Bees in Our Bonnet

BrianZ

We have bees in our bonnet, and not the metaphorical kind, unfortunately, but wasps..

Just after I thought I had all the potential nesting sites screened off, the wasps are now closely guarding the open side of our covered spare tire.  They can easily fly through the holes in the wheel and into a nice dry refuge.  Not a good situation for getting into the boxes.
Any tips for handling this situation?

I'm reluctant to use spray without being able to see the nest, so figured I should try to get the cover off first.  But the cover is quite snug fitting, so not sure that I could get it off quickly enough before they could get to me.  Could use a good robot right now, or wish I knew someone with a beekeeper's outfit.
Then I need to address how to prevent it.

VictoriaP

UGH. I hate wasps.

Prevention: Last year, based on a study I found, I started using a homemade spray that is a wasp repellent. 4 oz each of distilled water and white vinegar, a drop of dish soap, and and about 10 drops each of lemongrass and peppermint essential oils. Sprayed around my eaves, back deck and patio umbrella, which the wasps had started spending way too much time scouting. Had to be renewed every few days for a bit, then every week or so just to remind them. Worked amazingly well, they’d fly in and fly right off again, first year ever with no wasps’ nests on the eaves. (If 10 drops of each essential oil doesn’t repel them, you can up the amount.) It also makes a pretty decent glass cleaner.

Need to go mix up a fresh batch and treat the T@b, guess I’ll do that now!

Verna

Sorry @BrianZ, but I will watch from afar with my Epi Pens (yes, plural) in hand. 

My only advice is to wait until after dark thirty, way dark thirty, and have someone stand close by with a water hose as you remove the tire cover. Drop it on the ground or in an empty trash can and go back to bed. 

If ithey are still in the tire cover on the ground in the morning, wait until dark thirty again and flip the tire cover inside out. They do not like being out in the elements and they will not try that specific spot until you put a new tire cover back on. 

How to deter them? Try the recipe from @VictoriaP  or keep your commercial wasp spray on hand. 

Me? I just stand far away and watch😳

Luckyj

I would suggest that you drive north and wait at night to pull the cover.

up here, we should be getting an other night with temps below freezing.

this is last weekend at about 2000 ft elevation. But this is not a mountain pass.  

Like mentionned, wait for a cold night, but be ready, since the stay warm by the numbers.

have fun with your bees.  

N7SHG_Ham

You might try tenting the area with plastic or a blue tarp well after dark. Once covered use a bug bomb can, the aerosol ones you start and run away from. I once had a nest inside a cargo trailer, put one inside door, next day all gone (by that I mean all dead).

If you touch or disturb the tire cover they will defend the home.

I have had a few nests over the years on underside of trailers, so always good to check every couple weeks during season before they get a big nest going.

BrianZ

Thanks for all the great advice.  Much appreciated.

I had woken up at 3:30am thinking about how I was going to deal with the wasps, and another unpleasant job of going into the crawlspace under the house to do some maintenance on the A/C water drain tube.
So, to avoid a repeat, I decided to tackle these unpleasant jobs and get a good night's sleep tonight..

Watched the spare tire closely for a couple minutes in mid-afternoon & nothing was flying around, so quietly grabbed the top of the tire cover & quickly pulled it partway off, then ran into the garage to take cover.  Didn't see any wasps, so went again & pulled it off & to the ground & ran again.  Still no wasps, so inspected & saw a new small paper nest hanging from the top outside of the tire rim. Thought it was going to be mud wasps, but we have both around here.

Got a long pole & pushed it off, then sprayed it with wasp spray.  Also sprayed inside the mounting tube at center of the wheel & took the cover inside the garage for safekeeping until I find something to block the other side.
Immediate crisis resolved!  Just need to whip up a batch of that vinegar/oil recipe for prevention.

BrianZ

I remembered someone posted about using a sheet of plastic to cover the open side of their tongue-mounted spare.  So, I found the perfect sized round lid on a 32-gal Rubbermaid trash can at Home Depot..

I trimmed of the excess vertical edge of the lid so it would lay flat against the side of the tire (the outline of the edge can be seen under the cover).  I had to [re-]cut a hole below the center to accommodate the downward sloping mounting post.  Then I cut  vertically below that from hole to edge for slipping it over the post.  Came out better than I thought it would for looks & hopefully will keep the critters out.  Feels snug enough under our well-fitting cover that I don't anticipate any problems staying on during travel, but we haven't tested yet.
Also had to trim excess tabs on the underside of the lid so it would lay flat.

At first, I mistakenly cut the hole in the center, before realizing that it needed to be cut about 1.5 inches below center;  so had to patch the first hole with glue & re-cut.  It's also a bit oval shaped rather than round.  Of course, patching required a new game of "guess which kind of glue will work with this?".  I tried JB Weld, which didn't work at all without proper sanding & cleaning, but even then not the best.  PVC cement was a no-go as was plastic model cement.  Dupont E6000 worked great though.  This plastic has a rubbery feel to it, so I thought it might be tricky.  We'll see if it lasts.