We have cicada killing wasps near our pool. They are building nest in the concrete joints around the pool. Everything I have read says that they are pretty harmless to people but I don't want them near the pool. They terrify me and my children because of their size. What can I do to get rid of them?
Cicada killing wasp
- Thread starter jinnbake
- Start date
- Apr 23, 2009
- 103
- Pool Size
- 8800
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-30
If the nest is accessible, use a hornet spray after dark. You might have to do it several times if you can't get a good shot at the nest.
i have sprayed every kind of wasp spray i can by into the crack where they are going and they are back the next day. i say "they" but actually it is one who is guarding the crack. from what i have read they are loners and are extremely hard to get rid of. as long as they are harmless i wouldn't object to them being in my front yard. just leave my kids and my pool alone! :grrrr:
- Apr 23, 2009
- 103
- Pool Size
- 8800
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-30
Well, the only other thing that I have used and it has always worked is good old fashioned gasoline. If there is nothing around it that can burn, get the gas into the hole and let it seep in then light the sucker up. It burns under ground and only a small flame out from the hole. Let it burn out. I've done this with a lot of bees nests that burrow into the ground when nothing else worked. One nest I got this way was huge! After I killed it some animal came and dug it up (honey?).
I've had these fairly bad in the past myself. I don't care how harmless they are...THEY'RE HUGE! I found that not all hornet sprays are the same. The only one that would work for me fast was Spectricide's Commerical grade spray. It's in a black can. I have knocked them out from mid-air with that stuff! I find it at Lowe's with the other critter problem chemicals.
I haven't seen them yet this year, but it may be too soon. I did some research in the past and found that they only lay 1 egg each year so if you kill the nest you'll kill next year's batch as well! I've been pretty persistent the last couple of years so hopefully they're gone.
I haven't seen them yet this year, but it may be too soon. I did some research in the past and found that they only lay 1 egg each year so if you kill the nest you'll kill next year's batch as well! I've been pretty persistent the last couple of years so hopefully they're gone.
These are actually pretty nice to have around the yard if you can get over the psychological aspect of their size and their curiosity. They keep those noisy cicadas at bay pretty well.
Cicada killers are almost never reported to sting humans. Of course they can do it like all wasps, but you really do have to mess with them quite a bit to irritate them, quite a bit. They are fairly curious insects and will often fly at you and around you, more or less, just to see what you are up to.
If you are freaked out by them and want to rid yourself of them, here is what you can do. First off, you need to locate their nest entrance. Just watch them fly and see where they land. Once they land, they will head to the nest which is going to be a 1/2" or so diameter hole in the ground with dirt piled around the edge. To treat it, get you some 10% Sevin dust or diazinon (diazinon is probably better) and dust their nest hole. Be sure to get a little inside and around the hole. They need to touch the dust to get killed. This will kill them in a day or so. Spraying the hole with wasp spray generally doesn't do much because they tend to go pretty far into the ground, farther than you could effectively reach with the spray. Of course, you can try to spray them directly as soon as they land but you must get the spray directly on them in order for it to work. The spray can also harm plants too.
You may need to treat again next year. At the bottom of the nest hole is another larval cicada killer wasp that may emerge next year. At this time of year, there are only two wasps in each nest. Mama and her baby. Later in the year, males appear. They are territorial and somewhat aggressive but they have no stinger.
Cicada killers are almost never reported to sting humans. Of course they can do it like all wasps, but you really do have to mess with them quite a bit to irritate them, quite a bit. They are fairly curious insects and will often fly at you and around you, more or less, just to see what you are up to.
If you are freaked out by them and want to rid yourself of them, here is what you can do. First off, you need to locate their nest entrance. Just watch them fly and see where they land. Once they land, they will head to the nest which is going to be a 1/2" or so diameter hole in the ground with dirt piled around the edge. To treat it, get you some 10% Sevin dust or diazinon (diazinon is probably better) and dust their nest hole. Be sure to get a little inside and around the hole. They need to touch the dust to get killed. This will kill them in a day or so. Spraying the hole with wasp spray generally doesn't do much because they tend to go pretty far into the ground, farther than you could effectively reach with the spray. Of course, you can try to spray them directly as soon as they land but you must get the spray directly on them in order for it to work. The spray can also harm plants too.
You may need to treat again next year. At the bottom of the nest hole is another larval cicada killer wasp that may emerge next year. At this time of year, there are only two wasps in each nest. Mama and her baby. Later in the year, males appear. They are territorial and somewhat aggressive but they have no stinger.
Shhhhooottt...when ya use half a dang can of the spray like I do...you get to the bottom of the hole! :lol: But you are correct in that not every time did I get them. I'm gonna try the Sevin dust...just happen to have some.
midtngal said:
It would get expensive going that way too. Just try the Sevin dust. It should work okay. Doesn't matter when you put it down either. Day or night is fine. Make sure that the area doesn't get wet for a few days. Rain and sprinklers wash the dust away.
For some reason, some decided to nest around my pool & cement block patio last summer for the first time ever. Scared the heck outa me for a while. They sure are big. After doing some reading, I became comfortable that I wouldn't get stung & just let them be, and judging from the many mounds where they burrow in, there must have been a bunch of them. The biggest pain was the big mounds of dirt they'd create by digging their nest around the cement block . Made a real mess. I hope they don't come back this year, & if they do, I will try to get rid of them so close to the house, patio & pool area. From what I've read, they can't fly with a cicada due to the weight, so they have to climb up if they aren't high enough & glide back to their nest. I luckily happened to witness it, seeing one bringing a cicada it caught back to the burrow. It glided in from a branch on a nearby tree & landed within an inch or two from the hole. Really neat to watch.
So THAT'S what the cicada carrying monster was last year 
I was playing golf and this HUGE wasp - looking thing dropped down right next to my ball with a cicada in tow
ale: and dragged it into a small hole. Being incredibly manly - I immediately declared my ball unplayable and took a drop 
:lol:
Hi Karen
I hope that the Frozen Concoction Maker is alive and well and that Jimmy's blaring poolside 
I was playing golf and this HUGE wasp - looking thing dropped down right next to my ball with a cicada in tow
ale: and dragged it into a small hole. Being incredibly manly - I immediately declared my ball unplayable and took a drop :lol:Hi Karen
I hope that the Frozen Concoction Maker is alive and well and that Jimmy's blaring poolside
Hi Ted!! Funny you should ask....the maker was on fire this weekend...Mango Margaritas for all! Yummy! And....Jimmy's concert in MA was on satelite! unkrock: Guess I'm a little predictable! :lol:
I too have seen a cicada killer wasp carry a cicada back to the nest. It actually fell against my leg and of course I absolutely freaked! Then the curiosity got the best of me and I had to watch after that! Kinda scary. They are entirely too big to be allowed to live!
Funny you should ask....the maker was on fire this weekend...Mango Margaritas for all! Yummy! And....Jimmy's concert in MA was on satelite! unkrock: Guess I'm a little predictable! :lol: I too have seen a cicada killer wasp carry a cicada back to the nest. It actually fell against my leg and of course I absolutely freaked!
Then the curiosity got the best of me and I had to watch after that! Kinda scary. They are entirely too big to be allowed to live!
Eeeeewwww...what is it about men that make them WANT to pick up bugs?????? I won't even touch them even after I've killed them!
I won't even touch them even after I've killed them!I hate to say this, but those are Giant European Hornets. They act just like any other hornets but the nests can be huge and they have a tendancy to eat the bark off of trees in a ring, which kills the branches of the trees.eggman said:They are pretty intimidating creatures ...
Use caution as we've had them in out front yard and they are/can be agressive!
Nope ... cicada killer wasps. I've seen 'em dragging the cicadas down into their holes.
eggman said:They are pretty intimidating creatures ...
Is that you in the picture, and are the wasps still alive in that picture?
Oh my.... I hope to never see anything like that outside. I'll die on the spot! 
I'm going to have my hubby check under the railing later... that's freaky!
I hope to never see anything like that outside. I'll die on the spot! I'm going to have my hubby check under the railing later... that's freaky!
eggman you are righteggman said:
... the difference is that the european hornets have more yellow than black on their thorax's and they dismantle the victim for transport to the nest. The killer wasps have more black with white bands and drag the whole thing into their hole...
I'm in no hurry to meet up with any of them though!
I can't tell you how many spray cans of wasp and hornet killer we went through 2 summers ago
getting "rid" of the hornets. They were always at the base of the same tree, 4-8 at a time! I've only seen one since and I killed it fast.