wasp's nest near front door - kill or leave be?

[mattkime]

if its that small i might just leave it be and keep an eye on it. once winter rolls around i'd just snap it off.

heck, i'd probably leave it around just out of curiosity for a little bit.

(of course i'd nuke it once i saw trouble)

[mrbigstuff]

the four of us have only spotted one wasp so far.

'course, we took about a 10ft step back when we did.

[eustacetilley]

Without a better description, your location, and maybe a pic, my insight is useless. But here it is anyway:

If it's a mud wasp, with a mud nest, let it alone, unless it is an eyesore. Mud wasps rarely bother people, and are beneficial at least esthetically; they eat really ugly insects.

If it's a paper nest, destroy it ASAP. And if it's a Yellow Jacket nest, destroy with poison, flame, massive artillery, whatever it takes, but expect retaliation. You may consider the thermonuclear option.

Eustace

[malfunction]

Some more wasp info if you're in the western US:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7450.html

[mrbigstuff]

it's definitely a mud type nest.
but, it's affixed to a vertical surface (the siding of my house).

[AllGold]

From the description of the nest, it's not yellowjackets since they don't build exposed nests (usually are under ground but can occasionally use the inside of a structure if they can find a hole).

There is a big difference between paper wasps and yellowjackets. I will tolerate paper wasps as long as I can get by their nest. Yellowjackets are another matter entirely. I kill them with extreme prejudice ASAP. And yes, if I could get an appropriately sized tactical nuke, I wouldn't hesitate to use that option on yellowjacket nests. miley-shocked003:

Edit: You added the info about the mud nest while I was typing. If it's mud rather than paper then you should be ok.

[NewtonMP2100]

to be clear....are you taking 'bout a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant family living on your property.......???

[Dennis S]

Being mud and on a vertical surface, it's probably "dirt daubers" or "mud daubers." They are thin and either black or dark blue and won't sting unless you pick it up.

Pictures of nests:

http://www.google.com/search?q=dirt+dauber+nest&client=firefox-a&hs=k4u&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=uT0QUtqaIoK02wX9s4GICg&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ

[sekker]

Front door = eviction notice.

Yard, I'd let them bee...

[Robert M]

Hi everyone,

Due to personal experience, I can say without hesitation that any wasp/hornet/flying insect that stings will attack, even if you don't intentionally provoke it. That includes mud daubers. Just standing within the vicinity of the nest and watching it can trigger retaliation.

The idea of "just leave'im alone" sometimes works for a while, especially for a small nest and/or insects that are less aggressive, but at some point, the buggers will become a problem. Not necessarily to you, if you know it's there and take appropriate action. But, why put other people at risk, i.e. postal carrier, visitor, etc? Pretty foolish, in my opinion.

Robert