Today I discovered a wasp nest in my hay stack. I’d normally use wasp spray or a Hudson sprayed and soapy water, but I don’t want to contaminate my hay. Any great ideas on how to get rid of it?
You might check for wasp removal services. We have a local man who advertises free wasp removal, just call. He collects the wasps with a special vacuum, then freezes the wasps for shipping to a place that makes anti-venom from them. He was very nice to have come. Did warn us that he only caught the adults that day. Eggs would hatch in 10 to 14 days so we could call him again then.
Husband opened up that barn wall to find a LOT of eggs inside! Planning to remove things the next day. However a possum wandered by, found the nest and ate all the eggs!! Evidently wasp eggs are a big treat they love. Husband just cleaned out the nest paper, put new siding on and sealed the wall.
So an idea for removal could be to vacuum them up if there is no one collecting wasps locally. Make sure there is no exit on vacuum! You may still lose some hay in removing the nest itself, but better a couple bales than getting stung regularly!
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Thanks, that option is high on our list! 
I told DH I’d rather pay than deal with the consequences of a DIY gone wrong…
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There are poison-free wasp sprays that use peppermint oil.
I found one at Home Depot to use when yellow jackets built nests in the eaves above the big front sliding door of my barn. Door is 16’ high, so I needed one of the sprays that reach 20’.
I didn’t want to chance poison dripping onto the horses.
They cost more than the standard sprays, but worth it for peace of mind.
Thanks, I’ll have to take a look!
If you are not in a hurry, an insect growth regulator spray (IGR) would be safe around horses. It will not kill the adult wasps, but the larval growth will be arrested in the nest, and the adults will die off from natural causes.
It is the same idea as treating pastures with an IGR like Extinguish Professional to control fire ants, or with methoxyfenozide ((Intrepid 2F) to control army worms. There are no grazing restrictions after application.
a bee suit and a shovel.
I used high pressure water when yellowjackets built a nest in a sheet hanging on the stall door, but then you’d have to dry the hay out.
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Can you put a high powered fan on them? Bet they’d abandon the nest with that irritation present.
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My vote is to hire someone but I’ve also been told that you can fill a paper bag with wasp killer, slip it over the nest, and scrape the nest into the bag and tie the top of the bag. But have a garbage can ready to drop the bag into immediately because some wasps will sting through the bag. That still involves some pesticides around the hay, which I wouldn’t like.
But if there are no wasp allergies on your property, and you can work around it, I suggest leaving it. Wasps do play a beneficial role in the environment so I usually leave them and we rarely get stung. I do take them down in the shelter, because a stung horse can bolt dangerously.
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I would leave them if it were in a different location like the eaves. My SIL is allergic, so that’s a problem. For now she’s staying clear of the location. She doesn’t feed, so that’s no problem. But, the location is right in the middle of hay storage. I’ve been pulling down bales all around it and surprised I didn’t disturb them sooner… And I will soon have a new load of hay to put on top of the bales there, so I need to get rid of it.
My DH was watching a video of a guy using the bag method and at the end the guy said “that went well, only 4 stings” and my DH said “no way”. Also, the nest is kind of in a bale, so not possible to just slip the bag around it.
DH cleared out most of the surrounding bales yesterday and thinks he’ll probably just use pressure washer and soap. We will lose a few bales, but that seems the best option now.
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Whatever you do, do it at night. Bees/wasps don’t see well.
Fun day today
Still have wasp nest, DH cleared all the bales away so we could get at the nest without contaminating the rest of the pile. And then at 7:00 am my phone rings and my hay guy says he’s dropping off hay for me this morning… I have no place to put it and he needs the wagons back. And it’s 90 degrees and humid today…
So we moved things around, found some space and I think have it under control… I hope he doesn’t bring me a second load, even though I need it.
Sorry to go back in time, but I’m dealing with an army worm infestation of my lawn. I am looking for the least-harmful pesticide to get this under control this year (and next, as a preventative). I was looking up Intrepid 2F because you said there are no grazing restrictions - however, I’m seeing a 7 day wait period after application for harvest/consumption. Where are you seeing no grazing restriction?
Unless you are raising horses for slaughter and consumption there is no wait period for grazing. Animals raised for human consumption should not graze Intrepid 2F treated forage within 7 days of slaughter.
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Great, thanks. I wonder if they have any info for turf grass, instead of pasture.
I really hate spraying things with the dogs in the yard, but I lost probably 1/3 of my yard and it’s been a real treat to grow it back…
The great thing about IGRs is that they are not pesticides. You don’t have the instant gratification of seeing an insect writhe around and die of neurotoxin poisoning, but they are safe around mammals, unlike pesticides. With army worms, the IGR is eaten along with your grass, and the IGR stops the further growth and maturation of the army worm. It just basically stops muching on grass and then passes away from starvation.
As far as turf grass versus pasture grass, they can be the same. Turf grass is grown for ornamental reasons and is mowed for appearance. Pasture grass is grown for consumption or for harvesting, and is mowed for weed control. For example, my pasture grass is coastal bermuda, grown for the horses to forage, My turf grass yard around my house is also coastal bermuda, just kept shorter to give a uniform manicured look. When the coastal bermuda grows into the flower beds around the house, it ceases to be a turf grass, and becomes a weed.
While that’s true, I doubt that anyone is growing an elite kentucky bluegrass or TTTF for forage. I shot them an email to ask for suggestions, which I doubt they will give but it’s worth a shot anyways.
I still get nervous with chemicals around the pets. I don’t mind dropping a nuke of chemicals on the front yard, but the backyard where she plays gives me pause. My SO had a very young dog get lymphoma, which he attributed to his lawn chemicals. While it’s unlikely that was the sole cause, it doesn’t hurt to be careful.
I’m so grateful I flipped through this thread and found your post on what (i hope!) is a safer alternative - the beneficial nematodes have done jack squat to help the predicament. Thank you!
Now, if only I could find something that kills their eggs, which they lay profusely on my privacy fence…
Good luck.
Since this thread resurfaced I thought I’d give our update.
Nest in haystack is gone. We moved all the hay we could and DH went out at night in full cover and sprayed with soapy water. It took about three nights of this activity to get the whole nest. I sprayed the area with peppermint oil. Hay is now replaced and no wasps so far.
But there is a second chapter to the story. One of my boarders came in for food a few weeks ago. She could hardly walk, so I panicked about laminitis or serious injury. Felt her feet and they were fine, but then I looked at her chest and saw huge swelling between her legs. Had another swelling on her side. She’d been stung by something and the swelling was such that it was painful for her to move. So we treated her and went searching for a nest in the pasture.
Actually found a yellow jacket nest near the treeline where the horses like to graze. My DH and I walked the pasture. I could hear it when we got close. So under cover of night again, DH went out with sprayer of soap water and stuck a hose down the hole. Repeated the next day and now they are gone too.
I would have left them if they were up in the woods or other place on the property, but they were in the middle of a prime grazing area. I did fence the horses out for now, but will let them back soon.
I have been hearing that this season has been really bad for aggressive wasps. Not sure if the drought played a role or what happened, but lots of people with issues this year.
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What about just plain lime? It would help your soil and is supposed to be good for drying out wet areas, would it dry out the worms? Or spray a pasture pro type product and it would kill the worms? Idk just guessing on ideas lol.
