A old truck I’ve been wanting to rehabilitate has a pile of leaves in the bed that appear to house some sort of wasps or bees. Initially the nest was out of sight beneath the leaves, but now there is a gray paper like structure above the leaves. If it is honey bees I plan to build a smokey fire and run them off and raked the leaves along with the small hive out onto the ground to force them to relocate. If it’s wasps they will face a chemical hazard. A little advice would be appreciated.

If their nest is paper they’re wasps. Wait until after dark and spray with wasp spray. I like the foam type.

I've used a Shop Vac the last few times I've discovered a nest on my property - works great. Just stick the nozzle where the opening is, turn it on, and go have a few beers. After an hour or so they're all dead or very sick in the Shop Vac.

MDS

I'd recommend figuring out what you're facing before finalizing your plan. If it's honeybees, you might find someone willing to remove them for free.

If it's 'killer' bees then I suspect you'll want/need professional help.

In any event, I wouldn't build a fire anywhere near a car I was going to rehab.

Sevin dust will kill both wasps and bees.
It creates a nice dust cloud that will linger in the air if it isn’t windy and you chunk a cup full at the intended target. Any wasps that fly thru the cloud will die. The dust that settles will kill any that return to the area. You will need several applications if you can’t see the nest directly.

Sevin dust smells like a dead squirrel so be prepared for a lingering smell if you use it. It’s my weapon of choice these days.

Bee hives are not paper like. They are the waxy hexagons you have seen in photos.

Sounds like you have wasps.

In our area, I would also be suspicious of a hornets' nest.

douse it with carb cleaner or similar, right at dark,

the rake it out of the bed later that evening

I use brake cleaner, it stops them in flight, muhahahaha!

I would recommend you begin the rehab at the front end.

They are probably bumble bees. I find them at times in the bottom of bluebird nests. They can have a nice sting.

I would just watch and see what comes out.

Through lack of other options I found out that WD-40 is a VERY effective wasp killer. And it will keep your truck bed rust free.

Good on you for desiring to identify before taking action. We need all the pollinators we can get.

Yellow jackets.

Malathion FTW!

Spray the nest at night - done.

Pitch a fogger in there like a grenade. Done deal.

Please have someone video it from a safe place.

For posterity reasons.

Are the bees coming and going with great regularity? Like, bee in, bee out, nonstop? If they are, and they’re black and yellow, they’re Yellowjackets.


If they don’t do much until they’re disturbed, and the nest has no outer paper layer, they’re paper wasps. They can be any number of colors, including black and yellow. When they fly, their back legs hang down noticeably.



If they’re black and white, they’re bald face hornets and should be very carefully dealt with. They make Yellowjackets seem like friendly Disney characters by comparison.


Can you snap a pic?

Their agitation indicates that they are not ready for any close up photos. They live in a paper house and since no honey bees will be harmed, higher headquarters has green lighted a CBR night attack.

We’ll need photos of the aftermath.