I have wasps/yellow jackets in my plants

M

Mustangfreak

just like the title says, I have a bunch of wasps/yellow jackets in our large Habanero and Devil's tongue plants and I want to get rid of them ASAP. Usually I'll kill wasps with a water/dish soap combination, but I don't know if thats safe for the plants to have sprayed onto them.  I've set up a passive wasp trap, its caught 5-6 over the weekend, but its not working fast enough and I'm working on improving the bait recipe. 
 
In the mean time, can I just spray the wasps while on the plant with my water/dish soap combo?
 
Thanks. 
 
Are they just pollinating or have they built a nest in your plans? If the former, why not just let them help you get more pods?

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let them bee, if the nest is close to were you are then thats different. The Black antenna ones are the aggressive ones that you have to watch out for, the others I dont pay attention to and leave them alone.
 
hogleg said:
Bet ya dont have any caterpillar problems. Those predators are probably keeping the bad bugs in check. 
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Thank you for this. I just saw a bunch of wasps in my Tobasco and was wondering what was going on. We definitely have a caterpillar issue this year and I was wondering if the wasps were after them. I shall welcome our stingy overlords.
 
An orchardist friend used to be anti-wasp until he observed them pollinating the heck out of his pears and apples.  I can't remember if that included yellow jackets...which I am totally anti- as one took a chunk out of my leg about 2 weeks ago and it still isn't healed. 
 
I have found that bathing with lavender soap helps keep the black-n-yellow things away and also mosquitoes. 
 
Also using DEET sprays helps.  I know ...DEET usage is controversial, but desperate times sometimes require harsh measures when I'm out on a job and gotta get schtuff done. 
 
 
Bald-faced hornets.....BAAAADDD SHITE!  Mean, take a chunk out of a limb as big as a pea.
 
I'll be honest guys, I'm too afraid to harvest my peppers because of these jerks I don't like getting stung, and I'd rather them not be there. I know they pollinate the plants (not as efficiently as bees though, which I would GLADLY welcome), but they haven't been here long and our peppers have been bountiful before they crashed the party. 
 
I have a strong hatred for these pests, and want them gone. I have not noticed any caterpillars in our beds, only tiny ants and what I think are sting bugs. 
 
 
 
Hang out some yj traps and work in the garden in the early morning if you can, when it is cooler and they are less active.
 
Edit- double post
 
Mustangfreak said:
I'll be honest guys, I'm too afraid to harvest my peppers because of these jerks I don't like getting stung, and I'd rather them not be there. I know they pollinate the plants (not as efficiently as bees though, which I would GLADLY welcome), but they haven't been here long and our peppers have been bountiful before they crashed the party. 
 
I have a strong hatred for these pests, and want them gone. I have not noticed any caterpillars in our beds, only tiny ants and what I think are sting bugs. 
 
 
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there isn't anything specific that kills wasps without preserving beneficial insects. so...suck it up and be careful. maybe put some wasp traps near your plants? its irrational and over-reactive fears that leads consumers to dump pesticides around their houses and in their gardens. not to mention individual consumers tend to not follow label directions. imagine all of your neighbors are spraying their lawns and gardens... combined that equals a lot of pollution and off target effects. these pesticides wash into rivers and streams and do significant damage to the small organism food webs in rivers, streams, lakes, estuaries. all so someone can keep their precious lawns or roses alive the lazy way. so please try to take the least harmful path and if you've decided to spray realize that you are spraying your FOOD prior to harvest which I don't think is ever recommended. pyrethrins are going to be less harmful and persistent than something like bayer 3 in 1 but they still require radiation from the sunlight over days to weeks to break down.
 
thefish said:
 
there isn't anything specific that kills wasps without preserving beneficial insects. so...suck it up and be careful. maybe put some wasp traps near your plants? its irrational and over-reactive fears that leads consumers to dump pesticides around their houses and in their gardens. not to mention individual consumers tend to not follow label directions. imagine all of your neighbors are spraying their lawns and gardens... combined that equals a lot of pollution and off target effects. these pesticides wash into rivers and streams and do significant damage to the small organism food webs in rivers, streams, lakes, estuaries. all so someone can keep their precious lawns or roses alive the lazy way. so please try to take the least harmful path and if you've decided to spray realize that you are spraying your FOOD prior to harvest which I don't think is ever recommended. pyrethrins are going to be less harmful and persistent than something like bayer 3 in 1 but they still require radiation from the sunlight over days to weeks to break down.
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My wasp killer spray is just water and dawn dish soap.
 
If I really need to kill a wasp, because it broke the covenant, then it's usually either an inverted can of compressed air, or any aerosol plus a lighter.
 
But I do not molest any wildlife in my garden, provided the either provide a benefit, or at the minimum, do no harm to the garden.
 
I've had wasps on my plants lately too… At first I was like, what the heck do these guys want, then upon closer inspection I saw that they were only hanging around 2-3 plants specifically, and that they were actually feeding on aphids! I really dislike wasps, generally speaking, but in this case I'm trying to let them be and steer clear of them while I'm out tending to the peppers. I decided that as long as they don't have a nest in one of my plants, then they can go about their business. 
 
Dalia said:
then they can go about their business.
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`
Scene: Barren ridge overlooking desert valley. Luke's speeder hovering off to side, Obi-Wan Kenobi lectures Luke, R2D2 and C3PO.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Hot Pepper Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

Fade to entering the forum via the Web....

Storm Trooper: How long have you had these droids?
Luke Skywalker: About three or four seasons.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: They're up for sale if you want them.
Storm Trooper: Let me see you're identification.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: You don't need to see his identification.
Storm Trooper: We don’t need to see his identification.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: These aren't the droids your looking for.
Storm Trooper: These aren't the droids we’re looking for.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: He can go about his business.
Storm Trooper: You can go about your business.
Obi-Wan Kenobi: Move along.
Storm Trooper: Move along! Move along!
`
 
Show fear and they go after you because they can sense that they'd get by with it. I used to run from wasps and other stinging insects.
 
Now I have children and refuse to back down from a wasp. If one flies in front of you, smack that fuck out of the air and stomp on it. Go to the Walmart home & garden department and get an electric fly swatter. When you get a wasp, hold it down and hold the button down. It'll start smoking and cooking. This is satisfying. To hell with those little bastards. It'll have a semi-seizure and go in crazy circles after you shock it enough. Stomp that bitch.
 
Bees are important to the world. If it was possible, I would rape a wasp with a hot curling iron. Fuck 'em.
 
Ghaleon said:
If one flies in front of you, smack that f**k out of the air and stomp on it. Go to the Walmart home & garden department and get an electric fly swatter. When you get a wasp, hold it down and hold the button down. It'll start smoking and cooking. This is satisfying. To hell with those little bastards. It'll have a semi-seizure and go in crazy circles after you shock it enough. Stomp that bitch.
 
Bees are important to the world. If it was possible, I would rape a wasp with a hot curling iron. f**k 'em.
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You're going to have to call the doc, and tell him that he hasn't quite found the right balance between catatonic and "unleashed".   :eek:
 
Muckyai said:
Are your wasps aggressive? I've got a bunch out in my garden and these guys are efficient terminators of garden evil doers. They buzz all around doing their thing but never menace me.
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Same here. Mine never bother me even with a nest near the patio plants. Ground bees and some other types are a whole other story. Ive seen hornets that were super aggressive and some ground bees/hornets are brutal if disturbed. Wasps pretty much leave me alone unless you mess with the nest. Very few seem aggressive.
 
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