Without knowing the specific variety it is difficult to be specific but in general most wasps are garden beneficials in that they prey on other garden pests - caterpillars and beetles primarily - and they do provide some pollination benefits with larger blooms like squash and okra.

Since you have already knocked down the nest then it's too late to worry about it now but for future reference I'd encourage you to leave them alone. The eggs that were already laid in that nest will die and likely they will run out of breeding/egg laying time before they can rebuild much of a nest.

Dave

This post was edited by digdirt on Mon, Jul 29, 13 at 18:44

The wasps were a little too close for comfort.
They were actually 1' away from the area I'm going to build a raised bed. Maybe my fear is irrational but I didn't want them dice bombing me or buzzing near my head while I work in the garden.

The nest they were building looked like small honeycombs and made of paper rather than mud.

I hope they build on my neighbors' house or fence and come do their beneficial duties in my garden then go away. Lol. Ideal world.

Paper wasps are nasty things. They will go after you if you do anything to disturb the nest or they even think that you will. Work in that area of the garden will become hazardous. I suggest a big can of wasp spray. Wait till evening when they are back in the nest, spray the heck out of it and run away.

I second newyorkrita. Wait until night, when all the wasps are in the nest. If you destroy the nest during the day, you are going to have extremely angry wasps buzzing around for a long time. Same with bees, yellowjackets, etc. You would not believe the grudge that these little guys can carry.

I never have trouble with ordinary paper wasps. Bald-face hornets, otoh, are aggressive and dangerous.

At least in the Pacific Northwest, paper wasps are pretty docile. But don't push them. My house painter nearly fell off the roof when they went after him. You really don't want to get any of these critters upset at you.

The paper wasps I leave alone all summer while they scavenge aphids off of my corn.

When weather gets cooler & the corn is gone, they get Raid Wasp `n Hornet killer.

Hate that for `em.

:)

I

I would leave them alone. I have never had any problems with any of the wasps like that. I have a big red wasp nest right by my garage door. Whenever I open it up they will fly off then come right back to the nest and not ever try to sting. I am almost allergic to them so I would have a good excuse to get rid of them if they bothered me at all.

Paper wasps are nasty things. They will go after you if you do anything to disturb the nest or they even think that you will. Work in that area of the garden will become hazardous.

Aww come on folks. Let's at least be reasonable. They don't run you down if they think you might bother their nest - they don't "think". And they are only hazardous to someone with a severe proven allergy to the sting.

These aren't killer bees swarms or a yellow jacket nest we are talking about.

Irrational fears are just that - irrational. Kill them if you must but at least recognize that you are doing it because of your unsubstantiated fears, not because they are some sort of thinking killing machine out to get you.

Dave

No they don't think. They just react. Brush against the nest or set the ground to vibrate and out of the nest they come looking for trouble.

I have dozens of paper wasp nests around my place, which I don't worry about. But one foot away from a garden is too close. I would get rid of it. It's not like wasps are an endangered species. The few stings I have gotten from bees and wasps were completely random. I didn't do anything to provoke them. So the risk is there. You might as well minimize it.

Last year I had a nest about 20 ft from my garden, they never bothered me, even when I ran my mower right beside them. Not sure what tribe they were, they never introduced themselves.

We've got a big nest of bald-faced hornets in one of the blueberry bushes. 3rd from end, 2nd row. I was dive-bombed last week before I saw I was picking "their" bush. Didn't get stung, I've been avoiding the vicinity but as soon as the leaves fall and I can get a good shot at the nest, I'm gearing up (I think a veil under my hat is a good idea, and a thick jacket and gloves) and arming myself with a can of wasp killer.

Just glad no one got stung this summer (and I'm probably pushing my luck continuing to pick in the patch, but it's a big patch). DH is allergic (and he was clearing there beginning of the season along with my dad), so was my grandfather. I've had some bad reactions, next one might be really bad. And the kids were picking there earlier this month too. Sometimes you just can't live and let live.

Personally, I can't imagine organic pest control without wasps.

Paper wasps are really good caterpillar hunters, so I tolerate their presence... and they tolerate mine. I actively encourage them, by leaving weathered wood (an old woodpile) near my garden. I also grow plants which attract them, such as yardlongs, cowpeas, and cleome. There are hundreds of them on patrol in my garden.This strategy has virtually eliminated caterpillars in my garden (except for the darned cabbage loopers). Mud daubers keep the spider population down, so there are not many webs in my garden either.

Paper wasps & mud daubers are docile by nature, so you would need to do something pretty threatening to get stung. They prefer, as others above have already noted, to "buzz" you as a warning. I've been stung only once by a paper wasp, and that was because it was on the backside of a yardlong bean I was picking, and I actually grabbed it. Even then, it just flew a couple feet away, and continued feeding.

Short-bodied wasps such as yellowjackets & hornets are another matter. They will sting unprovoked, especially if you are anywhere near their nest... and they will swarm in response to certain sounds or smells. Since my grandchildren frequently come over, I won't tolerate a nest anywhere near my house or garden.

Even the short-bodied wasps have their uses, though. When I grow peppers in isolation cages, aphid populations can explode in that protected environment. All I have to do to cure the problem is open up the cover. Within a day or two, yellowjackets will find the aphids, and it will be a feeding frenzy - and within a week, the aphids are gone.

NYrita, you're confusing wasps and yellowjackets. They have two very different sets of behaviors. Wasps will leave you alone unless you actively poke them or their nest. Even when you poke a nest accidentally, they will first buzz you to see if they can drive you off. Yellowjackets on the other hand, which are the ones that live in the ground, will come after you for being too near their nests with no other provocation. And they always come in a large group. They are worth fearing for their group attack.

We have paper wasps all over our porches and outbuildings and I leave them alone. And they leave me alone too. The only time anyone got stung was when the dog was young and kept chasing them under a bench where their nest was and snapping at them. And that's how the dog learned not to chase wasps. Anyway, you can't lump all bees, wasps, and hornets together. And they all have beneficial roles they play.

P.S. I realize I'm repeating some of what was posted above me, but it bears repeating. And I just read it after composing my post. :)

One of my greatest challenges as a parent was teaching my kids and now grandkids that you don't kill a bug just because it is a bug, or a spider just because it is a spider, or kill a snake just because it is a snake.

They all have a role to play in nature. And when in the garden you are in their home, not yours.

So instead you learn about which are the dangerous ones and when they are encountered you walk away if you can or you kill if you can't. The rest you leave alone and let nature take its course.

Dave

I agree with that Dave, but what about all the other bugs we ill like hornworms, SVB, etc?
How does your let nature take its course idea play out when those bugs are eating our crops?