Paper Wasps in water tank

So my daughter's house wasn't getting water today, so my ex went to check the tank and was attacked by paper wasps. Turns out the booster pump just lost its prime, but I'm not sure how to remove the wasps from the tank. It's a concrete tank with a standard wood pitched roof. The nest is  at the roof peak inside the access panel. What's the best course of action? I could knock it down into the water early morning and then fish it out later with a pool skimmer. How long should I wait to make sure the wasps are dead? How much of a problem is it if I can't get the nest out of the water?

Does the nest absolutely have to be removed? Paper wasps aren't particularly aggressive (in contrast to yellowjackets) so I generally leave them alone unless there is no alternative.

If the tank is a drinking water source, I would think it best practice to avoid adding foreign material. Insect larvae are meat.

For awkward locations, I have rigged up a shop vac with a long extension (plastic tube sold for built-in vaccuum systems). This lets me capture the adult wasps and get at the nest without being stung.

We definitely need to remove the nest. We need to be able to open the hatch to check water levels if we have a problem. And given that my ex got stung 5 times, I call that aggressive. They do protect their nests once larvae are being raised. The shop vac is a good idea, but we don't have power up there and it's too far for an extension cord.

Is the nest one of the ones with open comb or is it enclosed in a paper shell? I know lots of people call them both paper wasps, so I just thought I'd check.

My husband has a parts car that he uses to store his dirt biking gear in. The edges of the rear hatch get the open paper wasp nests in them and as long as he's slow to open the hatch they aren't disturbed. He stands right there getting his gear on and they don't bother him whether they have larvae or not. I think the key is slow movement.

I've moved paper wasp nests a few times. I just put on heavy gloves and a long sleeved jacket and did the whole thing really slowly. They get a little agitated when you touch their nest and might crawl on you. I just took it really slow and stopped to give them a chance to get used to things every time they got antsy.

If it's yellowjackets, that's another story. We did have a big nest under the eves one year that never got aggressive, but I think we got lucky with that one. I've also read that they recognize human faces and can get accustomed to certain people. New people will set them off. We don't get visitors, so maybe that helped, too.

sounds like it’s in a tricky spot. knocking it loose when it’s as cool as it will get and the wasps are lethargic is generally the ticket. maybe in this case something like a butterfly net could keep the wasps contained and could be used to bump the nest loose too.

we have lots of paper wasps that make nests in our tree guards at our young orchard, and they can definitely be defensive of their area (like when you need to move a guard) but will disperse pretty quickly if you can get the nest away from them and go swat at them a bit. i feed the nests to my chickens. they used to pick them apart looking for the grubs, but now they just tear them up and eat them, paper and all.

Without a few good pictures, it is difficult to fully understand the problem.  Can the nest be knocked into something like a 5 gallon bucket?  

A long handled fishing net (one of my favorite homestead tools) might be used to both dislodge and catch the nest.

If not, I would go back to Douglas’s suggestion and find a way to get electricity to the site .... such as an inverter attached to a tractor battery.

Sometimes if they are within reach, you can wait until night time and then just enclose the entire nest into a garbage bag and close the top above the top of the nest.  

To check tank level, install something that either floats or slides up and down to show water level from 20 feet away?

Or check levels first thing in the morning, when the wasps are less grumpy? I'm not dismissing the annoyance, I'm only pointing out that this is not a permanent problem. The change of seasons will solve it soon enough, and you will no doubt add screen to the holes that let them in.

Thanks for all your replies. They are open celled paper wasps. They are a huge problem here, maybe the behave differently elsewhere but they are nasty here and we have them everywhere. We are going to enclose all the eaves, it's just a big project. Won't help inside the tank, but everywhere else.

My ex and I managed to knocked down this hive early morning and caught it in a bucket that we quickly covered with a lid. We are currently working on this tank, the input pipe needs to be replaced because of corrosion, so we can't have the hive there.

Most insects I leave well enough alone, but the paper wasps and yellow jacket nests have to go.

Glad it worked out. I haven't dealt with that species. I agree that if they are aggressive and in the way, they have to go.

We have a lot of paper wasps, too, and as the summer goes on their attitude gets worse and worse.  Once I was avoiding a nest I knew existed, was 30 feet away, and saw one drop out of the bottom of the nest, come straight for me and got me in the arm.  So there is no co-habitating with them.   Another time I didn't know the nest existed and they got on me before I knew it, I was up on a ladder, went up my pants, about 10 on each leg....that was the era when I had a convertible with the top down and had nowhere nearby to run to get away from them.   They followed me for 200 feet.

If this is of any help, in planning for future years and paper wasps, the queens overwinter in little tucked-in places, like stacks of pots in the garden, a pile of tile or wood, a patio umbrella that was closed and leaning against a shed, inside electrical boxes, phone connection boxes, etc.  Am always on the lookout for queens all winter and in early spring.

I start looking for nests in the regular places in early spring (April in Northern Hemisphere).  They love southern-facing and west-facing underside of eaves (in the Northern Hemisphere), under solar panels, in tall, dense scrub brush, horizontal branches of trees.  Almost all nests are within 20 feet of a water supply, even if it is only a dripping hose or dripping faucet.  

They don't like something under the eave, like a chest-high, Rubbermaid kind of shed.  Makes sense, since a raccoon could get on its hind legs and tear down the nest.

The first worker wasp will be flying around chewing up wood, then getting water, then going straight back to the nest, so follow it with your eyes to at least get the direction, then start hunting for the nest...

Their favorite spot at our place is under south-facing eaves, they nested there every single year for 10 years.....until I painted the underside of the eaves sky blue.  It's been 4 years, and no paper wasp nests.  It's the color of the sky between late spring and early summer, it's a blue with a lot of gray in it where I am.  Weird but true....so far....

Any kind of Blue Jay will tear down a paper wasp nest, Scrub Jays, Stellar Jays, so encourage them to nest nearby with birdbaths that are well maintained that can't drown their babies, or other bird babies, pebbles in the deep parts.   The nests that go up over the pond on a horizontal willow branch are impossible for us to reach, but the Jays take them out easily.  I imagine there are other large birds that will also do this in other areas, so they are your best friends.

We also got rid of their favorite food, fennel.  I've watched them kill ground hornets and honeybees that try to go to the blooming fennel.  So nobody gets the fennel except for the paper wasps, which doesn't make it worth it for me.  Check to see which native plants they are on the most, and either thin them out or replace them with some other native plant.

On the upside, bee venom can be good for arthritis in some people.  I've been stung at least once a year, and so far no arthritis....but 10 stings in the backside as I'm running away, no thanks!!  :-)

Cristo - thank you for the advice. Some of it I knew, and we do, but others bits I didn't and will be useful. We plan to box in the eaves because it's also better fire protection, eaves are ember traps. We have a lot of jays, but obviously not enough to handle to wasps. Interesting about the fennel, the only fennel on the property is what I grow, and that's for the bulb, I don't let them flower. Non-bulbing fennel is considered an invasive here and I don't see a point in growing it over the bulbing kind. I know that it's actually an enlarged stem, but the call it bulbing.

My father who helps me with lots of projects is allergic to stings so I try to limit his risk.

Timing is the key when dealing with wasps. Ideally, NOT during a heatwave, rather when it is as cool as possible, and as dark as possible; a rainy/windy night is even better! They dislike low Temps, darkness or wet/windy weather and will hunker down inside.

That is when you bring out the many tools already mentioned (LOVE the shop vac hack and painting the underside sky blue!!); historically I have gone for the paper bag, onto a fire or into a bucket of water.

Back to the sky blue paint...I believe historically in a significant portion of the southern US the underside of veranda and porch roofs were painted a very specific light gray/blue color - perhaps this was NOT just fashion?

Anyone had success with the fake wasp nests? Do they actually work?

Lorinne - the fake wasp nests are actually hornet nests. It seems to be a common misunderstanding. Paper wasps have an open cell structure and will reuse nests. It's always important to know your species. On one of our porches, the eaves have been enclosed and that has solved that issue there. We also struggle with them inside of outdoor light fixtures, so we are moving towards ones that they can't enter. Although turning the lights on for an hour a  day also works. They don't like that.

I find it hard to believe she was “attacked”…. Was she actually stung?  I work around paper wasp nests all the time and they never bother me.  In this pic are two different species of wasps (one paper on left, not sure the right one but they build identical looking nests) and I was in and out of my shed all day and coming within a foot of them and they didn’t “attack”

I have a feeling that they behave differently in different areas, because around here if they are raising brood they will circle you, chase you and sting you if you get too near their hives. My ex doesn't move fast, he has issues with his legs and bad balance. He was stung 5 times. I might have been able to flee quick enough, he wasn't. They seem particularly aggressive this year, I suspect it's the heat.

Hi Stacy! I’m curious how long it took for the wasps to die in the water bucket? I have just done the same except they are in a big blue garbage can and I can’t see them! I can hear them tho. If I have a better idea of how long bay might last I will feel safer checking them out. Thanks!

Paula - Honesty I didn't keep track of that. I just left them there for a while. The water tank isn't really near my house, it's up the hill so there was no need for me to check on it. Sorry I couldn't help more.

Going back to the original issue, if the tank was sealed perfectly so the wasps cannot reenter and a beekeepers gadget that allows passage one way was used, the wsps could be excluded.
I have walked past some at my place for years, but once I was stung by one, they really hurt.

As for checking the level, I use a float and a aluminium stick which justs sits on the water surface and pokes through the roof.
I can see the water level if I can see the stock. When I put a ball on the top I can see it for 100's of metres now!

Personally, I adore paper wasps, they are so cool to watch. I have had them right outside my front door over the top of it and they never bothered me. The only time I ever got stung was when one fell out and I somehow smashed it in my hand when shutting the door. sure, they hurt, but not for too long. Outside of that. I share my dogs wading pool water with them, I will save them from drowning if they get too wet. they get frustrated when we get in the pool and will fly around us, but never sting, but they are thirsty as it has been over 100 every day in TX. I know a lot of people are scared of them, but I love them. now yellow jackets are different, I do not care much for having them around. they do not like to get a long with people.