Deterring wasps

[75]

When the girlfriends bees had EFB i killed them with a half pint of petrol.

As a child I recall my grandfather removing a wasp's nest from the garden in a similar manner. They'd taken up residence in a low drystone wall along the edge of a flower garden. My grandmother was put out she couldn't get near the flowers to do a bit of weeding as the wasps kept going for her.

My grandfather soaked a load of rags in petrol and stuffed them into holes in the wall where the wasps were coming in and out and I'm pretty sure also doused the main spots with some additional petrol for good measure.

Hindsight is, as they say, a wonderful thing...

Petrol vapourised, filled the gaps in the wall and upon ignition, rearranged the stones and most of the flowers in a dramatic fashion. How he wasn't hurt I have no idea.

 

[Mike1979]

As a child I recall my grandfather removing a wasp's nest from the garden in a similar manner. They'd taken up residence in a low drystone wall along the edge of a flower garden. My grandmother was put out she couldn't get near the flowers to do a bit of weeding as the wasps kept going for her.

My grandfather soaked a load of rags in petrol and stuffed them into holes in the wall where the wasps were coming in and out and I'm pretty sure also doused the main spots with some additional petrol for good measure.

Hindsight is, as they say, a wonderful thing...

Petrol vapourised, filled the gaps in the wall and upon ignition, rearranged the stones and most of the flowers in a dramatic fashion. How he wasn't hurt I have no idea.

I did this many years ago with a nest in the ground...the ignition was like an afterburner going off...first and last time I used petrol

 

[Buchan]

I feel that wasps are sometimes killed off for no reason - is it an option to leave them if not bothering anything?

I had one in an outbuilding last year, did all I could to leave it but when I needed to drill some holes in the concrete they were getting hacked off so had to go, I used a long broom and broke the nest as I figured they may be able to move elsewhere. An hour later I counted the remains of the nest and area with spray oil to deter them coming back.

Good to see someone else who would generally leave them. Hardly see them now. The insect population collapse is quite a concern

 

[Sellars]

I get lots of wasps nests usually several 2 or 3 ft wide in the roof space and others elsewhere. I leave the nests that are not likely to cause an issue and for others I use Doff wasp powder. I apply during the day when I can see where they are accessing the nest and use an old spoon on a stick to apply the powder from a safe distance.

 

[Malxwal]

Well, the little darlings did indeed chew through the plasterboard and into the bedroom, so a professional has been enlisted, as I'm still away at work.

 

[tackb]

have considered napalming the whole postcode and moving somewhere else?

 

[260madman]

I despise wasps/hornets. Mid September they get ornery.

Brakleen and fire takes care of them quite well. You’ll probably end up with a new house also but they’ll be dead.

Worked as a contractor for the .mil and bees were getting ornery so we’d spray them with Brakleen and kill them. One of my coworkers had one of those fly zapper tennis rackets and was whacking bees with it and crippling them and then stomping on them. I took the Brakleen and sprayed up the concrete wall and got about a dozen of them and then he whacks one with the zapper. Well the bee was by the Brakleen that was running down the wall and when it sparked we had a fire trail going up the wall and got some collateral bees that had come to rescue their buddies. I looked at my coworker and said, well that was fun, we should probably stop before someone turns us in for trying to burn the building down. He laughed and said “I know what I’m doing when I get home tonight, bees will be good entertainment “. Oh my.

 

[Malxwal]

I bear any pollinator no ill will, but there are boundaries, and we're not up for sharing living space.

 

[Mike1979]

I bear any pollinator no ill will, but there are boundaries, and we're not up for sharing living space.

I agree with you and if I wasnt a bee keeper I would have no issues with wasps if they werent causing me a direct nuisance. That said bees robbing other bees will destroy a colony pretty quick..however having lost a couple of colonies to wasps I try and be more proactive with dealing with the wasps if they are anywhere near the bees.

 

[Malxwal]

I agree with you and if I wasnt a bee keeper I would have no issues with wasps if they werent causing me a direct nuisance. That said bees robbing other bees will destroy a colony pretty quick..however having lost a couple of colonies to wasps I try and be more proactive with dealing with the wasps if they are anywhere near the bees.

I have to bear the bee relationship in mind, as my neighbour keeps bees and is very generous with honey.

 

[shakey jake]

I agree with you and if I wasnt a bee keeper I would have no issues with wasps if they werent causing me a direct nuisance. That said bees robbing other bees will destroy a colony pretty quick..however having lost a couple of colonies to wasps I try and be more proactive with dealing with the wasps if they are anywhere near the bees.

I think wasps benefit bees, by depleting weaker colonies, cleaning the hive and comb up.
Strong colonies should handle wasps fine.
Wasp bane traps are by far the best, set them up mid to late aug, 100g cheap honey, 1 can cheap larger and water to fill.
you wont need many in a normal appairy

 

[Sampo]

Dish soap liquid works well if you are able to spray the nest without getting stung. Get it on them and they drop to the floor and die. Else have found that ant powder works better than wasp powder. You can even make wasp traps using old pastic bottles or Lidl I think are selling some. Best to get rid of it before the nest gets bigger in my view and offense is the best defense.

 

[gixer1]

As I sit here in a highseat, scanning with the thermal - a bright heat signature caught my eye on a tree nearby….





A bloody big wasp!! Not sure if it’s a queen or something but took a photo through the binos and it doesn’t do it justice!

 

[gixer1]

If nothing turns up I may shoot it….

 

[Mike1979]

I think wasps benefit bees, by depleting weaker colonies, cleaning the hive and comb up.
Strong colonies should handle wasps fine.
Wasp bane traps are by far the best, set them up mid to late aug, 100g cheap honey, 1 can cheap larger and water to fill.
you wont need many in a normal appairy

Fair point

 

[Malxwal]

So, three nests found and sprayed, three out of four dormers, with the one in our bedroom dormer being described as unusually large for this time of year.

 

[John Gryphon]

quail load.

 

[Turkish]

Following...........

Can't believe that so many still rely on ineffective solutions and home made cures for a problem a good pest controller would take in their stride.

I got called out to a ground nest last year , that the owner had tried to distroy himself on three seperate occasions, to find mine suffering from stings all over his head and body from the failed attempts.

If you dont know what you are doing, get someone in who does.

 

[rowen]

Cutting our hedges a couple of days ago and discovered one, a couple got me, we now have a bump in the hedge

 

[reiver]

During Covid I was standing outside with a customer in there back garden when we heard a whoosh and a bang . His next door neighbour had tried to dispose of a wasps nest in the cavity of his gable end of his bungalow with a butane weed wand !! The burnt the wasps no problem but the insuring fire set the roofing felt alight and burnt half his house down …
When the fire brigade were putting the fire out they found one off his shotguns sitting in the loft next to his gun cabinet this was after half the roof collapsed and the fire had set off about 1000 shotgun cartridges which were popping off .
Good news was that the wasps were gone and his insurance paid out !!
The home owner has been renamed barbecue by locals