Originally Posted by TouristTrap (Post 5047950)

A dab of white vinegar works a treat ;)

Originally Posted by Silly Sod (Post 5047951)

It defo wasn't one of them JG. IT was a monster yellowjacket. It was actually dive bombimg the car even after I fled into the house. I watched it while cowering in the kitchen. Also it wasn't a very good guard coz after arming myself with a large broom I swatted back to the stone age. Well, back to the 1970's, I then smashed back to the stone age as it tried to right itself for another attack. Actually, it was so big it may have been trying to mate with the car!!!

Originally Posted by TouristTrap (Post 5047950)

A dab of white vinegar works a treat ;)

Originally Posted by Silly Sod (Post 5047956)

How could I dab wine vinegar on it? It was long gone by the time her ass swelled up :)

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 5047964)

I had a huge wasp in the kitchen last year...about an inch or so long but it didn't have the yellow and black strips...more of a yellow and black pattern. I looked it up and it was a cicada wasp. It paralyses the cidada and takes it back to the nest for the larvae to eat while it is still alive...nice.

Originally Posted by Silly Sod (Post 5047974)

Exactly what this lad had in mind for me no doubt. Anyhoo, here is a pic that the wife bravely took of it on top of a beer can for scale. It was much bigger before the ants had a bit and, of course, before it got all curled up after death and a good brooming!!!

Originally Posted by AdobePinon (Post 5047977)

looks like some kind of hornet to me

Originally Posted by Silly Sod (Post 5047974)

Exactly what this lad had in mind for me no doubt. Anyhoo, here is a pic that the wife bravely took of it on top of a beer can for scale. It was much bigger before the ants had a bit and, of course, before it got all curled up after death and a good brooming!!!

Originally Posted by Silly Sod (Post 5047981)

It may have been horney but I wasn't hangng about to see. lol

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 5047986)

The pic was a bit blurry...but it could be a cicada wasp. They are huge...they have to be to carry the cicadas back to the nest. I always keep a can of wasp killer handy during the summer months.

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 5047986)

The pic was a bit blurry...but it could be a cicada wasp. They are huge...they have to be to carry the cicadas back to the nest. I always keep a can of wasp killer handy during the summer months.

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/killerwasps.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada_killer_wasp

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 5047941)

Sounds like a carpenter bee...I had a problem with them last year. The male guards the nest while the female bores through the wood. Don't worry the male may look threatening but it is harmless...it cannot sting. The male doesn't stray very far...so take a look around for a round hold about 3/4" dia in the woodwork...if will usually be facing downwards. The female will be in there laying eggs...the problem is the young will return each year and they can do a lot of damage to the woodwork.

They freak me out because the male flies right up to your face and hovers...glaring at you.

Was it like a large bee...fat or more like a large wasp...thinner?

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 5047986)

The pic was a bit blurry...but it could be a cicada wasp. They are huge...they have to be to carry the cicadas back to the nest. I always keep a can of wasp killer handy during the summer months.

http://www.whatsthatbug.com/killerwasps.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada_killer_wasp

Originally Posted by Adnams (Post 5048059)

Yep those carpenters come back and back and back. We had to have all the facia on our garage replaced to get rid of them. No amount of nasty chemicals got rid of them. And as for carpenter ants, well I never...........