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Wasp Blower

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Re: Wasp Blower

#91

Post by mgerdts »

Brian_K_White wrote: post #90
opwieurposiu wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When we were kids we used to catch wasps in a plastic cup, put them in the freezer until they were anesthetized, and then tie a little leash on them with sewing thread. Then you chase your friends around the neighborhood with your personal attack wasp. Good times.

I fried them in a piece of glass tube from a neon sign, with the high voltage wires from the transformer poked into the opposing ends of the tube until it started to arc from wire to wire through the wasp. Stank. I'm neither proud nor ashamed. Today in my more boring older age I just grab whatever random inappropriate houshold or automotive chemical is handy that squirts or sprays. Wish I had thought of the freezer &…

Soapy water (dish soap) in a spray bottle works wonders. Once they are wet and bubbly they can’t fly, making it safe to knock them to the ground and squish them.

If you happen to have the spray bottle in hand while they are flying at you, a quick mist in the air in their flight path will turn them away.

Re: Wasp Blower

#92

Post by taneq »

Brian_K_White wrote: post #90
opwieurposiu wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When we were kids we used to catch wasps in a plastic cup, put them in the freezer until they were anesthetized, and then tie a little leash on them with sewing thread. Then you chase your friends around the neighborhood with your personal attack wasp. Good times.

I fried them in a piece of glass tube from a neon sign, with the high voltage wires from the transformer poked into the opposing ends of the tube until it started to arc from wire to wire through the wasp. Stank. I'm neither proud nor ashamed. Today in my more boring older age I just grab whatever random inappropriate houshold or automotive chemical is handy that squirts or sprays. Wish I had thought of the freezer &…

Gotta be careful, hit them with WD40 and they might start moving faster!

Re: Wasp Blower

#93

Post by junon »

Whatever is being used for what I assume is AC mains voltage with heavy load amperage does NOT look cut out for the job. It's screaming fire hazard to my eyes.

Re: Wasp Blower

#94

Post by sellmesoap »

genuineresponse wrote: post #39

Wasps in a high traffic area are definitely bad, but if the nest is somewhere not too in the way I'd encourage folks to leave it be. Wasps are predators, and they eat a lot of the bugs that damage gardens. Yes, they are also assholes, do you have to strike a balance, but they can be really beneficial. Obviously, if you've got young kids around or the wasps are being aggressive, take care of the humans first, but unde…

I've watched wasps attack my honey bees, so I'm in camp no wasps, at least while I have hives on the go.

Re: Wasp Blower

#95

Post by cycomanic »

hocuspocus wrote: post #44
the_sleaze_ wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which hornets are threatened? The only hornets news I hear is that they're invasive and killing pollinators.

European hornets are protected in several European countries. The low population is also a reason we have too many wasps. That said even though they're not particularly aggressive, I don't know anyone who would just leave a nest on their property.

My parents had a hornets nest at different spots on the house several times in a row (they typically don't nest in the same place). Nobody was ever stung (and I've been visiting with my two small kids). Hornets are actually fascinating to watch, they would fly into the winter garden/glass house (where we typically had breakfast in summer), catch the insects who were stuck and flying along the windows/glass ceiling and just fly out again. Super smart.

As a side note, destroying hornets nests (and wasps possibly as well) is illegal in many European countries because they are protected.

Re: Wasp Blower

#96

Post by chandureddyvari »

chihuahua wrote: post #70
chandureddyvari wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slightly tangential but this was a learning moment for me. This reminds me of a story where Sage Mandavya established the first juvenile law in Hindu mythology. Long ago, there lived a great sage named Mandavya who had taken a vow of silence and spent his days in deep meditation. One day, while he sat motionless beneath a tree with his arms raised in penance, a group of thieves being pursued by the king’s soldiers fl…

Two thoughts: 1. If is were possible for an ordinary mortal to impose arbitrary curses on the god of death and justice, the world would quickly descend into utter chaos. 2. If children are completely free from accountability, adults will form them into an army and convince them to commit crimes on their behalf, leading to an intolerable situation. This may already be a standard way of doing business in some parts of…

> 1. If is were possible for an ordinary mortal to impose arbitrary curses on the god of death and justice, the world would quickly descend into utter chaos.

Mandavya is not just any mortal; he is an enlightened sage. In Hinduism, enlightened beings are considered superior to gods. There’s another story about Sage Markandeya (one of the nine immortals, the Chiranjeevis) who caused the death of Yama, the God of Death. In Hindu cosmology, all the gods hold honorary responsibilities, and nothing is permanent - not even the position of Brahma, the Creator

> 2. If children are completely free from accountability, adults will form them into an army and convince them to commit crimes on their behalf, leading to an intolerable situation. This may already be a standard way of doing business in some parts of the world

I believe he introduced a juvenile law, which involves reduced sentences or milder punishments rather than granting complete immunity from consequences.

Re: Wasp Blower

#97

Post by argomo »

jihadjihad wrote: post #68
genuineresponse wrote: post #39

Wasps in a high traffic area are definitely bad, but if the nest is somewhere not too in the way I'd encourage folks to leave it be. Wasps are predators, and they eat a lot of the bugs that damage gardens. Yes, they are also assholes, do you have to strike a balance, but they can be really beneficial. Obviously, if you've got young kids around or the wasps are being aggressive, take care of the humans first, but unde…

I’m fine with your garden variety paper wasp, along with its European counterpart [0] that is all over the US and closely resembles a yellow jacket, but the latter tucks its legs in flight while the former doesn’t, which makes distinguishing the two relatively easy. Paper wasps generally aren’t aggressive unless you’re in their business, and they’re easy to deal with if you have to. Yellow jackets are a different sto…

What's your method for eliminating underground nests?

Re: Wasp Blower

#99

Post by [deleted] »

chandureddyvari wrote: post #63
opwieurposiu wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When we were kids we used to catch wasps in a plastic cup, put them in the freezer until they were anesthetized, and then tie a little leash on them with sewing thread. Then you chase your friends around the neighborhood with your personal attack wasp. Good times.

Slightly tangential but this was a learning moment for me. This reminds me of a story where Sage Mandavya established the first juvenile law in Hindu mythology. Long ago, there lived a great sage named Mandavya who had taken a vow of silence and spent his days in deep meditation. One day, while he sat motionless beneath a tree with his arms raised in penance, a group of thieves being pursued by the king’s soldiers fl…

[deleted]

Re: Wasp Blower

#100

Post by YeGoblynQueenne »

We had a big hornet problem one year at my friend's place. Hornets made their nest outside the kitchen and would enter every time we opened the door and fly around the house. Big, fat hornets with a powerful sting that you really didn't want flying around you, or landing on chairs and tables.

Me and my friend's father tried to fight off the wasps by killing them. I crushed them with a fly swatter and the father sprayed them at close quarters with a bottle of Raid.

My friend would instead turn off the lights in the kitchen and turn on the ones nearer the door, then turn on the lights outside, so the wasps would naturally follow the light and find their way out.

Me and my friend's dad killed the wasps, my friend guided them to the light and got rid of them without murder.

Also, my friend was once stung by one of those wasps, while I never was. I don't know about the father.

I've often thought that if me and my friend were prehistoric people, I'd be like the stereotypical brutish primitive hominid going around bonking everything on the head with a bludgeon while my friend would like, figure out how to make leather out of animal hides or invent pottery or arithmetic or something.

P.S. Suffice it to say, I've never killed a hornet since, or any other insect on purpose. I only kill mosquitoes on purpose and that only after a long time that I tried not to.

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