is no bait for wasps.
- On the site, dismantle all the places where wasps like to place their nests: woodpiles, garbage containers.
- Remove carrion in a timely manner.
As has been mentioned more than once, safety is important. Protective clothing, calmness and keeping your distance are the most important.
If all this does not help and you still get bitten, here are the first aid instructions.
How to drive insects out of a room?
If the problem is not large-scale and the insects entered the house by accident, then you can drive the wasp out of the room in several proven ways.
Safe way
- take a half-liter jar and a thick sheet of paper;
- cover the bee or wasp with the jar. Usually insects hit the glass in search of a way out;
- place a sheet of paper under the neck of the jar, blocking the exit;
- carefully remove the container with the insect from the house;
- Place the jar upside down and remove the paper.
You should not make sudden movements so as not to make the insects want to sting.
Using a matchbox
This method requires caution.
- a wasp or a bee is covered with a box opened one third of the way;
- press the box tightly to a flat surface and close it;
- take the insect outside the house and open the box.
When releasing an insect into the wild, you should not hold the box in your hands. It is better to place it on the ground and, having opened it, move away.
Towel to the rescue
Cover the insect with a towel or thick rag and push it towards an open window. After which the towel is thrown outside.
You can also try catching a wasp or bee with a vacuum cleaner, then carefully shake the bag or container outside.
When expelling stinging insects, do not make sudden movements or wave rags. This can anger the insects and they will attack.
How to get rid of an unwanted neighborhood?
You can remove bees from your home in one of the following ways: through relocation or extermination.
Relocation
- On your own. Due to the increased risk of being bitten, this method is used in cases of extreme need. To make it easier to remove the hive, it should be fumigated with smoke to calm the bees. Dormant insects are placed in thick canvas or burlap and taken away from the house. The main thing is to do everything quickly, because if the bees come to their senses, they will cruelly bite the offender.
- With outside help. To do this, you should invite a beekeeper you know to domesticate wild bees. If he doesn’t need a new hive, then he should ask for assistance in relocation.
Destruction
A bee colony should be destroyed according to the following scheme:
- fumigate the hive with a smoker to calm the inhabitants;
- spray insecticide inside;
- carefully close the exit from the hive;
- wrap the house in cloth or a bag;
- After the death of the insects, the bundle with the hive is burned.
If the fight against bees takes place in a summer cottage and the inhabitants of the house are annoyed not by wild bees, but by settlers from a neighbor’s apiary, then the method of exterminating insects cannot be used. This will be regarded by law as damage to someone else's property and may lead to court action or an administrative penalty. It is better to outline actions with the apiary owner to eliminate the problem.
The simplest, most effective and record-breaking fastest way to get rid of a wasp's nest is to burn it
It is more difficult to remove wasps from a room than bees, because these insects are more aggressive. If we are talking about destroying a wasp nest, then you need to be well prepared for the event: choose clothes that can protect you from a wasp sting, put on gloves, preferably leather ones, and put a mosquito net on your head. You should also select a set of necessary materials and tools:
- voluminous dense bag;
- stairs, if necessary;
- sprinkler;
- chemicals against insects.
There are several ways to get rid of a wasp nest:
- Pour boiling water over the insect shelter. But all the wasps will not die, so you need to be prepared for an attack by insects that will be very angry by such actions.
- Treat the nest with gasoline or diesel fuel. The wasp family should die immediately. But if this does not happen and movement is observed, then the house should be carefully unfastened and burned.
- Use dichlorvos. It is necessary to treat not only the wasp nest, but also the area nearby. After treatment, the house with insects is covered with a plastic bag, taken to a safe distance and burned.
- A gentle way. Red hot pepper is placed near the wasp's nest. After some time, the wasps will leave the human habitation and will not return.
- Use of poisonous baits. Slices of fish or meat are treated with chemicals and placed in places accessible to wasps. Actions continue until the insects disappear.
- It is more difficult to destroy a nest if it is located in a hard-to-reach place and the wasps enter it through holes made in the walls. It is necessary to find these passages and treat them with chemicals, then cover the holes with cotton wool soaked in poison and putty.
The presence of wasps and bees in a residential area is dangerous for household members. Therefore, the problem must be resolved immediately, using extreme caution .
How to protect your home from wasps
Wasps and hornets are attracted to sweets, open food, and strong-smelling perfumes, so you should definitely install mosquito nets on your windows. Do not leave sweets, pies or sugar on the table or nightstands. You can also put a mesh on all cracks and ventilation shafts. The smell of vinegar and the drug “SOCHVA” with the smell of smoke repels insects. Wasps will fly around the windows if the curtains on them are sprayed with a solution of food vinegar. After half an hour, a person will no longer feel the smell, and insects have a keen sense of smell, vinegar will definitely scare them away.
Making an Effective Trap
A large number of owners who have plots and cottages are faced with the appearance of hornets. Although they help gardeners get a rich harvest by eliminating pests, these neighbors do not bode well for the apiary.
Fact! Hornets destroy bees, causing losses to beekeepers.
The fight against unpleasant neighbors can be carried out using various methods. The most effective way to remove individuals is a hornet trap. You can actually buy it in a store or build it yourself using available items.
We offer three options for the most effective of them:
- Hornet trap made from a plastic bottle. You should cut off the top third of the container and pour sweetened bait into the bottom. Unscrew the cap, turn the top of the bottle over and install the bottom part into it. A funnel comes out. Insects easily crawl into it, but cannot fly out, since the search for an exit occurs along the walls of the plastic structure. Additionally, the neck of the plastic container is lubricated with Vaseline. So even the most resourceful hornets will not be able to cling to it and get out.
- Samolov using glass containers, which are equipped with a screw cap. It is necessary to cut a cross-shaped opening in the lid, fold the corners into the middle and pour in the bait.
- Trap for wasps and hornets using a galvanized sheet cylinder. A funnel with a narrowed neck up, which has a fine metal mesh, is installed in the middle. Its top should not exceed more than 20 cm of the outer boundary of the structure. The cylinder is placed on bricks and covered with an unnecessary sieve. To catch the insect, fish and meat are placed under the cylinder. They will flock to the aroma, feast on it, and when flying away, they will end up in the upper part. In it, the hornets will beat themselves against the net until exhaustion. You can trap them every couple of days.
Where do insects nest?
Before deciding how to deal with wasps, you need to find their location. As a rule, wasps choose rather inaccessible places to build their nests. They can live under the roof, in the attic of your house, in a niche under slate, on balconies and loggias, or in hedges. They can choose a tree that grows on your site as their habitat. It is difficult to find a wasp nest on the site, since the insects hide their “home” from prying eyes. It is very difficult to inspect every corner of the site, even if the size of your property is not so large. Therefore, summer residents have long come up with one simple way. Its essence is as follows: a piece of raw meat or fish is placed in an open place (for example, a veranda). Insects flock to the bait. After this, you only need to observe the behavior of the wasps, which will fly from the treat to the nest and back.
If there are wasps in the apartment or in the house itself, then in this case it is several times easier to find the nest, because it is not difficult to notice where most insects fly. In most cases, they choose places for their nesting between the sheathing and walls, near drainpipes, and also behind air conditioners. Sometimes it is not possible to get to the insects’ home itself, but if you find the entrance to it, then this is already quite enough to destroy the wasp’s nest.
Methods for exterminating wasps on the site
If you find one wasp nest, then you can deal with it yourself, but if there are many nests, then call a special service. However, not all owners of private houses can use the services of the service, which means they need to look for other ways to combat wasps. Every owner can find ways to cope with the problem at home.
If stinging insects have made nests in the area, then bait can be placed. Fill a shallow container with sweet syrup, compote, jam. Place the container in a visible place and wait for the wasps to flock to the “treat”.
This method is good, but has many disadvantages:
- All individuals will not flock together, so it will not be possible to completely destroy them. Very soon the stinging creatures will multiply again.
- The bait will need to be placed throughout the area.
- Caught wasps will have to be destroyed by hand, and this may provoke other insects to attack you in a swarm.
- Traps will have to be set every day, since it will not be possible to destroy everyone at once.
To kill as many individuals as possible, poison or poison must be added to the bait. There is a poison in the store that works like this: the poisoning is transmitted from one individual to another and they die.
Adhesive tape for catching flies has a good effect. Watermelon or melon rind sprinkled with poison is also an excellent get rid of stinging insects.
Another way: light old rags, wrap them around a stick and smoke out the wasp's nests. They are also afraid of the smell of wormwood, lemon balm, tansy, marigold, and basil.
When starting a fight against them, a person must take care of his safety. You need to wear clothes that cover all parts of your body. A great idea is to borrow clothes from a beekeeper along with a face net. After all, by stirring up the hive, you can become an object for hundreds of insects. And this is already a threat to life.
After treatment with smoke, you can pour a hot decoction of the listed plants or a vinegar solution into the nests made in the ground. Stinging creatures will no longer return to these nests, as they cannot stand the pungent smell of these herbs.
Why do wasps appear in the house and what you need to know about them
The reasons why wasps choose a nesting site vary. As a rule, the nest location is chosen by the queen or a single wasp. The latter poses less of a threat, since solitary wasps do not live in large groups. The nest of such insects is small in size and reaches from 5 to 8 cm in diameter. The queen chooses a place for a new “home”, looking for dark and cool places, so an attic in a country house or a place in the wall is the best option for a wasp hive.
So, if your attic has been invaded by a swarm of wasps, there are a few things you need to know about them before you start shooing them away. Firstly, wasps are rarely “home” during the day. Insects return to the hive only to roost at night. Therefore, if you are planning to get rid of unwanted guests, you should do this in the evening. Secondly, be careful and avoid being bitten. Some people are allergic to wasp stings, which can be life-threatening. Thirdly, if you noticed a wasp hive last year, then you need to inspect the area in winter or early spring. At the beginning of May, the queen wasp chooses a nesting site, so during the summer season the swarm of insects can be numerous.
This type of insect is not blood-sucking, but wasps cause quite a lot of problems