Wasp removal

[csoule13]

This is a very stupid question, so I'll try to be as entertaining in the asking as possible.

While staring at my busted furler this weekend, I watched wasps land with a little bite of mud and crawl into the rope opening of the hawse pipe. In the evening, when I went to take my wife for a little motor, we had couple of them lazily come out of the companionway to see what all the noise and vibration was about(thus ending the evening's boating activities).

I can not express my loathing and terror of things that fly and sting. I am not looking forward to figuring out where these SOBs are hiding and then eliminating them. I would rather work on anything on the boat, including the head, rather than this.

For now, I've taped up that ingress point, as well as the vent grate on my drop boards. I'll be at the boat later this week, and looking to be armed with a way of ending this quickly and painlessly for all parties involved. Anyone have success with something that doesn't require a respirator and washing every square inch of the boat? The interwebs talk about hosing them down in soapy water, others using some type of trap. I'm all ears.

Chris

[Jim Walsh]

Linemen are provided with wasp freeze which kills instantly. There is a similar product available over the counter but it does not have the ability to reach out to 30 feet. It should still be fine for your purpose.

[tjr818]

There are many Wasp sprays available and they all work to kill the wasp that you are aiming toward. There are basically two types of wasps, mud dobbers (your kind?) and paper wasps. Mud dobbers build nests of mud and are usually easy to get rid of spray, grab their mud huts and throw them overboard. Paper wasps, on the other hand can be vicious, put on your hoodie, glasses and gloves, spray the paper nest and run away, come back in 30 minutes or so and spray again, only then can you grab that paper honeycomb nest and throw it overboard.
Best of luck, we deal with them all summer long on the Mississippi.

[John Stone]

The first thing I would want to know is are you allergic to bee/wasp stings? If you are hire or talk your best friend into doing it so as to save your life.

Locate the nest. They won’t sting you if you don’t mess with it. Look for more than one nest.

Set up a shop light so you can clearly see what you are doing. Get a can of wasp spray. Put on some coveralls and your respirator if you want. Then go slay them. No mercy. Be focused on your aim-like a gunfighter. You are trying to kill them, not make them mad. Kill or be killed. One shot of the spray and they are paralyzed and die quickly. Soak the nest with a three second burst. I have killed too many wasps to count. Never been stung in retaliation for launching an attack.

After the fight wander off and beat your chest. Give it 20 min then go back with gloves, plastic scraper, paper towel, plastic bag. Clean it up. Your wife may not say anything but secretly she will be impressed. A little swagger afterwards is a good thing.

[robwm]

Dealing with mud wasps currently and this is what has worked for me. First of all, get a FULL can of hairspray and have it ready to fog any wasps that fly at you. The spray will load the wasp's wings and prevent it from flying, or, if alcohol based it will kill the wasps outright. I like hairspray the best (also works really well on spiders and other creepy crawlers) because it creates a fog and eliminates the need to "aim" the stream from wasp/hornet sprays while trembling/fumbling in absolute terror . It is also water soluble, has a pleasant scent, does not stain and cleans up nicely. Second get a wide roll of painter's tape (the removable blue kind) and tape over ALL the entry/exit points that are available to the wasps; you have to seal off the area that they are in. If needed use plastic bags cut to the right shape and tape to isolate larger areas. Walk away for a week or so. Any trapped wasps should die without access to water or food. New wasps will not be able to get into the area and will give up following the scent trail of prior ones. When you come back, with a FULL can of hairspray again, check the infested area by gradually removing the tape/isolating cover and fogging any wasps with the hairspray. If wasps do come out then you may want to re-tape/isolate the area again and wait another week or so. If no wasps come out then clean out their nests, there may be several. Long term wise you'll need to figure out how to maintain the area sealed from that point on while maintaining its useability. I use strips of old towels jammed into cracks/openings. They can be easily removed before you use the boat and replaced when you are done. I have also heard of placing mothballs in the the affected areas. I presume this gives them cancer. Have not tried this since the jammed towel strips are doing the job for me. Good luck ...

Robert,1982 CD22 "Hunky Dory"
Hull 122
Lake Travis, Texas

[Steve Laume]

Mud daubers are the most genteel wasps. That being said, I suppose you could still be stung. I had some set up shop in Raven when she was home and opened last year. The thing about them is that, unlike paper wasps. They are not very aggressive and they reside in small numbers. I just knocked off the mud nest and gushed the thing. One thing that no one mentioned, was that wasps and bees are light and temperature sensitive. If you are really concerned about getting stung, then deal with them on the coolest night possible. At night, they will all be in the nest and not paying too much attention. I would be sure to know where the nest is ahead of time and then wait until dark and quickly go in a deal with them. You could go at them with any method you chose from Napalm to wearing a glove and smashing the nest. Once the nest is gone they tend not to defend themselves. If you had a bee suit you could laugh at their rage, if it presented itself. You could create one by wearing a Tyveck suit, some gloves and a bug net, over a broad brimmed hat. This is probably un necessary with these guys.

As long as you can find and access the nest, this should not be a big deal. Just wait till the Murder Hornets show up, then you will have something to worry about, Steve.

[csoule13]

Not sure which was better, the usefulness of the information, or the style in which they were delivered. John, The Admiral asked me "Do you really think that's how it would go down with me?" I told her I'm always optimistic she'd see the error of her ways.

[John Stone]

John, The Admiral asked me "Do you really think that's how it would go down with me?"

Absolutely.

[gonesail]

I find that black flag is the most deadly spray .. killing instantly .. but it can stain wood and has a very strong smell. I would not use it inside my boat. Other sprays are non staining and more like a foam .. but don't really kill on contact. The wasp freeze product sounds promising to me and I see you can get it from Amazon.