Fear of a fast flying bug that can quite nicely kill you within minutes for no reason whatsoever is not irrational. It's prudent.

They are great against a few pests, but not all.

Caterpillars: yes
Aphids: no
Whiteflies: no
3-lined potato beetle: no
slugs: no
earwigs: no
Grasshoppers: no
Japanese beetles: no

The inability to control where they nest is a factor - the local desert wasps like to be in low dense shrubs, which makes trimming the bushes exciting.

Agree with the others. While they are pretty good at controlling caterpillars (it's fascinating watching them hunt cabbage worms), they can also be aggressive and potentially life threatening if they nest in the wrong area.

Edit: My above comment was about paper wasps and yellow jackets.

Rodney

If one considers wasps as a whole, then one might include the three very large families of minute parasitic wasps between 1/50th and 1/10th of an inch long. They are of course essentially invisible to us, but they parasitize (if this is a word) insect eggs and larvae, which is a huge hidden benefit. They use plants with very small flowers for nectar; some of the best are boneset, sweet alyssum, and Riddell's goldenrod, which no organic garden should be without. Regards, Peter.

I was just going to jump in with a good word for the gnat sized parasitoids, a group of hugely beneficial wasps. Parasitic organisms need their hosts alive....parasitoids kill their victims, needing them to be alive for only a short time.

They are the control for aphids, whitefly, and scale, as well as caterpillars, too.

Okay, if you are deathly allergic to their sting or if their nests turn into 3,000 strong I can see why it's not a great idea for some. Just wondering out loud since I see little in the way of official recommendations as an "organic" way to control pests. Four cinder blocks standing up situated around my garden give them a place to nest.

"Grasshoppers: no"? I watched a wasp carry off a 3"-4" grasshopper. Took multiple attempts but it carried it away somehow.

I agree that I still have to deal with 5% of what they don't prey on; however, they make it much easier and cheaper in the long run. Letting them nest versus killing them has given me a quantifiable return. #2 behind wasps/hornets are those little lizards; I have hundreds of them but they spend all day sunning themselves vs killing insects.

AJ, what is your agenda here? I am not sure from your posts what you are trying to contribute vs just questioning common sence logic. Why do you think a hornets nest close at hand is a good thing? They are nasty aggressive insects that really don't tolerate humans being around. Do us a favor and give us some background about yourself.

Dirtguy, excuse me but I don't believe that A J is obliged to explain his agenda at all, or that he even has an agenda. It appears that he's relating observations about wasps to an organic gardening forum, that's all.

That wasps are predatory is well known. Not all are aggressive nor particularly defensive. Their beneficial qualities have been discussed in this forum many times.

This would be a more understandable discussion if we knew more about what kind of wasps or hornets. Some are actually quite benign and affable.

A J, I'm happy that you've had success with your gardening ventures. I suspect that other good forces are at work besides the wasps that you've observed, though. You're doing something right, that's for sure.

I leave an open jar of water in the garden. It attracts wasps and helps them feel right at home in the garden. Not once has one acted aggressively. If a person has an allergy, then sure, they should be careful and carry an epi-pen, but wasps and bees of all stripes are welcome visitors to my garden!

I have been stung by a wasp this year, and my dogs get stung all the time.

I am ok with wasps in the garden, but I draw the line at letting them make shop in the house (the same goes for carpenter bees), which they frequently do.

I've got a huge bald faced hornet nest over the garage. Last year they picked a better spot, as this year they've made it interesting to come and go from the garage, but I've had two very low insect pressure years since they arrived. If I'd gotten rid of them we would have lost the queen -- and I'm hoping she'll choose a better spot next year. (they normally nest not far from their previous nest)

When I rattled them by closing the garage door they smacked me (as in, a few of them flew at me and hit me -- no stinging). So we left the door partway open the rest of the summer and I came and went with no problems.

My husband had a large swelling reaction to a mass of yellow jacket stings a few years ago, so he stays clear (even though the large swelling reaction almost never turns into a life threatening reaction the next time around) True, bees kill more people than sharks each year, but if someone is allergic they hopefully know that already and would call in the exterminators as soon as a nest was spotted.

@dirtguy50 No agenda. I'm only reporting quantifiable savings I have experienced. Organic sprays/dust aren't cheap. Saving $100+ a year adds up. I used to spray religiously every single nest I found next to zero "official" information about letting them live.

Hornets appear to be NE area and are actually part of wasp family. I rarely see that next type. Looks like I have paper and mud wasps.

Yellow jackets, carpenter bees, nests near home, etc I do still kill.

@rgreen48 I might have to make a bird bath. If I have to water by hand during very dry periods, the wasps come out just to get a drink from the spray.

AJ when I was researching bees/wasps/hornets and deciding what to do with our nest, I found some good discussions about them being beneficial for the garden, not bothering gardeners as long as they don't threaten the nest, etc. Mother earth news had a couple of articles, too.

I'm jealous you have paper wasps. I used to have them, but before I knew how beneficial they were I let a couple neighborhood kids spray their nests with the hose (while getting stung multiple times -- they're crazy kids) and the wasps never came back :(

Anyone ever come across the Cicada Killer wasps? I get them every summer. They almost look like massive(up to 2") yellow jackets, and typically burrow in the ground. Unfortunately I used to kill these things because they just looked frightening when flying around you :-(. I don't anymore.

The impressive part is watching them carry a large cicada and take them into the ground.

We have 4 large grape vines that attract wasps and yellow jackets when the grapes get ripe. I've been able to pick grapes for 6 years now without getting stung. They pollinate my plants. I see no need to kill them.