# Wasps in a swarm box



## TALittle (May 7, 2016)

I got out this weekend to get my swarm boxes hung and get the hives baited. 

I ran into wasps in one of my baited hives. It was 6 or 7 of the big red wasps and they just seemed to be clustered in the corner of the hive. I ended up just leaving the hive open this week to discourage them from staying. (Top Bar Hive)

How often do you find wasps in your swarm boxes and how do you discourage them from setting up house in your swarm box?


----------



## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

No experience with those wasps to answer your question, but if you find a wasp queen, kill her. Some here have reported greatly reducing the wasp population (and therefore problems) by finding the queen and killing her early in spring. J


----------



## Richinbama (Jan 15, 2018)

If they are huddled in a spot, they are getting ready to build a nest. I'd mash them all. Mabye soap water would kill em like it would honey bees. Let it dry out, and put frames , top back on. And back in business. Other will have different , mabye better ideas.


----------



## Ferg (Aug 7, 2015)

Same here, every year at this time wasp in traps are a problem, I try to refresh on cool mornings, wasp do not fly much in the cool, hive tool and fly swatter, problem solved. By the way 1st swarm caught in a trap Saturday.


----------



## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

Wasps will not be your only nor most common problem, shoot one wet spring it was even tree frogs. Ants are the most common for me, short of physically evicting them and considering a different location I don't know of a preventative.


----------



## TALittle (May 7, 2016)

Eikel said:


> Ants are the most common for me, short of physically evicting them and considering a different location I don't know of a preventative.


I had problems with ants getting into my game cameras. I bought some of the amdro ant granules and sprinkled it around the tree the camera was on. The ants were gone in a week and never came back. Not sure how that would work with bee hives but it worked with cameras. lol


----------



## TALittle (May 7, 2016)

Ferg said:


> Same here, every year at this time wasp in traps are a problem, I try to refresh on cool mornings, wasp do not fly much in the cool, hive tool and fly swatter, problem solved. By the way 1st swarm caught in a trap Saturday.


Wow already got a swarm. I have my fingers crossed that I get 1 this year. I have 4 swarm boxes and two baited hives out right now. In a week or so Ill set up and bait the other two hives.

I was out weedeating the weeds around the hives last weekend when I opened the hive with the wasps in it. The weed eater has a brush hog blade on it and one of the wasps flew out about 10 feet then turned and came straight at me. I lifted the weed eater up and it flew right into it. Turned it fro a red wasp into a red cloud lol. 

Ill add a fly swatter to my pack to take with me. lol Thanks.


----------



## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

I find a propane torch to be pretty effective. Singe their wings and they can't attack. Dump them out and squash them.


----------



## Bdfarmer555 (Oct 7, 2015)

A small nest of wasps will not have a chance against a swarm of bees. I have found dead wasps in the bottom on more than one occasion. 

But they're still a pain to me.


----------

