Organic Insecticides | Organic Pesticides | EcoSMART Bug Spray

Ground wasps got you jumping?

October 5th, 2009 Posted in Stinging Insects

This past summer, my dad was mowing the lawn when he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his leg. He had run over an underground wasp nest, and the wasps weren’t happy.

Ground wasps don’t usually attack or even come near people–but usually isn’t always.

This article will cover the basics, including:

• Types of ground wasps
• Nests
• Benefits
• Control

Types of ground wasps

Several species of wasps build nests underground.

Cicada Killer Wasps

These wasps, resembling large yellow jackets, are black with yellow markings. They average 2 inches long.

Despite their size, cicada wasps are inoffensive against humans; their stingers are used for hunting.

Scoliid Wasps

These wasps grow to about 5/8 inch long.

Their bodies, usually all black with a pair of yellow stripes on the abdomen, are fairly hairy. They also have black wings.

Scoliid wasps will usually be seen during the day, leaving the area in early evening.

Nests

Nests are built underground. The wasps prefer dry, sandy dirt to moist soil.

Ground wasps are usually individualistic, meaning they don’t build big hives with queens like bees.

From the outside, nests look like small mounds of dirt with a finger-sized hole leading into it.

A ground wasp will stock its nest with dead prey and give birth to several young, who will mature over winter in the nest.

Benefits

Wasps are naturally predators, feeding on common garden pests.

The cicada wasp feeds on cicada (the noisy bugs in trees), and the scoliid wasp feeds on parasitic grubs.

Burrowing done by the wasps doesn’t damage plants, and can even help in aerating soil.

Wasps will occasionally harvest nectar for young, assisting in pollinating plants like bees.

Control

Wasps may be beneficial to gardens, but you may still want to get rid of them.

Any control technique should be done at night, preferably after ten or eleven, when they are in their nests and asleep for the night. Use white plastic knives to mark the nests during the day so you can find them at night.

One home remedy includes a 50/50 mix of water and ammonia poured into the hole after dark. Leave knives in the ground and repeat with new nests.

Another recommendation is to put chemical powders or liquids on the soil around the nest, aggravate the nest with a hoe, and repeat as the wasps attempt to repair the damage.

Ground wasps are hard to deal with because of their non-social nature. A natural alternative to chemicals is EcoSMART’s wasp spray. The family-safe spray is plant-based to ensure an eco-friendly way to fight off your wasp problems.