How do paper wasps build nests?

Paper wasps use paper to build their nests. To make papers they need to collect wood fiber. They collect wood fiber by using their mandibles to scrape it from worn and weathered wooden fences, buildings, telephone poles, and other sources. Sometimes they collect fiber from man-made paper products such as paper bags or cardboard boxes. Then they chew it in their mouth and mix it with saliva so that it becomes more soft and moist. Meanwhile they make a structure of the nest with silk. After chewing the woods, they add the paste to the nest structure and spread it out. After it thoroughly dries up, the nest becomes ready to live in. A complete nest contains up to 200 cells.

A well established colony of paper wasps can have two hundred or more individuals living on a nest with the size of a man's outstretched hand.

Wasps can be found on flowers, particularly from goldenrod in late fall. Paper wasp nests can be dislodged from eaves using sprays of high pressure water from a good distance, taking precautions not to allow wasps to attack nearby people or pets. Wasps will eventually abandon the nest.