Are you terrified to find a large wasp sitting idly on a tree in your lawn or garden? Well, here’s how to get rid of ichneumon wasps and, more importantly, whether there is anything to be terrified of or not.
Finding a wasp in your garden or yard can be terrifying, especially if you have pets or children at home. But if you have ever seen the black giant ichneumon wasp, you would know that terror has a new name.
That’s unfortunate because these wasps are actually nothing but beneficial to us and will probably never cause any damage to you or your family.
However, if you would still prefer to get rid of it from your property, read on.
What Are They?
Ichneumon wasps are a species of parasitic wasps that live all across the north and central North America in places that have lots of trees.
Their most conspicuous feature is the huge ovipositors on the head of the female, which most people assume to be stingers.
These appendages can be as long as five inches, much more than the rest of the body of the wasp (which is normally about a couple of inches in length (around 1.5 inches).
These ovipositors do have another, more insidious purpose. They help to place the eggs of these wasps into other insects, like caterpillars or grubs.
Ichneumon wasps simply use the other host insects to lay their eggs, and when the eggs hatch, the larvae feed off the other insect, pupate and then come out as adult wasps.
Since they don’t lay eggs in a nest of their own, these wasps have no need to be social. They don’t come together to terrorize humans like bees or hornets.
You will usually find each of them flitting around separately with no other of their species in sight.
Where Do They Come From?
Female wasps lay their eggs in the body of other insects, so if you find grubs or caterpillars in your garden, get ready to hose these ichneumon wasps too.
While their natural habitats are forests and trees, in recent years, due to deforestation, these bugs have started making a home near human settlements as well.
The ichneumon larvae take the entire winter to feed off these poor creatures, and in the spring and summer, they come out as adults, lay more eggs, and then die.
Do You Need To Get Rid of Them?
So we know now that these bugs help finish off other pests, which begs the question: do you need to get rid of them at all? Let’s figure it out.
Do They Sting or Bite?
Rarely do ichneumon wasps attack humans. Most actually don’t have stingers, so they can’t sting or bite. They can be intimidating to look at, but they are mostly afraid of humans and will flutter away if they see them coming.
Very few ichneumon wasps have stingers, which, if you try to harm them, they might want to use. But in general, they don’t relish the idea of fighting creatures 20 times their size.
Female ichneumons are often mistaken to have stingers because of their large ovipositors, but these appendages are totally harmless.
Are They Poisonous or Venomous?
No, none of these wasps are poisonous or venomous. Even the few that can sting will not cause much more than a painful rash. You might need to put on some aloe or an ice pack to make the pain subside for a bit.
Are They Harmful To Humans in any Way?
No, they are harmless. In fact, their parasitic nature is actually quite beneficial to humans, especially gardeners and those with plants around.
They are often prey to larger bugs like praying mantises, and their larvae are also prey to ants, spiders, and other insects.
How Are Ichneumon Wasps Helpful to Us?
These beneficial wasps have much to offer gardeners and plant lovers. Some of these benefits include:
They feed off other insects: Ichneumon wasps eat many powerful pests of plants, such as boll weevils, wood borers, and hornworms. They can also sometimes feed on spiders.
They lay their eggs in other insects: Typically, the ichneumon wasp will choose a caterpillar or a grub to place her eggs. These eggs hatch to form wasp larvae, which then eat the pest from inside out, leaving nothing but a shell.
They pollinate your plants: Many ichneumon wasps are also good pollinators who would spread pollen to other parts of your garden, helping plants grow.
What To Do If You Want To Control Them?
Despite the long prologue we have made in getting to this part, if you still feel that you need to get rid of ichneumon wasps, here is what you should do.
These wasps lay their eggs on grubs, worms, caterpillars, and other such insects. By using regular treatment in your garden, you can eliminate the population of such bugs.
If you get rid of these insects, ichneumons won’t have any place to put their eggs, and they will have to move out of your garden.
Natural insecticides like neem oil, diatomaceous earth, vinegar, or soapy water will often do the trick.
If you want to spray the wasps directly with insecticides, the best time to do so is in the evening or night, when they are less active.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get rid of parasitic wasps?
There is actually no need to get rid of them. However, if you want to get it done, you need to control the pest population in your garden first.
Once the pests are gone, the wasps will surely also be gone very quickly. If there are only one or two wasps in your garden, swatting them with a heavy object would also work!
Do ichneumon wasps have nests?
No, they don’t have any nests. Ichneumon wasps lay their eggs directly on insects like caterpillars, mealworms, earthworms, grubs, etc.
Since they don’t need a place to lay their eggs, they never bother to make them. They aren’t social either, because of the same reason.
Can ichneumon wasps sting you?
Most ichneumon wasps don’t have stingers. The female ones have long ovipositors, which they use to lay their eggs but have nothing to do with stinging.
For the few that have stingers, they are mostly harmless and will not approach humans unless the human tries to attack them for some reason.
Are ichneumon wasps beneficial?
They are one of the most beneficial insects to have in your garden. They are able to control the population of most pests quickly, efficiently, and without needing to spend time or money on using chemical insecticides. They keep you safe from insecticides as well.
Wrap Up
There is really no reason for you to try and get rid of ichneumon wasps. These bugs are a powerhouse of pest killing and do the job that most other insecticides cannot do easily.
They will take care of grubs, worms, and other plant-eating insects in a few days’ time. But if you still want to get rid of them, just remove the pests from your garden with some effective pesticides! Thank you for reading.
69 Comments. Leave new
Hello,
I have an issue that I hope you can help me with. I have a large maple tree (seemingly healthy) that is being visited by the Ichneumon Wasp. There are many holes in the base of the trunk (about two – three feet from the base) which is the apparently the result of the adult cutting a circular exit hole when it leaves the tree. The information I[‘ve found indicates that the Ichneumon Wasp is not considered a serious pest since attacks are limited to trees or individual limbs that are in serious decline or very recently dead. Again, my tree does not show any obvious signs of disease nor does is show any signs of dying.
My questions are:
(1) Once the larvae become full grown what type of damage do they do once they exit the trunk and how can I prevent it?
(2) What type of damage have they caused inside the trunk of the tree and is this repairable?
I don’t want to loose this tree so am hoping that you can help. Thank you.
hi Lisa,
The Giant Ichneumon is a parasitic predator. The larvae parasitize wood boring insects like the Pigeon Horntail. The Giant Ichneumon is not a problem, but its presence is symptomatic of another potentially harmful insect boring in the wood.
The only other insect that I have seen on the tree looks like a potato bug (sow bug). I[‘ve read that they are not a serious threat either as they do not damage the wood. Could this be what the Ichneumon Wasp is feeding on?
We found some of these in our yard too. They seem to be about 20 of them flying around our garden. They show up in the morning and are active until just before dusk.
They are not aggressive at all.
Any information on habitat or nesting that you could share? Do they live in a colony that I could exterminate? Just curious. I’ll probably just leave them be since they aren’t aggressive. I do worry some though since we have a four year old. Don’t want her to get stung.
Saw something similar at Fay Bainbridge State Park. Abdomen a little thicker and near small holes/ burrows in sand. Look more like Great Golden Sand Digger.
I had several holes appear in my gravel/sand area in front of my back patio, I thought it was garden snake but today I saw this pretty big orange wasp go into one of the holes its about an inch in size mybe a little bigger I read all the other comments on this web page seems like the same wasp, I live in granite falls wa.
Hi all. We have these in NE WA state as well. I live near Kettle Falls, about 45 miles south of the border. They are quite large! They seem to love my spearmint and I only see them around that. Not as aggressive as the yellow jackets, but they are a little aggressive. What about their sting power? As bad as yellow jackets? Worse?
To the best of our knowledge, these Ichneumons do not sting.
Nifty!
This looks a lot like the bug I saw last year in Germany (about this time of year also), which was posted here on the site as well. Apparently mine was male since there is no ovipositor.
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2012/11/11/two-unidentified-wasps-from-germany/
Ironically, I’m currently in England now too (and been to Yorkshire). :~)
Nifty!
This looks a lot like the bug I saw last year in Germany (about this time of year also), which was posted here on the site as well. Apparently mine was male since there is no ovipositor.
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2012/11/11/two-unidentified-wasps-from-germany/
Ironically, I’m currently in England now too (and been to Yorkshire). :~)
We will go back to your initial posting and classify it more specifically in the Ichneumon category.
This is more likely a headless Ichneumon wasp. Check the wing venation, that stigma should be a tipoff.
Thanks for the correction.
hi my brother and I live in silver furs near mill creek. something bit his leg multiple times and he couldnt figure out what it was. in the truck just now it did it again and he pulled one of these out of his pants. painfull swelling. are these new to the area? can send a pic of it
I have these as well. Flying low to the ground. They seem to be concentrated near some of my box wood bushes along the fence. I should also mention that I live in Mill Creek as well. Don’t seem to mind me, or my 2 dogs. But I am interested in getting rid of them. Has anyone tried a wasp spray? Or should I call an exterminator to come spray their area? They are completely un-interested in wasp or yellow jacket traps…
We do not provide extermination advice.
My 2 year old son just tried to pick up one of the red ones from our dining room window, he’s always picking up crane flies, only it stung him and he screamed bloody murder for about 5 min. it immediately turned into what looked like a white blister with a dot in the middle then after several minutes later turned red. we live in port Angeles, Washington.
Thanks for letting us know that there are some species of Ichneumon that are capable of stinging. Most are harmless.
The photos Stephen posted in 2008 are great. We have the same wasps in our front yard in Lacey, WA. I’d never seen them before and was happy to find out what they are via whatsthatbug.com. Thank you. I don’t know how to post a pic on here or I would share my wasps with you.
You can submit images using the Ask What’s That Bug? link on our site. Please put “Pacific Northwest Ichneumon” in the subject line to get our attention.
Probably a Cryptinae (of Ichneumonidae)
maybe Xanthocryptus novozealandicus
http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/science/plants-animals-fungi/animals/invertebrates/systematics/hymenoptera/ichneumonidae/factsheets/xanthocryptus
Thank you so much for the identification and the link you provided.
Probably a Cryptinae (of Ichneumonidae)
maybe Xanthocryptus novozealandicus
http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/science/plants-animals-fungi/animals/invertebrates/systematics/hymenoptera/ichneumonidae/factsheets/xanthocryptus
I’ve never seen this insect before, it looks kind of beautiful
i have these all over in my yard in seatac, wa. just sprayed one in my windowsill if you want it i can mail it. doesn’t look to have a stinger and don’t seem to mind us. they have been around for a couple years and i would like to control them a bit.
Jamie, I live in Renton, WA and I’ve been seeing these guys parade my front and back yard since last summer. I would like to control them too, but I have no idea where the nest is. I thought it could have been underground, so I had Scott’s Lawn service come and spray the grass with insecticides, yet it did not affect them at all. I do notice they parade a plant bush that I have, so maybe they are feeding off of that. I caught one and took a picture of it, so I will submit it. Did you find any way to get rid of them yet?
I have several of these wasps in a plastic bag because I was trying to figure out what they were.
Puyallup, Wa
What’s That Bug actually answered my question in another post! They are called Ichneumon Wasps and they feed off of parasites in your lawn. I’ve noticed that I had lots of crane fly larvae in the grass, so ever since I went and sprayed insecticides all over my lawn, they’ve disappeared. Hope this helps!
Renton, WA
I have several of these wasps in a plastic bag because I was trying to figure out what they were.
Puyallup, Wa
What’s That Bug actually answered my question in another post! They are called Ichneumon Wasps and they feed off of parasites in your lawn. I’ve noticed that I had lots of crane fly larvae in the grass, so ever since I went and sprayed insecticides all over my lawn, they’ve disappeared. Hope this helps!
Renton, WA
What’s That Bug actually answered my question in another post! They are called Ichneumon Wasps and they feed off of parasites in your lawn. I’ve noticed that I had lots of crane fly larvae in the grass, so ever since I went and sprayed insecticides all over my lawn, they’ve disappeared. Hope this helps!
I came home to this ‘visitor’ on a tea cup I left on my counter. I should mention I live in MD and right now it’s a bit cold. All the insects are hibernating. Why is this thing out and about?
Probably because your house is warmer than the outdoors.
Watch out they sting. Just found out.
Are they poisonous I have seen one around my house on a dead tree in the backyard
They are not poisonous.
Last night I had one repeatedly bang into the window, I think because of the bathroom light. It scared the you know what out of me no pun intended .
Anyway it seemed very aggressive. Filmed it but wasn’t the best video due to the reflection of me off of the window.
Last night I had one repeatedly bang into the window, I think because of the bathroom light. It scared the you know what out of me no pun intended .
Anyway it seemed very aggressive. Filmed it but wasn’t the best video due to the reflection of me off of the window.
I think that I just found 4 Black Swallowtail caterpillars in what appears to be their late instar phase. I have been fairly successful at raising Monarchs and am going to try to do the same for these 4 caterpillars. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I’ve never seen a bug with these pretty wings
I just had two of these some how get up my pajama pants leg. I was picking things up in the backyard here in Mobile, AL prepare if for tomorrow tropical weather when I felt something like a Nurae who is not that great at putting IV’s in, jab into my shin. It hurt badly! I wasn’t sure if maybe it was and enourmas horse fly or fire ant or what! I slapped my shin real good thinking that should get it! Then it jabbed again!! I LITERALLY stripped out of my pajama pants right there in my back yard(the neighbors can easily see over our privacy fence) . I didn’t see anything at first so I began shaking my pants and 2 if these little buggers fell out of my pants. At first I thought it was a spider because all I saw was legs then I notice wings and though, “is that a may fly or a crane fly? Surely neither of those would have bit me.” So I got a little closer, now let me add that in the midst of I taken off my pants I also used my pants to smush the two bugs just hard enough so that I broke their little wings and just light enough so that theur bodies stayed intact enough for me to study them and figure out what had just jabbed my shin! . Where was I, oh yeah, so I got a little closer and notice that the bugs head was seperate from its thorax like a wasp. I came across the giant stump stabbed wasp, and some others but the color scheme of the bug didn’t match. Then I found this site, and this unidentified Ichneumon! This is what I had TWO of up my pants! Exactly like this! Let me just say that I am a chronically ill patient who has endure a LOT OF PAIN, and I considered my pain tolerance to be quite high, but these two little boogies HURT! Does anyone know if I should be concerned about this bite or sting or whatever??
Hi Lindsey – I know exactly what you mean! Did you have any issues after the sting? I got stun in the butt and the red mark and swelling almost covered my entire butt cheek! Days after the redness and swelling is gone but I swear there is a “tickling” feeling – mainly at night in this area. I am hoping it is just the healing . Any knowledge of humans being a host ?
really very beautiful bug . lovely wings.
Do these by chance grow into this color scheme? do they start off black? I have had these show up in my front yard for the past two years but they only stick around for a few weeks then leave for the rest of the year. I have had them return in the spring but I have black little ones first which leave after a week then these show up about a month later for a couple weeks. Just trying to figure out what they are and if I need to worry about them since I need to walk through them to get to my car every morning. Thanks.
There are 1000s of species of Ichenumons that share many visual similarities.
I just found one in my kitchen (Coleraine, Northern Ireland). Glad to hear that’s a ovipositor and not a sting!
I;ve just found one in my kitchen ! Bognor Regis, England,
I have just let one out of my window in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Have never seen anything like it before!!!
Just had one inside, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
I’ve just released one from my kitchen, Clophill, Bedfordshire. Had to google it as I’ve never seen, or heard of one before.
i am totally agree with the author .
Saw one this morning in the pine woods. Had to Google it. Amazing looking insect. Says it’s common but I’ve never seen one before.
I am very disheartened by a lot of the posters stating that they were not bothered by these, but then they sprayed insecticide all over the place. Please remember that when you spray insecticide, you are not just killing that one bug that might be bothering you, you are killing almost all species of bugs, many of which are pollinators of our food and flowering plants or feed on other, bad bugs. If it isn’t bothering you, please, just walk away and let it do what it does. Especially since it seems like this species doesn’t sting. Thank you!
Yeah, I was disheartened by those responses too.
Saw one this morning in my backyard Manchester. It was flying close to the wall and where there was a tiny hole in the bricks or a minute white dot it went to it. I have never seen one before and watched it for ages… absolutely fascinating.
Found one (female version) in my conservatory Dunfermline, Scotland. Managed to get some photos and some video footage. First time I’ve ever seen one. My kids and I were fascinated by it. Beautiful and a little scary.
This is exactly what I’ve just seen in my garden in Gifford East Lothian. Too quick for me to get a photo
Do they sting
Only a few species of Ichneumon are capable of stinging.
I’m not educated in this at all. I can only tell you what I have done wrong and what I’ve done right. Swallowtails will survive if you take them when they are still very small, in your house perhaps in a large glass vase. Supplying twigs, cleaned organic parsley and a plain paper towel at the bottom. My mistake was leaving them outside in a parsley pot and the Ichneumon wasp
injected a single egg in the caterpillar. I had five. One escaped the wasp but the others all had been eaten by the wasp who were in their chrysalis stage.
lovely wings.
Hey got found one in mo us
Just saw one,(just one) in NE Tacoma. Best description I could give is a large paper wasp(yellow and black) lazy flying, and had a long tail. So long I first thought it was a paper wasp carrying a blade of dried yellow-ish grass… 4-7 inches long. Freaked me out. 20years living here and never saw one before.
I love your blog! I am hoping to see more articles from you in the foreseeable future. Really great!!!
These Ichneumon wasps are nothing but beneficial to people. The Ichneumon wasp is the kind of good bug you want to keep in your garden, as their main focus is to lay eggs in all those bad grubs, tomato worms, and other caterpillars harmful to your plants.The eggs grow as parasites in the grubs, killing them.Very few species are able to inflict a wound in human skin and they do so only when mishandled. That giant “stinger” is actually the female’s ovipositor (egg laying tube). It carries no venom. It is used to drill a small hole in the host in order to lay an egg. When threatened, a female might try to jab your skin with it in self defense, but it has no poison and would not be more painful than a sliver. They do not live in nests or hives, they are solitary.
Nice post! Thanks
Nice post!
I have just had one in my kitchen in Christchurch Dorset
These are Ichneumon Subdolis.