For the past few years I have found wasp nests in a few of my shrubs. They are always small but the problem I'm having is trimming the bushes! I have no idea they are even there until it's too late. I have been stung many times.
After that my husband will come out and spray the nest with your typical wasp spray.
Is that what we should be doing or is there something we should be using on the shrubs to actually prevent the wasps from coming in the first place?
As wasps and their nests are in abundance and a very a common problem where I live and I'm actually allergic to wasp stings - I would very definitely agree with what
Zigs has already said regarding - making sure that you have both some antihistamines as well as some vinegar on hand - as both are extremely effective - but that said - only if you use them immediately after being stung - otherwise you are quite likely to have to go through the painful progress as the sting starts to swell.
However how to avoid being stung is a difficult one - especially as there is absolutely nothing that will stop wasps from making nests in trees, bushes or anywhere for that matter and to be honest the last thing you want to do is start spraying them if they are already in a shrub - as not only do you stand the chance of damaging your shrub but you increase your chances of being stung - as it generally makes them more aggressive .
To be honest the only thing that works - is to remove the wasp nest altogether - which depending on the type of wasp will either be at ground level or underneath the foliage of the upper branches - as so long as the nest remains in place - no amount of spraying will deter the wasps - as because you only get rid of a few that way and not the whole colony - they will carry on multiplying and making their nest bigger.
If its any help - what we do where I am - is check all the likely places that wasps may nest in the early spring when they are least active and remove as many as we can find - which is followed by being extremely vigilant with anything that we do in the garden throughout the summer months until they become less active in the fall - like for instance always checking plants from a distance before doing anything to them - by gently disturbing the foliage with something long handled and if we do find a nest - once we've located it - we remove it in the evening when the wasps are least active.
I appreciate that what I've said probably doesn't sound too encouraging - but after having had to deal with this garden problem on a regular basis for very many years - I can assure you that there is unfortunately no other solution - as removing the nests is the one and only way that this problem can be dealt with.
