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Should I just leave a wasps nest alone?

Like most insects they are in decline.

Our bit of the building's communal garden is normally full of insects this time of year. I can happily while away 20 minutes watching bugs and beetles in the undergrowth. It's all gone very quiet since the heatwave started. I really wonder what the knock on effects are going to be - can't be good for bird populations.
 
Our bit of the building's communal garden is normally full of insects this time of year. I can happily while away 20 minutes watching bugs and beetles in the undergrowth. It's all gone very quiet since the heatwave started. I really wonder what the knock on effects are going to be - can't be good for bird populations.


we were watching 10s of sparrows on the feeder this morning. Was funny watching them queue up for a drink at the bowl of water we leave out. For the first time ever the Goldfinch's are coming to drink as well
 
we were watching 10s of sparrows on the feeder this morning. Was funny watching them queue up for a drink at the bowl of water we leave out. For the first time ever the Goldfinch's are coming to drink as well

Fab. Just our usual crew of foxes, squirrels and crows drinking from our bowl of water. And the cat from down the road who wants to move in :)
 
Leave them for this year, then seal up the holes.
A couple of years ago I had a wasps nest in the cavity wall next to the kitchen door. They were getting in and out through a small hole by the kitchen sink waste outlet. I filled it in with mastic and they came back the following year and drilled a neat little hole through the mastic and carried on as before.
 
Leave them. They do a good job
Found a huge nest in our loft, vacated and never used again
Last year I noticed them going in and out of the soffit/facia up top. Never had them inside. Not around this year
I'm not a threat so they don't sting me
 
What i'd do Alan is this, find a stick 40-50 cm long, put on your best Speedos, cover your body liberally in Jam (not honey it will run off in the heat) clamber into the loft with the stick between your teeth, locate the wasps nest with a torch, and poke the nest 5-10 times with the stick, the wasps will be attracted to the Jam, climb out of the loft, the wasps will follow you through the house like a "jammy pied piper" jump on a bicycle and ride between 20-30 miles away from your house, the destination a lake or pond, or canal, zig zag on the bike a bit to confused the wasp from what direction you've come, ride strait into the pond, lake or canal, washing of the Jam, by this time the wasps will be tired and lost, ride the bike back home the wasps won't follow because the water will have washed the jam off. On your return the house will be wasp free.
 
What i'd do Alan is this, find a stick 40-50 cm long, put on your best Speedos, cover your body liberally in Jam (not honey it will run off in the heat) clamber into the loft with the stick between your teeth, locate the wasps nest with a torch, and poke the nest 5-10 times with the stick, the wasps will be attracted to the Jam, climb out of the loft, the wasps will follow you through the house like a "jammy pied piper" jump on a bicycle and ride between 20-30 miles away from your house, the destination a lake or pond, or canal, zig zag on the bike a bit to confused the wasp from what direction you've come, ride strait into the pond, lake or canal, washing of the Jam, by this time the wasps will be tired and lost, ride the bike back home the wasps won't follow because the water will have washed the jam off. On your return the house will be wasp free.
Only this, if you have someone videoing it for our entertainment.

Andy
 
A couple of years ago I had a wasps nest in the cavity wall next to the kitchen door. They were getting in and out through a small hole by the kitchen sink waste outlet. I filled it in with mastic and they came back the following year and drilled a neat little hole through the mastic and carried on as before.

Sorry, we are wrong. The experts have told us that they don't come back the following year!

Also, I blame the proliferation of battery driven power tools. They wouldn't have been able to drill holes in the past, unless you let them use your mains extension. :D
 
can wasps make beer, like bees

20220813-144406.jpg
 
I was stung by a bee the other day, I was out cycling in a group & it just landed on my arm. The sting went through my jersey & was very painful for a short while. I am left with a neat little bruise around a pin prick hole.

A mate of mine was stung by a wasp, it got through the gaps in his helmet, I always wear a cap under mine for this reason.

We have had a couple of wasps nest, one in a bird box & another in the eaves. I got rid of the former but left the latter. I do wonder why people panic so much though, the stings really isn’t that bad, much less severe than a bee.
 
I do wonder why people panic so much though, the stings really isn’t that bad, much less severe than a bee.
You gotta be joking! I got stung on the arm a few years back and it was feckin’ excruciating. Or maybe I’m just a big cry baby.
 
I was stung by a bee the other day, I was out cycling in a group & it just landed on my arm. The sting went through my jersey & was very painful for a short while. I am left with a neat little bruise around a pin prick hole.

A mate of mine was stung by a wasp, it got through the gaps in his helmet, I always wear a cap under mine for this reason.

We have had a couple of wasps nest, one in a bird box & another in the eaves. I got rid of the former but left the latter. I do wonder why people panic so much though, the stings really isn’t that bad, much less severe than a bee.

well good for you.
Some people suffer anaphylaxis when stung by a wasp.
My wife gets a bad reaction. Stung last month on her arm it swelled up from shoulder to wrist. Luckily antihistamines work for her.
 
You gotta be joking! I got stung on the arm a few years back and it was feckin’ excruciating. Or maybe I’m just a big cry baby.
You’ve answered your own question. I still had 20 or so miles cycle home after being stung so histrionics wouldn’t have helped me;)
 


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