Finally got a break and the complaints stopped from one building today and now the lady at the other one texting. She claims wasps have now built a nest directly above her front door and she's 'scared to death to use the apartment'.

Says she saw one 'crawling into a hole directly above the door' and she thinks if she closes it too hard they will swarm out and attack her. Come now.

Anyone run into this before?

It seems unlikely wasps would choose such a spot to build a nest. I replied almost automatically "How could I possibly have anticipated that" which of course angered her.

Uch.

I'm thinking wait till nighttime and then spray into the hole with wasp killer, and hope this month is worth the rent.

I guess I'll cover up and try it after dark when theyre supposed to be less active. So says Youtube.

Not sure how these people could live in a house on their own.

She has a stowaway boyfriend living the apartment too we're both ignoring.... a punk rocker tough guy with tattoos.

Why can't he be a man and confront the wasp, you wonder? Or is he just hiding inside too.

First thing is to identify the critter. If it's a hole made from boring then it's probably carpenter bees, those can cause significant wood damage fairly quickly. Yellow jackets and honey bees with both use naturally occurring holes to get inside the walls. All of them will swarm and sting if they get upset about someone close to the nest/hive.

if they are active in the evening they are European hornets and are a serious problem. aggressive w a very bad sting.

Yes, wasps love to build nests inside little cracks they find in the walls.

Go over with a $4 can of wasp and hornet spray and spray it into whatever crack they are flying in and out of. Look around to make sure there are no nests up under the eaves. Soak any nest you can find with the hornet spray (which used to be $4 so it is probably $8 now).

Do not buy an economy brand of hornet spray. You need the good stuff.

>>but really what do you need help w to address the bf? and BTW it's not his responsibility to man up. folks here are divided on whether exterior pests are yours or their problem. I'd say it's yours, is this a sfh? >>

No they are not carpenter bees and they are not hornets. Just simple paper wasps. Anyway I'm not buying all the doom and gloom, this spray is sold at Wal-Mart every drooling half wit from Minnesota to Arkansas is spraying wasps with the stuff and nobody's been killed yet.

No offense intended to our good friends in those states of course.

I asked her if her live-in boy is up to the task, otherwise I'll have to haul my butt across town at 5 am. Don't worry, landlord to the rescue. My lady and her either brave or cowardly live-in boyfriend will be well cared for.

Oh I didn't call him don't be offended. I said "Tall guy friend I've seen visiting and who parks in the back lot".

Why in the world does having dangly bits between yer legs make you more or less qualified to deal with wasps?

If its a single family home, you could tell HER to buy a can of wasp spray. If its a multifam ( given you go by duplexer....) then more likely its on you.

I'd spray them myself and move on. What's the big deal?

Takin' care of business.

Duplexer, this: "I replied almost automatically "How could I possibly have anticipated that" which of course angered her."

WHY do you bring these things on yourself? How can you reply automatically like that? STOP AND THINK before you text.

A couple of valid responses:

"Thank you for reporting this. I'm not a pest control expert so I will do some research and get this taken care of ASAP."

"Thank you for reporting this. We do not do pest control but can recommend ____________ (company) or ___________ (product.)"

I agree with WMH.

And if you spray, yes...smart to go at night...most wasp sprays will spray quite a distance...maybe 20'

Make sure to tell the tenant. My experience has been that when you spray, there will still be some activity for a few days after, but will dwindle to nothing in 2-3 days.

Mike,