I noticed yesterday that there was a new little wasp nest being built just out of sight on my deck, right by the front door. It was small, but there were wasps sitting all over it, so I knew it was just getting started. We dumped water on it, then destroyed the nest with a stick (it was cold, so the buggers were sluggish), and assumed that was the end of it.
Well, today, they’re back. There does not appear to be any nest-building going on, but there are always about half a dozen or so wasps hanging out in the exact same spot. I keep dumping water on them, but they keep coming back. So does anyone have any advice on getting them to leave permanently?
Move a few Black families in next door.
Oh! Sorry! I didn’t realize you hadn’t capitalized the initials. 
Well, the most obvious answer would be wasp spray. But, I’m not 100% sure it’s a long term solution. still, getting them wet isn’t going to drive them off – they don’t know the difference between rain and you’re garden hose.
Most likely, they’re still loitering about due to phermones that were placed during the nest building that say to them: “Wasp Nest Here”. Scrubbing the area with amonia or something may be enough to scramble their scent and send them wandering off to find a new home. For that matter, the scent of the wasp spray might do it if sprayed onto the old nesting site.
I would not try one of those “wasp traps” with the fruit juice in the oddly shaped cup or whatever they’re selling down at the Home Depot. The problem with scent based insect traps is that, well, they work by attracting insects to the item and then hopefully, the insects die. Instead, you often wind up with six times as many wasps buzzing about wondering where the smell of rotting oranges is coming from.
Water works to root out wasp nests in heavy foliage but won’t drive the wasps away, as you already know. Anyway, here’s what I learned a month ago:
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Don’t try citronella. It just gets the wasps wet and makes your carport and storage shed smell like oranges.
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If you do try citronella, clear an escape route before you spray. Also, wait until the dog is across the yard; she won’t know enough to get out of the way and you will get stung as you try to run around her.
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If you do try citronella, get the kids inside before you try, much for the same reason as with the dog.
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Just cut to the chase and buy some ordinary Wasp and Hornet spray. I’ve got a can of Ortho Hornet and Wasp Spray. It works for me, as has every other wasp spray I’ve tried. It’s active ingredients are Diaznon and pyrethrins, (though I think that Diaznon is being phased out.) The wasps will still move after you spray, but it’s obvious that they are in convulsions.
Now for a good question: why are pyrethrins deadly to wasps, but not that deadly to mammals? OP is forthcoming…
From what I was able to deduce from http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/pyrethrins-ziram/pyrethrins-ext.html it seems that pyrethrins aren’t even amazingly toxic to insects except that you’re overdosing them. If you give an insect a moderate dose, it will be stunned but will quickly overcome the poison and break it down. The amount of pyrethrins in insect sprays isn’t enough to harm a mammal due to its larger size, but given a big enough dose, you can cause symptoms in humans that suggest nerve damage (which is how it kills insects).
RAID always works fine for me. If you don’t have RAID, you can put bleach in a spray bottle and that will work too.
You probably have a yellow jacket nest if you live in the U.S.
Since yellow jackets kill pest insects like flies and caterpillars, it is best to leave a nest you discover alone. if it’s in a “high-traffic area,” try spraying the yellow jackets with wasp spray. READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS AND WARNINGS ON THE SPRAY EXTREMELY CAREFULLY.
Additional Reading:[ul]
[li]Wasp Control around the House[/li][li]Yellowjacket Control. A highly informative site that is lacking in graphics.[/li][/ul]
God, I love Sherlock!
If there are only a half dozen use a fly swatter. Or make it a sport and buy a squirt gun. Put soapy water in it.
Good suggestions, all.
Sadly, it appears that my only options will involve effort, money, or both. I was really hoping for the URL for a free psychic exterminator. Just posting a new thread was really more trouble than I thought it was worth. 
Seriously, though, thanks. Saves me the trouble of having to think about the problem myself.
I’m going to have to disagree with the theory that they are yellow jackets (which are wasps anyway, but I digress) since yellow jackets tend to either build their nests underground or in holes where the exterior wall meets the roof, in between railroad ties… etc. You get the idea. Given that Smeghead “knocked down” the nest, I’m guessing that they were paperwasps or else some sort of mudwasp, depending on if it was one of those “honeycomb suspended by a thread” models of wasp nest or the “long tunnels of dried mud” variety.
Well, it was in a confined space. There’s a gate at the top of the stairs that is always open, so one side is really near the outside wall. We opened the gate to knock it down. As for the shape, it looked like a golf ball stuck to the gate by a thread.
BTW, samclem, I was waiting for that one.
And Jophiel, yes, I noticed a distinct lack of terror when using water.
I noticed you were looking for cheap ways of getting rid of your wasps.
I have always used plain old Palmolive dish soap(green) and water.Mix it up really strong(thick enough to blow bubbles with) and either dump or spray it on them.Seriously, this will kill ‘em dead.
If there’s one thing I hate, its wasps.But they seem attracted to me(I blame it on my cholesterol conditioner; wasps are carnivores).So when I work in my garden, I keep a little pump bottle full of the soapy water nearby.Then when they come buzzin’ around my head, I blast 'em.They drop like rocks.
Napalm. 'Nuff said.
I’ve found that spray craft adhesive works wonders, they drop in mid flight. lots of fun at parties.
eggo
I personally go with gasoline myself. Sure it is more expensive than wasp spray due to rising gas prices and sure it will burn down your entire structure, but it will get rid of the wasps and will not leave them any structure to build a new nest upon.
Just throw the gas at the nest area, then throw a lit match at the nest area. Voila, problem solved.
Jeffery
Have you tried Groundhogs?
That’s why you need to convince your neighbor a couple of doors down to get one. Problem solved!
Seriously, the technique we’ve always used in our family is a combination of wasp spray (to kill off the ones you see), and destroying their nests as soon as possible in the building process. The second part requires some bravery and usually more than one attempt - they’re tenacious little bastards. After you make dust of their home a couple of times they usually get the picture and go somewhere else.
Did the nest look like this?
http://www.intelligentlife.net/hymenoptera/img/nest.jpg
Then it’s a paper wasp’s nest.
RAID wasp spray works like nothing else I have ever seen. It come in a canister that sprays something like 30 feet. And the wasps drop dead in mid flight as soon as the stuff touches them.
I am sure that it must be poison for other animals as well. The container says “Do not apply to pets”