Can you share a photo of the insects (safely)? They are probably non-hornet wasps, though it's hard to tell without an indication of size and body pattern. You can use the images on our social wasps web page (which includes hornets) and our Cicada Killer page to try to determine which it might be.

Male Cicada Killer wasps can patrol a territory, perching and looking for mates and rivals to chase, but they cannot sting and won't bother people. (They might fly closer to someone to get a better look, but can't hurt you.) Female Cicada Killer wasps will not sting unless they are accidentally stepped-on in the lawn or grabbed. They prefer to go about their business digging-out a soil burrow and stockpiling it with caught cicadas. They may visit flowers for a drink of nectar to refuel, but are kept too busy to chase people. Even hornets will not be inclined to sting unless swatted or a nest is disturbed, though all members of a hornet nest this time of year will be female.

Bee traps do not work reliably well, and might draw more Yellowjackets or Hornets to an area than they trap, so we do not recommend their use. Since they are generally harmless despite being intimidatingly large, Cicada Killer wasps also do not need treatment with insecticide. If necessary, a product labeled for ground-nesting bees/wasps should work, though its ingredients will potentially harm any insect that comes into contact with its residues, so use it with caution. Hornet nests can be treated with wasp spray if they cannot be avoided for the season and conflicts with the wasps are too risky.

Miri

Thank you for responding. Currently it is raining and wasps? are not hovering. Will attempt to take photo later today or tomorrow. Will fwd pix asap.Gene 

That's okay, we can take a look at any photos you might be able to take when you're ready.

Attached is pix. Pretty sure nest is in ground. Found abt 3/4 inch hole in flower bed near cement entrance to my house. They are not aggressive but would like to get rid of them. Prefer not to kill the nest but will if no other way.

Hello Gene,

Thank you for the photo -- it confirms that these are Cicada Killer wasps, and the one perched in the picture is probably a male, keeping an eye on his territory. You could try discouraging the females (the only ones digging the burrows) by repeatedly filling-in the hole with soil that was removed by the wasp (they won't be active in the evening, but that might not work sufficiently well. There is no other way to discourage them in the short term, as keeping the lawn soil wet would be an unnecessary use of water and potentially over-water the lawn, or at least can make the grass more vulnerable to diseases.

Long-term, you can try to increase the density of the turfgrass by overseeding each autumn and checking on lawn health, but sometimes even this isn't enough either.

The only other recourse if their presence is not tolerable would be to apply an insecticide spray or dust labeled for wasp control, which will kill them (at least, this generation of adults...they might try to nest again in a future year). There is no form of repellent chemical that we are aware of that will discourage but not harm them.

Miri

Thank you. They are not in the grass, they are in a flower bed. Will attempt to discourage, if that doesn't work will destroy the nest. Appreciate your help.

Indeed, my apologies...we receive so many questions about bees and wasps in lawns that I forgot that detail.
You're welcome -

Miri