pepe63xnotuse Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 We've got a load of wasps that have decided to set up camp and generally hang around,close to the path that leads down to our woodshed,in what appear to be old vole/mouse holes.... We only noticed them Sunday evening and as we hadn't noticed them until then(..we were working in the garden,next to that spot on Saturday),we assumed that they'd only just moved in to the area..! However(..and any enviromentally sensitive types may wish to turn away now.. ;-) ),after trying to persuade them that this was not the area for them(...by burning them out with paraffin soaked rags..and then flooding them out,by soaking with the hose..:$ ) they still seem pretty "entrenched"... ..I suppose the problem is that because they're using an existing tunnel system,there's no way of knowing where the actual "nest" is?... :-S Apart from calling in pest control,has anyone any tips on how to shift 'em..? (..and if just left alone,does a nest become something that is used year on year..? :-S ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 We had a similar problem when they set up a nest in a rockery close to our back door. We bought a tube of 'anti-wasp' powder - squirted it into the nest a couple of times - and they all disappeared within a day or so. The powder hangs around the opening to the nest and they carry it in. We leave them alone unless they are in a dodgy position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopesy Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Don't know if they're the same type but years back we had a nest built in our loft. When winter came they all went and didn't come back. The kids took the (empty) nest to school for show and tell. So if you're not successful at persuading them to leave they may go when it gets colder and never come back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryowlgirl Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 we put the powder down the holes then put bricks over we also had them goes in and out of the air grates so sprayed powder in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted August 3, 2011 Author Share Posted August 3, 2011 Hopesy..Yeah,I've just read something along those lines,online... (..although minus the the bit about the loft and your kids.. :-D ) ..I hadn't realised that once the autumn/colder weather,the nest dies and isn't used again... Although I think I'll still try some of the anti-wasp powder stuff though,as the damned things are "foraging" all over the path and patio... and we're now finding crawling by the patio door... :-S (..probably seeking out that bloke with the pokey stick and paraffin can... *-) ) Edit:Oops! sorry Mary'..I missed you post..the problem we have is that there appears to be more than one entrance(..as our garden is awash with old vole/mouse holes,rabbit burrows etc)... ..The bl**dy things just seem to be "oozing" out of the soil like ants... 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Pepe hi This is my business. Use powder only not spray. Sit & watch them for 5 mins & you should see 1 main entrance - possibly with others, but one main one. Wait until dark ( all wasps go back to the nest at night) Wear protection as a precaution - beanie type hat coat & if possible protect eyes ( Mask of some sort) Wear gloves. With a "puffer pack" puff dust into the main hole first, then any subsidiary holes - then move 2- metres away & observe powder coated wasps coming out. Check next morning, & if still activity, repeat. See if you can source a puffer pack with dust containing "bendiocarb" rather than "permethrin". PS It is always worth dealing with a nest, even though the worker wasps all die off in autumn, the nest will have produced up to 1000 queens which will hibernate in the locality & start new nests the following spring. The new queens are produced around August time, so you should always kill a nest before this time. PPS get someone to take a picture of you while you are doing it so we can all have a chuckle :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted August 3, 2011 Author Share Posted August 3, 2011 Thanks for the "insider" info!.. ;-) I'll keep a look out for the stuff with Bendiocarb then... I think I'll have to wait until dusk time,to see where the little buggers are going in though... ..because at the moment,even though I've been watching 'em for a good 10-15min,they don't *seem* to heading in any specific direction... :-S ...they just seem to be aimlesly wandering around or hovering just above the grass/leaf litter,in an area approx 2m sq...(That's probably down to me disturbing them... :$ ) (..some of 'em even seem to be gathering in huddles..I reckon they're plotting something... 8-) ) Just how big a sack does this Bendiocarb come in, then..? (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryowlgirl Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 oo I meant puffer when I said spray - silly me. : :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Wasps are pure evil, petrol bomb the bastards! D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 pepe63 - 2011-08-03 2:39 PM Thanks for the "insider" info!.. ;-) I'll keep a look out for the stuff with Bendiocarb then... I think I'll have to wait until dusk time,to see where the little buggers are going in though... ..because at the moment,even though I've been watching 'em for a good 10-15min,they don't *seem* to heading in any specific direction... :-S ...they just seem to be aimlesly wandering around or hovering just above the grass/leaf litter,in an area approx 2m sq...(That's probably down to me disturbing them... :$ ) (..some of 'em even seem to be gathering in huddles..I reckon they're plotting something... 8-) ) Just how big a sack does this Bendiocarb come in, then..? (lol) Pepe hi again Just a thought? Is there a bush or tree above the area they are hovering around & does the grass/soil underneath have blackish patches underneath these branches? Willows & some conifers are really bad for this & it also often happens under sycamores. If there is, look for aphids on the wood of the branches. Greyish black clumps which move! If this is the case then the aphids will be dropping "honeydew" a sugary solution which attracts wasps from all around. The cure? Spray & kill the aphids. (or cut the branches away! or hose down the area under the tree to dissolve the sugar) Any rose spray/ general garden insecticide will kill them. The plot thickens - like a good onion gravy :D :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 Day 5..... Mornin' all Thanks for that..that's an intersting point about the trees,as they are quite close to our hedge/tree line...I'll take a look today... ;-) Although watching them yesterday,as the area they seemed to be "searching" is centred on the spot where the "original" entrance was(..that I "attacked"..with parffin/fire/water/ and not forgetting pokey stick! *-) ), I was wondering if they are just being drawn to some chemical given off from the damaged nest?..or maybe to the "distress chemicals" that their fallen comrades gave off ?.. ....does that sound feasible? When they all quietend down last night,I gave the area a thorough go over with a spring rake,with the hope that it'd help show any entrance but I still couldn't find where they'd be getting in.. (..that's assuming that they did go back in for the night and irritating me isn't just their day job!? (lol)..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 My 85 year old Mum had a wasps nest under her eaves last year, she bought some powder stuff, sprayed it and ran (as fast as an 85 year old can) and hey presto off they went. You will probably find that they will go of their own accord at the end of the season, much prefer somewhere like an attic to sit out the winter. I get stung all the time, was in Swaffham last week, out walking with Troy 4 stings on hand. Every year they get me, usually when I'm gardening. What really gets me is that I'm not bothered by them and am not one that continually wacks them out of the way (unlike someone I know!!). Unless you are allergic to the sting and have a serious mass stinging it really isn't that bad. I am very much of the opinion live and let live. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggyd Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Last year we noticed them going in and out of an airbrick in our bungalow >:-( we bought an aerosol I think it was from Wilkinsons it was a foam spray that expanded behind the brick , for a couple of days I was sweeping up dead bodies >:-) but it did the trick and we havent had a problem since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art338 Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Pepe, for gawds sake do not start waggling any stick into any burrow, they will come out and attack you with a vengence. ITS NOT A NEST, they are just looking for food. If it were a nest you would easily see the entrance as they remove a neat surrounding area of grass (as big as a dinner plate) to enable a clean runway of air space for in and out rapid travel. AND all you would see of them would be rapid flights in and out. Stand in their flight line at your peril !! If it were a nest they go staight in and straight out, they do not fuss about looking for food nearby, they are either already loaded on their way in, or making a rapid exit outward to a known source of food. From what you say they are searching near the ground in several places, if it were a nest and with your messing about amongst them they would have attacked you long before now. Ps I was our village wasp destroyer, we used to use Arsenic which we could buy over the counter in a chemist. Life were certainly different in them days. art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Mornin'...Just to update this.. With the original "encounter",they were actually streaming out the one hole(an old vole/mouse hole)..it was once I'd disturbed/attacked that area(..which yes,did get me stung :$ )that they started just milling about...and I did see some bringing out grubs/larvae.... It did look as if they'd cleared off but it seems that they'd just "relocated" ,as we've now noticed them starting to stream in and out of a small hole under the suffit board... *-) I'm not overly bothered about then there though...but I will be getting some of the powder/foam stuff. ..looks like it'll have to be bought off the internet though... :-S ..because our local wilkos/garden centres haven't got the "nest killer" stuff.. (..although I'd never thought of asking for arsenic,art' (lol) (lol) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 The bendiocarb based powder I've got came (last year) from B&Q, if that's any use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 pepe63 - 2011-08-10 9:06 AM Mornin'...Just to update this.. With the original "encounter",they were actually streaming out the one hole(an old vole/mouse hole)..it was once I'd disturbed/attacked that area(..which yes,did get me stung :$ )that they started just milling about...and I did see some bringing out grubs/larvae.... It did look as if they'd cleared off but it seems that they'd just "relocated" ,as we've now noticed them starting to stream in and out of a small hole under the suffit board... *-) I'm not overly bothered about then there though...but I will be getting some of the powder/foam stuff. ..looks like it'll have to be bought off the internet though... :-S ..because our local wilkos/garden centres haven't got the "nest killer" stuff.. (..although I'd never thought of asking for arsenic,art' (lol) (lol) ) The ones coming from the sofit will be from a totally different nest, wasps cannot relocate their nests. Be very careful, there will be one hell of a lot of wasps in that nest (several hundred at this time of year) & if one stings it will send out an "attack pheromone" which will bring all her mates down ( they are all sterile females!) Then you will be in real trouble! 8-) 8-) (Of course you could entice a rioter or two to do it and chain him/her infront of the nest and let the wasps get to work?) - :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 Thanks Robinhood..I didn't think of trying the likes of B&Q... :$ Jeremy..I suppose at least with it being a different nest,they won't recognise me from the previous episode and therefore shouldn't be bearing a grudge.. (lol) (lol) ..not that I'll be poking and prodding at this one,as I'd need to be scurrying down the ladder pretty damned quick if I did... :D The idea of grabbing hold of a few rioters/looters and getting them to deal with it is a great idea.. ..after all,with their faces covered and hoods,they're already dressed for it.... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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