You may need to rely on professional help for persistent wasp nests in high-traffic areas of your property.

It’s always best to eliminate things in your yard that attract wasps.

Should You Remove a Nest?

wasp nest

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Should you remove a wasp nest or let it stay?

If you use a chemical tool, closely follow all label instructions.

Some of the wasps will be in the nest when it falls.

Wearing protective clothing before dealing with wasp nest removal

The Spruce / Ana Cadena

However, if the queen is not adequately treated, she could rebuild her nest.

Natural Remedies

Remove wasp nests by trying natural remedies after sundown when the wasps are inactive.

These methods also work toeliminate ground wasp nests.

Physically removing a wasp nest with a broom

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Look for a pest control company that practices Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

A nest could be on a neighboring property, hidden in a tree, or underground.

Warning

Yellow jackets are prone to nesting in the ground and are sensitive to vibrations.

Stomping on a wasp nest with a heavy rubber boot

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What Do Wasp Nests Look Like?

Nest Identification

Wasp nests are made from brown papery material.

Foraging wasps create this paper by chewing things like wood and plant particles.

Closeup showing a wasp nest in the corner of a window

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A wasp nest varies in appearance based on the species of wasp that built it.

Some nests are open-face, some are closed, and others are made instead by bees.

Learn to identify which wasp nests are worth treating yourself and which should be handled by a professional.

Eastern Yellowjacket Wasps (Vespula maculifrons) eat apples that have fallen from an apple tree in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

NurPhoto / Getty Images

You don’t want to treat a bee hive you thought was a wasp’s nest.

Where Do Wasps Nest?

However, if you do spot a nest, it helps to know which insect may be inside.

Usually, the wasps will only seek out the plant while its in bloom.

Give the wasps as much space as possible and let them perform their beneficial functions from afar.

In this case, enlist the help of a pest control professional.

Yes, any wasp absent from the nest when it was sprayed will likely return.

The pesticide might eventually immobilize and kill those wasps but this may take up to 24 hours or longer.

If there is still activity after that time, respray the nest.

Your Safety Around Yellow Jackets, National Park Services.

Paper Wasps, Yellowjackets and Other Stinging Wasps, Oklahoma State University.

Paper Wasps.Clemson University Extension.

Nuisance Wasps and Bees.Colorado University Extension,