Thanks GemmaJF. I hadn't thought of kicking or strimming my sock draw and I shall try to avoid doing so. I take your point about "liking wasps". I'm not sure that I "like" wasps though as a gardener I do appreciate aspects of their presence and while they are indeed rather beautiful they do need to be respected. Faced with this unusual situation I am "interested" in this particular wasp. If you have any suggestions on how and when to open the drawer (I never seem to see her coming out!) I'd be interested. Sealing the room is not a possibility just now (I'm currently replacing ruinous windows in this listed cottage, not straight forward.
You wouldn't need to kick or strim it. You said it was in your bedroom right next to your bed. Just knocking it or being too close will ensure the entire swarm attacks you.
I'm more than happy to tolerate wasps at our property, in fact I created habitat that is ideal for them and a range of other species. Trying to live in a room with them though? No. You might tolerate them, they certainly will not tolerate you near a nest.
I think btw I will leave this thread here. I get tired enough of people arguing on the internet about things they don't have the first clue about, this thread is beyond absurd.
Open the drawer ASAP ... cover it immediately with a sheet and take the drawer into the garden before you inspect the contents.
It may be that the nest site is in the structure of the chest of drawers rather than in your sock drawer itself so you may have to remove all your drawers (😱🤭 🤣) before you find the nest ... the sock drawer may simply be her preferred route in.
Whatever you do, do it now ... while she is still building it means there is not a huge colony of wasps in there ... once her first brood has hatched they’ll take over building the nest and she’ll stay in the nest to reproduce and you won’t see her coming and going ... just all her family. Good luck 😃
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks especially to Dovefromabove. Pretty much where I had got to. I was thinking I'd start with other drawers to see if that showed anything. Then I might have a careful look with an endoscope inspection camera I have for looking int machinery etc. And I'm beginning to sense there may be some urgency. It's still very interesting and hopefully I will know more about wasps by the time I've finished.
final post I think. When I saw the wasp vacate I removed next drawer and inspected - nothing to see. Removed sock drawer to find nest size of a walnut hanging behind it. A few cells (14) some appear to have eggs in but no grubs. I've left the drawer out and removed the nest so hopefully she will decide to try elsewhere other than our bedroom. Anyone know if this might be some sort of solitary wasp? Not much sign of urgent colony building.
That's the beginning of the nest where the initial brood is reared .... a beautiful thing isn't it. We had one in the apex of our garden shed ... we tried to leave it alone but had to go in and out for forks and rakes etc and I think the queen realised that the shed in late spring wasn't the quiet unvisited spot it had been when she first found it, and she abandoned the nest.
When my children were at primary school someone 'donated' a deserted wasp nest to their Nature table ... the children were fascinated.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Faced with this unusual situation I am "interested" in this particular wasp. If you have any suggestions on how and when to open the drawer (I never seem to see her coming out!) I'd be interested. Sealing the room is not a possibility just now (I'm currently replacing ruinous windows in this listed cottage, not straight forward).
Sometime I think I'd rather have wasps in my sock drawer than have to deal with the renovation of a listed building. Good luck with both
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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I'm more than happy to tolerate wasps at our property, in fact I created habitat that is ideal for them and a range of other species. Trying to live in a room with them though? No. You might tolerate them, they certainly will not tolerate you near a nest.
I think btw I will leave this thread here. I get tired enough of people arguing on the internet about things they don't have the first clue about, this thread is beyond absurd.
Good luck 😃
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
And I'd do it at night
And I'm beginning to sense there may be some urgency. It's still very interesting and hopefully I will know more about wasps by the time I've finished.
When my children were at primary school someone 'donated' a deserted wasp nest to their Nature table ... the children were fascinated.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.