How to deal with Wasps/Hornets suddenly inside home during this early heat spell? (Welcome: apartment, living)

[Barkingowl]

I use a rolled up magazine.

[XcapefromNJ]

The trick is to find the nest and zap it. I don't spray single or even multiple wasps that I see flying around. I swat! But I try to watch them to find the nest.

[lumbollo]

Originally Posted by newbie09

Suddenly today 3 wasps/hornets (don't know the difference between these 2 insects) got inside inside our rented 3rd floor condo. ....

95% bet these are wasps as they are out looking for places to build nests this time of year. Wasps will sting you so take care when attempting to dispose of them. Dirt dobbers (mud dobbers) won't sting you but generally they are not in the house this time of year. Both of these critters are similar looking. A hornet is much much larger, very aggressive and I have never seen one in a house (unless they have actually built a nest in the home) and something that you want to avoid. You probably don't have one of these.

Most of the time the hornet if it is near a door can be shoo'd outside. If not and you are afraid of swatting it, go get a can of wasp spray and spray it. it will soon die and you can dispose of if then.

[GO PANTHERS!!]

I bet this is what you have right?

This is a wasp, they typically fly fairly slow and their rear legs hang/dangle while they fly. They do have the ability to move fast but generally they're slow moving and hovering like a helicopter.

You'll have to spray them and their nest, then knock it down. This will go on all summer. If you have a balcony above yours, why not screen yours in?

By the way, for anyone trying to identify, Mud Daubers or "Dirt dobbers" are a type of wasp... All wasps have the ability to sting, including Mud Daubers.. Usually they will not sting unless you are attacking their nest or you are handling them.

[newbie09]

Yeah, I think what got in the house was wasps, they weren't aggressive at all and were flying kinda slow, just bothered me that they got inside. BTW, no other wasps have shown up since the Friday heat wave when I killed 3 of them-- maybe they've been forewarned?!

Also, my roommate informed me that the same morning, around 7am when he was getting ready for work, a swarm of birds seemed to be very aggressively chasing another bird & they all flew right onto the terrace, some wound up on the patio table for a moment and the whole incident lasted just a minute or so. Maybe the early heat drove some creatures in the area a little crazy?

If you have a balcony above yours, why not screen yours in?

Wish we could screen in the terrace! But it's against the HOA rules! (plus we're not the owners, just renters) We try to enjoy this terrace during the nice weather since it's very large & completely covered, but all summer long there's so many insects invading & the squirrels sometimes run across it chasing each other since there's two big trees right up against it.

[southbound_295]

Last year, on 2 separate occasions, a mud dauber got in my house. A friend told me the 1st time to leave it alone, it was just looking for spiders & it would not bother me if I ignored it.

Both times the mud daubers went on a slow, leisurely tour of the house & when they were done they went back to the door where they had gotten in. I opened the door & held it open (They are very slow.) & they went back out.

[bs13690]

When wasps overstay their welcome at my house, I start reading from the latest issue of Watchtower magazine. They hate that.

[GO PANTHERS!!]

Originally Posted by bs13690

When wasps overstay their welcome at my house, I start reading from the latest issue of Watchtower magazine. They hate that.

Really did just LOL

[Sharpless]

There is a wasp nest somewhere around your house. Buy some foaming wasp spray….locate nest….wait till dusk or dawn….blast the nest good for 2 – 3 seconds….run. Your problem will be over.

[Dakota4791]

When it starts getting warm, wasps will fly around looking for a new place to make a home..... eventually they settle down, but the first days of spring are always the worst. I tried to bait them with a "wasp trap" you can get at Lowes/Home Depot, but it doesn't work well at all on wasps. Hornets love it, but wasps don't care.

They fly around a lot outside - it's nature. Unless you have a screened-in porch, you can't do anything. That's like trying to get different oxygen or sunlight than what's available in your neighborhood.

So - nothing much you can do, unfortunately. Personally, I spray them, stomp them or swat them.

As long as they aren't building a nest inside your house, the numbers will be limited to those that sneak in...