How to remove a Wasps nest

Wasps are a common pest to be encountered during the warmer months of the year, and are particularly troublesome if they decide to build a nest in or near your home. Removing their nests safely can often be a very difficult and painful process, although there are several different methods that tend to make the job a little easier and faster.

The best time for tackling a wasps nest is usually just as morning is breaking, as this is the time of the day that they are least active. However for those who don't like the idea of getting up before dawn, any time that the weather is fairly cold or that the sun has set are also good times. The colder weather tends to make the wasps sluggish and lazy, and they will rarely attack at all if the weather is sufficiently cold. The time not to tackle a wasp nest is in the middle of the day with hot weather, this is when they are most active, and are a lot more likely to attack.

If the time of year is getting towards the autumn, and the hottest of the summer weather is over, then waiting a few more weeks often makes wasp nest removal a lot easier. In most species, other than the queen, all the wasps die during the autumn time, and the queen hibernates until the next spring before laying any more eggs. Because of this often waiting if the wasps aren't an immediate danger is the best thing to do. When the nest has been emptied, and the queen is either asleep or very docile, the nest can be removed and destroyed easily and risk free.

Obviously, often the easiest option is simply to hire a professional and stand at a safe distance until the wasps have been dealt with. This approach is particularly prudent if the nest is inside either the house itself, or is close enough that they can get inside the house if they were to swarm suddenly.

Although some exterminators can be expensive, they are often worth the money because of the fact hat they will save you a lot of time and effort, and many of then guarantee their work as well. This basically means that if they don't get all of the wasps the first time, then they will come back for free and get the rest from the same nest. If you do the job yourself and can't complete it the fist time, then you may have to deal with the wasps regularly.

If the nest is in a convenient location, then creating smoke beneath the nest will help to subdue the wasps long enough for them to be removed. Although professionals have specialized tools for this, often simply creating a small fire or holding a flaming torch beneath the nest will make enough smoke for the job. The smoke makes the wasps more docile, and a lot less likely to sting you should you try to remove the nest, which is why this method is frequently used for collecting the honey from bees also.

If you have a good sized area around the nest that is empty, then more antagonistic methods can be used more easily. So long as there is no risk of damaging anything else than the nest itself, then simply torching it with gasoline is a fairly common method of removal. This isn't recommended if you have a small yard, or if you have pets and children that might come into contact with them. Similarly if the nest is close to your house, or anyone else's house this idea shouldn't be used either. Obviously as soon as the nest has been torched you should retreat to the safety of your house and let the fire do its work, as many angry wasps might tend to swarm around the nest while it burns.

If you are feeling particularly fearless, then removing the whole nest and taking it away is also another option. For this you need to get hold of a thick garden sack, which is thick enough to prevent wasps biting of stinging through it. Secondly you will also need a pair of shears which have a long handle, the kind used for pruning trees is usually the best for this. From here cutting the branch or the part of the nest holding it up in the air and catching it in a sack is needed.

Often having two people is a lot easier for this method. Once you have the nest in the sack, the wasps will immediately swarm out of it, so sealing the sack instantly is very important. If you are fast enough, then the wasps will all be trapped inside the sack, and can then be disposed of easily.