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Goodbye wassssps

wildlife, gardening, environment, Rural living, Pets and Vets
88V8
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Goodbye wassssps

#325401

Postby 88V8 » July 11th, 2020, 2:51 pm

Often, V8ville is home to wasps. This year, we had a record seven nests on the go.
Wasps are good of course. Pest eaters, wood recyclers, a valuable part of the ecosystem.
But sometimes injudicious in their choice of domain.

As a rule I can reach them with a puffer, and after a tussle they give up and move on. But not this year.
An underground nest adjacent to the summer raspberries was easily dealt with, but the others were in areas of tiled and thatched roof not easily accessible, and in a large dense shrub by the front door.
Call out the pest controller? .... no.

One reason that we are relatively well off in retirement is that we have never been in the habit of running to people to do stuff for us. The house, the car, the garden, we equip ourselves with the skill, the tools and tackle to do whatever ourselves. Over the years the savings mount up.

With the prospect of 10,000 wasps per nest, something had to be done, time for me to become my own pest controller.

So after a bit of googling, I found myself here https://www.pestcontroldirect.co.uk/pro ... equipment/ where I bought this Swiss-made jobbie https://www.pestcontroldirect.co.uk/sho ... al-duster/ and two 5ft extension lances and 9lb of this powder https://www.pestcontroldirect.co.uk/sho ... owder-4kg/ all of which arrived in a couple of days.

The pressure duster delivers a blizzard of toxic dust** at 50psi. The nozzle at the end of 10ft of extension lance sends the dust into every nook and cranny of the nest. Returning wasps pick up the dust and carry it inside. The next day, none were left alive, and I am cautiously hopeful that I may even be able to pick the copious plum crop.

Cor, you may say, that lot was £250 !!
And so it was. But now we are equipped forever. No need to pay someone £70-100 to do what I can do myself. And I just ordered another 10ft of extension lance, in case they set up shop under the chimney flashing, as they did two years ago.

No connection with the company, but a very satisfied customer.

V8

** the dust is not nice. It kills everything, and is persistent in the environment. Apply with due care.

richfool
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Re: Goodbye wassssps

#325407

Postby richfool » July 11th, 2020, 3:39 pm

I hate the things, have always been scared of them since I was a child.

We did once have a nest, under an old tree stump, dealt with by the council pest control officer (about 35 years ago). He used a powder that he gently puffed around and into the opening to the nest, which (as you say) the wasps then carry into the nest as they fly back in. That worked.

bungeejumper
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Re: Goodbye wassssps

#325425

Postby bungeejumper » July 11th, 2020, 4:56 pm

We get wasps nesting in the roof most years, and also deep in the bushes in the garden. We've generally found that those aerosols do the trick - the ones that shoot a narrow jet of foam eight or teen feet, so that you can destroy the nest without having to go near it. I think most are based on tetramethrins, which are similar to the flea powders used on cats. (Very happy to be corrected on that.)

In the garden, we don't attack the nests unless there's a clear and present danger, such as children playing nearby. In the roof, though, we always go for the kill because it's gloomy up there and it wouldn't be easy to make a quick escape. :? But we've certainly had drunk garden wasps during the August fruit season, and those can turn aggressive without much provocation. It's always a judgement call whether or not to wreak havoc and destruction on them.

The trick is to raid the nest during the last hour of daylight, when the wasps are dozy, and to overwhelm the nest with superior shock and awe, aiming the jet at the entrance - although, TBH, the nest sometimes explodes like one of those pumpkins being hit by a rifle bullet. Haven't had a sting yet, though, and the wasps don't return to salvage from the wrecked nests.

Not bad for three or four quid a can. That said, if the OP has seven nests on the go, then that's an industrial-grade problem which probably merits an industrial grade answer. Let's just hope that they don't ban the powder!

BJ (stung twice by hornets, and still in revenge mode). :twisted:

Moosehoosenew
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Re: Goodbye wassssps

#325718

Postby Moosehoosenew » July 12th, 2020, 10:25 pm

Why do you kill them?

We also have several nests on the go, in the house but entrance and exit always to the outside, they have no interest in us apart from last 2 weeks of their lives when they crave sugar.

Mike4
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Re: Goodbye wassssps

#325722

Postby Mike4 » July 12th, 2020, 10:36 pm

Moosehoosenew wrote:Why do you kill them?

We also have several nests on the go, in the house but entrance and exit always to the outside, they have no interest in us apart from last 2 weeks of their lives when they crave sugar.


Wasps are the most curious thing, capable of telepathy. When I get one in the house or boat I find they can be communicated with by thought or telepathy. I open a door or window, pick up my electronic tennis bat thing with high voltage insect zapper incorporated and send them thought waves saying "I give you 60 seconds to leave then I'm coming after you" and they invariably vacate the premises before the deadline.

I've NEVER needed to kill one since adopting this policy.

bungeejumper
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Re: Goodbye wassssps

#325786

Postby bungeejumper » July 13th, 2020, 11:42 am

Moosehoosenew wrote:Why do you kill them?

We also have several nests on the go, in the house but entrance and exit always to the outside, they have no interest in us apart from last 2 weeks of their lives when they crave sugar.

Lucky you. If you've ever had fifty wasps attacking your granddaughter in the garden because she got too close to their hideaway, you'd probably understand why some of us are a bit twitchy. The death ray isn't always needed, but it's handy to know where it is!

There are different reasons why I don't tolerate wasps' nests in the loft, apart from having been dive-bombed and stung when I switched on the light. Disused wasps' nests can set up damp patches on your timbers (depending on your roof construction) - and they are, after all, made of chewed-up wood. Now where do you suppose the little buggers get that stuff from? ;)

Fifty wasp stings, and an adult is in trouble even if he's not allergic. (Although some sources put the figure much higher.) Six hornet stings can put you in hospital. One was enough to prevent me from moving my leg sufficiently to be able to drive. (Which was inconvenient, since it was the last day of my continental holiday, but that's another story. :) )

BJ

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Re: Goodbye wassssps

#326710

Postby Calcarius » July 16th, 2020, 11:28 pm

We have wasp nests every year without fail, in the compost bins, the dovecot, underground, storage bins, you name it they've nested there. They leave me alone I leave them alone. This year they decided to build one in the shed where I keep the lawnmower and garden tools, my wife rejected the suggestion of not doing any gardening this year.

I hate wasps with a passion. When I was a kid I fell down a steep embankment at Symonds Yat and rolled straight into a nest, I was stung multiple times. Swimming across the river was my only escape, I still carry the scars of those stings today. I'm a 50 year old man that acts like an 8 year old girl if one comes within 3 foot of me now, I run like Forrest Gump emitting a high pitched squeal not dissimilar to to a steam train whistle. But I hate to kill any insects but only as a last resort.

My usual tactic is to spray the nest with WD40, it doesn't kill the wasps as it isn't poisonous but makes the nest soggy and totally uninhabitable. Win, win for both sides, the wasps live to build another day and I have peace of mind. Upon finding the nest earlier in the year I went for my trusty WD40, but alas it was empty and I couldn't get any more because of the lockdown. Eventually I found a full can of fly, wasp and ant killer left by the previous owner.

I gave the nest a good spray from 4 foot away and immediately the wasps started meeting their maker. Another liberal spray close up and I closed the shed door. A week later I opened the door and they were still very much alive and the nest even bigger! 'Operation Shock and Awe' commenced. I sealed up every hole I could find externally on the shed. I happened across a hole where a knot in the wood had fallen out and was the main entrance for the wasps the nest being less than a foot from the hole on the inside.

I sprayed directly into the hole at the nest depleting half a can and then duct taped it over, also coating the exterior to kill any visitors. I then ran like Forrest around to the front, duct taped the plunger down on the can and threw into the shed like a CS gas canister and then deliberately slammed the door shut to wake up and encourage the inhabitants out of the nest into the gas chamber. I watched the ensuing carnage through the window.

A few days later I walk down to shed, brush and pan in hand to remove the slain of 'Operation Shock and Awe'. There were thousands of casualties but the Death Planet still survived and appeared if anything more active. I closed the door, screwed it shut and bought a new lawnmower.

I have a White Tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) colony in the cavity of my extension, they access through open putlog holes. I haven't the heart to tell the wife as the extension is our bedroom and I believe the colony to be directly behind our headboard...

ReformedCharacter
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Re: Goodbye wassssps

#326716

Postby ReformedCharacter » July 16th, 2020, 11:42 pm

Calcarius wrote:We have wasp nests every year without fail, in the compost bins, the dovecot, underground, storage bins, you name it they've nested there. They leave me alone I leave them alone. This year they decided to build one in the shed where I keep the lawnmower and garden tools, my wife rejected the suggestion of not doing any gardening this year.

A few days later I walk down to shed, brush and pan in hand to remove the slain of 'Operation Shock and Awe'. There were thousands of casualties but the Death Planet still survived and appeared if anything more active. I closed the door, screwed it shut and bought a new lawnmower.


One option is to use washing up liquid, a few good squirts to a half a gallon of water. The detergent dissolves the wasps' exoskeletons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX32S2BHKXk

RC


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