Reviewed by William "Willy" Vizcarrondo, NYS DEC Certified Commercial Pesticide Applicator C1825832. Updated September 23, 2026.
Short answer
Only if it's a small, open paper wasp nest you can reach from the ground, and only at night. Yellowjacket nests in the ground or in a wall, and bald-faced hornet nests, hold thousands of defensive wasps, and UC IPM's advice is that professional help is the easiest and safest option. Aerosol nest sprays work on small nests but carry real sting risk during application.
Small, open, exposed ones. UC IPM describes paper wasps as slender, inch-long wasps with long legs and a narrow waist that build open, umbrella-shaped nests with visible cells under eaves, railings and branches, and it notes paper wasp colonies run about 15 to 200 individuals and are relatively unaggressive, rarely stinging unless the nest is in a high-traffic spot. A nest the size of your palm under a soffit, hit with an aerosol labeled for wasp nests after dark, when the wasps are on it and sluggish, is a job most homeowners can do. Wear long sleeves, have a clear path to the door, and don't stand on a ladder to do it.
Anything enclosed or underground. Yellowjackets nest in ground burrows, wall cavities and enclosed paper nests with a single entrance, and UC IPM puts colony sizes at 1,500 to 15,000 individuals. They're highly defensive, ground nesters especially, and some species bite and sting at the same time. Bald-faced hornets build the gray football-shaped nests in trees and on the sides of houses and respond the same way. UC IPM's treatment guidance for these calls for protective clothing covering the entire body including a veil and gloves, treating at night when the wasps are home, and expecting to run into partially intoxicated, agitated wasps afterward. A wall-void nest has a second problem: spraying the entrance can drive the colony into the house through the drywall. Those are the jobs to hand off.
Do it at night, dressed for it, with an exit planned. Wasps are on the nest and slow after dark; use a flashlight with a red filter or set it down pointed away, since they'll fly at a light. Use a product labeled for wasp and hornet nests with a long-range spray, soak the nest, walk away, and leave it alone until the next evening. Don't seal a hole in a wall or the ground after treating it until you're sure the colony is dead. If anyone in the house has had a serious reaction to a sting, don't do any of this; it isn't worth it.
The nests we're called for in August and September are mostly yellowjackets in the ground under a shrub bed in Massapequa or Levittown, yellowjackets behind the siding of a Huntington colonial, and bald-faced hornet nests in a maple over a deck in Smithtown or Dix Hills. Those are the ones that send people to urgent care when they try the can from the hardware store. Bobby Bugs treats the nest, removes it where it's reachable, and the work carries a 6-month written guarantee.
Related
After dark. UC IPM's guidance is to treat at night when the wasps are present on the nest and least active. During the day half the colony is out foraging and comes home to a disturbed nest, and the ones on it are quick to defend.
Not a live one. Knocking down an active nest releases every wasp on it at once. Treat it first, wait a day for activity to stop, then remove it. An empty paper wasp nest in late fall, after hard frosts, can be knocked down safely because the colony is dead.
Call someone. Wasps going in and out of a gap in siding, a soffit or around a window frame are a colony in the wall void, and spraying the hole can push them into the living space. Never caulk the hole while they're active; the colony chews through the drywall looking for another way out.
Still not sure? Call (516) 509-6001 and we'll tell you what you're dealing with.