Ensign Wasp Control: How to Get Rid of Ensign Wasps

This page is a general ensign wasp control guide. Follow the recommended products and steps listed throughout this DIY guide, and we guarantee complete control of the ensign wasp infestation on your property.

Most homeowners are less likely to recognize the ensign wasps, also known as nightshade wasps, hatchet wasps, or cockroach egg parasitoid wasps, if they don't appear in their homes. These pests look like black spiders with wings; unlike other wasp species, they do not sting or bite.

Ensign wasps fall under the family Evaniidae and achieve their name by moving their abdomen up and down as if they are signaling with a flag. This little black bug with long legs falls under beneficial insects because it is a parasite of cockroaches and hunts them for their egg cases to lay their larvae.

While ensign wasps are often welcomed pests and harmless to people, they can become annoying indoors with their activities. For this reason, ensign wasps should be controlled when cockroach activity has lessened or when the pest itself is first noticed. Cockroach control is recommended, along with following the products and steps listed in this DIY guide.

Identification

Before carrying out pesticide treatments, you must ensure the cricket-like bug in your home is an ensign wasp and not some other type of pest. Misidentification can lead you to use the wrong treatment products, wasting your time and finances. Here is a list of characteristics of ensign wasps to know what they look like for easy identification:

• Ensign wasps are small, winged insects that grow 5 to 7 mm long.
• Their oval or triangle-shaped abdomen easily separates them from other Hymenoptera wasp species because it is attached high on the thorax by a narrow petiole, and the rest hangs laterally, giving it the appearance of a small hand flag.
• They have two blue eyes, two pairs of short wings, and three pairs of legs that are 12-13 segmented. These small black insects can take flight, often making homeowners mistake them for flying crickets in their houses.
• As adults, ensign wasps are often confused with spiders due to their black coloration and long legs on the thorax resembling a cricket.

Use the image and description above to help you properly identify ensign wasps in or around your home. If unsure, contact us by phone, email, or in person at one of our store locations with a photo or sample of the pest in a closed plastic container.

Inspection

You can proceed with the inspection after properly identifying ensign wasps within your property. During this phase, you are looking for parts of your home or yard where ensign wasps are frequently found and the conditions allowing them to thrive.

Where to Inspect

Ensign wasps are commonly found inside homes and structures throughout the United States, except in polar regions. If you find an ensign wasp in your home, this may indicate a cockroach infestation indoors or outdoors since these wasps lay their eggs in cockroach egg cases.

They will travel to areas where cockroaches or their egg cases are most likely to be found, such as the kitchen, pantry, bathroom, attic, cabinets, drawers, and shelves, around plumbing fixtures and appliances, and near vents.

In outdoor areas, this could be around the perimeter of your home, entryways, cracks and crevices, eaves, soffits, or utility penetrations. Female ensign wasps are often hunting for cockroach egg cases to lay their eggs inside of, so look for moist areas where cockroaches are likely to be found. They may also be seen on ornamentals such as flowers since they feed on nectar and honeydew deposited on plant leaves from aphids.

What to Look For

Adult female ensign wasps often come into homes searching for cockroach egg cases (ootheca) to lay their eggs within. Ensign wasps seek various roach species but are often encountered more when larger cockroach species such as the American cockroach, smoky brown cockroach, or oriental cockroach are present.

Depending on the species, most cockroach egg cases look like small tan, brown, or black capsules with a hardened texture. The number of eggs in each case will vary by the cockroach species.

When the female ensign wasp comes across the egg case, she will line herself with the axis of the egg case and then vibrate its antennae. Eventually, it will use its ovipositor to insert a single egg through the tough cockroach egg case. After some time, the wasp larvae hatch and eat the cockroach eggs.

Treatment

Before proceeding with treatment, you will need to wear the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect yourself against pesticide materials and potential cockroach waste.

Ensign wasps have a short life cycle of 2 to 3 weeks, which allows for cockroach populations to increase. To effectively control ensign wasp infestations, you first need to address cockroaches and eliminate food sources for the ensign wasp.

Step 1: Sanitize Home

Cockroaches are most troublesome in areas not properly sanitized and where food is prepared. Most cockroach species require food, warmth, and moisture, which can be found in the kitchen, bathrooms, under sinks and toilets, beneath and behind refrigerators, dishwashers, stoves, near trash cans, and inside cabinets, pantries, and kitchen utensils such as toasters.

Wipe off food preparation surfaces with warm water to remove grease, oils, food residues, and odors. Mop and vacuum the floors of your home where people or animals eat. Take the trash out regularly, and ensure it is in a container with a tight-fitted lid.

You may also need to address any moisture issues in and around your home, such as repairing plumbing leaks. Seal off all entry points like holes, cracks, and crevices in and around your home with caulk.

Step 2: Apply Bait

Once all competing food and water sources have been removed, you can use bait such as Apex Cockroach Gel Bait. Apex Cockroach Gel Bait is a slow-killing gel bait formulated with 11 different attracts to avoid bait resistance with various cockroach species.

Since this product follows a systemic elimination plan, it allows roaches to feed on this bait without immediately dying, so they can travel back to their nest to spread the poison further. Slow-killing bait can control roach populations without developing bait shyness.

Determine how much product to use by measuring the square footage of the treatment area. To do this, measure the length and width of the treatment area in feet, then multiply (length X width = square footage). The amount of Apex Cockroach Gel Bait depends on the cockroach species.

To use Apex Cockroach Gel Bait, apply 3 drops per square yard to control small roaches like German roaches or 5 drops per square yard for large roaches like American or oriental roaches.

You will need to apply Apex Cockroach Gel Bait near roach harborages or where else you have observed cockroach activity. Possible placements include under baseboards, under sinks, countertops, cabinets, and where pipes penetrate the wall.

To avoid stains and for easy cleanup, we recommend you apply drops of the bait gel onto index cards. Baited cards can treat tight spaces like underneath appliances where cockroaches may harbor.

Leave your bait placements and check back every 1 to 2 weeks to reapply as needed. You should expect to see a reduction in roach activity within 5 days.

Apply this product only in areas inaccessible to children and pets.

Step 3: Spray Repellent Outdoors

We recommend performing a perimeter application of a repelling insecticide like Supreme IT. Supreme IT is a long-lasting residual insecticide that eliminates 70 types of pests, including wasps, cockroaches, and aphids. Once applied, this repellent insecticide will continue fighting against these pests for up to 90 days.

Since this product must be mixed with water, you will want to use a handheld pump sprayer.

Determine how much Supreme IT to use by measuring the square footage of the treatment area. To do this, measure the length and width of the treatment area in feet, then multiply (length X width = square footage).

For a perimeter application, apply 0.33 to 1.0 fl. oz. of Supreme IT per gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft.

Fill your handheld pump sprayer with half the amount of water, add a measured amount of Supreme IT, and then pour in the remaining half of the water. Close the spray tank lid and shake to ensure even agitation.

Apply your insecticide solution as a perimeter treatment around your structure's foundation. Spray three feet up the structure and three feet out to create a barrier. Next, treat the entry points you noted earlier in your inspection. Be sure to spray around entryways, openings created by utility pipes, the garage door, and any other openings you may have found.

Also, since adult ensign wasps feed on honeydew produced by aphids, spray any ornamental plants, trees, or shrubbery on your property. Be sure to apply 1.0 fl. oz. of product per gallon of water per 1,000 sq. ft.

Keep people and pets away from treated areas until dry.

Prevention

Once ensign wasps have been removed from inside of your home, you will want to make sure they do not return. Listed below are some preventative measures to take to lessen the chances of ensign wasps and cockroaches from returning to your home:

• Maintain regular cleaning in and around your home by taking the trash out in sealable plastic bags, wiping down surfaces that come into contact with food, like counters or cabinet shelves, mopping and vacuuming the floor and underneath kitchen appliances, and drying moisture areas like underneath or around your sink. You will also need to empty pet food dishes each night. Additionally, food items must be stored in a sealable plastic container to deter food aromas. Outdoors: eliminate yard debris like leaf litter, branches, woodpiles, debris in rain gutters, and other general clutter to remove hiding places for cockroaches.
• Seal cracks and crevices in and around your home with caulk to remove entry points and pathways and prevent cockroaches and ensign wasps from getting inside. Thin cracks can be sealed with caulk, while wider crevices and voids should be stuffed with copper mesh.
• Address humidity and moisture in your home by repairing leaky pipes, plumbing, and other water issues, especially in your basement and attic. In your yard, this may be removing standing water sources.
• Lastly, keep up with a perimeter and ornamental application of Supreme IT. This repelling insecticide will last up to 90 days, so we recommend you make applications every 3 months.

Key Takeaways

What are Ensign Wasps?

• Ensign wasps are a type of parasitoid wasps known to come into homes when cockroaches are present. They prey on cockroach eggs and help lessen their populations when their larvae feed on them.

How to Get Rid of Ensign Wasps

• To get rid of ensign wasps in your home, you must first control cockroach populations with proper cleaning methods and apply baits such as Apex Cockroach Gel Bait. Outside of your home, you will apply a repellent insecticide like Supreme IT on the ornamentals and perimeter of your home.

Preventing Ensign Wasp Reinfestation

• Prevent ensign wasps from returning to your home by maintaining cleanliness within and around it, sealing points of entry with caulk, addressing moisture conditions, and applying Supreme IT quarterly as a perimeter and ornamental treatment.