HORNET/WASP REMOVAL TECHNIQUE —
I had a run in with a significant colony of wasps. It had taken up camp in a roll of carpeting awaiting installation. Due to their choice for a home, I couldn’t use a can of wasp spray.
I solved the problem by grabbing six shop vacuum tubes acquired from extinct systems to extend my shop vac’s reach. These often show up at garage sales, but a plastic pipe and some duct tape would accomplish the same thing. It could be used to increase the extension well beyond what your vac might otherwise be capable.
Once assembled, I set the intake by the nest entry. As you might guess, this annoyed the wasps, but they seemed to ignore me, as I stood approximately eighteen feet away, and focused on attacking the end. Of course, when they did, they disappeared down the tube. I left the tube running for about two hours and the problem went away.
A caveat though: Don’t open the vac for awhile. They will have had time to plot and scheme, unless you’ve also vacuumed up a partial can of wasp spray and allowed them to consider it for a while. Another caveat: Do not leave large colonies of expired wasps setting in your vacuum. You would be impressed at how much a decaying colony can reek after a few warm days.
I have used this method several times now and would use it to deal with the meanest of hives. It gets them coming and going.