Important. If she’s going to move the box then move it after dark then all the wasps will be in the nest. When they leave the nest in the morning they will know where it is and be able to find their way back to it.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Important. If she’s going to move the box then move it after dark then all the wasps will be in the nest. When they leave the nest in the morning they will know where it is and be able to find their way back to it.
I had a nest just like that last summer. A badger half destroyed it; as I was investgating, several wasps attacked me. Long-lastng pain.
Observe their routes in and out carefully. Give these routes a wide berth.
I would buy some wasp killer, especially with children about. I still have some BHC - possibly illegal. Does your friend have any views on nature vs humans?
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Bédé as you suggest it is illegal for you to hold/use Lindane/bhc … it is extremely toxic not only to humans but hugely damaging in the environment.
You have said that you garden in a wildlife-friendly way … can we rest assured that you will now do the responsible thing and dispose of it in a safe and approved manner?
Information about how to do this is on the Environment Agency website.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The sum up is if she wants to keep the nest and save the lovely wasps then move it at night to a quiet part of the garden where the wasps will emerge in the morning not knowing they moved.
We have a nest being built in our shed at the moment and although I still need to get in and out of there occassionally, the wasps don't bother me because I don't bother them. I know it's different with children but if they are old enough it's a great learning experience, especially one where they learn we don't need to persecute every living thing.
Indeed @thevictorian. Moving it at night to a quiet part somewhere is the ideal solution. When they vacate it, perhaps your friend can remove the nest and let the children see it @SalixGold . Mine were both fascinated by anything like that when they were young. Older daughter still loves anything to do with the wasps/bees/birds. We did have to remove one from the loft once, because they were emerging from the loft hatch, rather than going in and out via their outside vent entrance, and the hatch was right outside the girls' bedroom.
I had two nests of wasps last year, and they were both in awkward sites as one was near a fence I needed to repair, in a purpose built box I'd made, and the other was just to the other side of the fence, in the raised bed there, and accessed from that side - right by my car. I had no problem working around them though. I've kept the nest from the one they made in the little box. There's one in the hoghouse just now too, but I think they may have left that one, as I had to move it to access the hedge, which is a pity.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I haven’t seen one wasp in my garden this year so far and that’s a first. Bumble bee and hover fly numbers have also plummeted and I must admit to being more than a tad concerned. I know the splats on number plate surveys have shown a frightening 64% decrease in winged insect numbers between 2004 and 2022 so things are heading in a pretty scary direction.
Speaking as someone who got stung once or twice a year when wasps were more common, the moral of the story as far as I’m concerned is to save the nest if at all possible. I even had one fly into the gap in my cycle helmet once getting stung in the head 3 times before I could tear the helmet off.
Wasps didn’t evolve to be annoying to humans. They have a vital function in the eco-system and should be respected. We all want to protect our kids but using this situation as a learning opportunity has to be better, given the circumstances, than killing the wasps.
That is worrying @DaveGreig. We always have plenty of wasps here, and bees/hoverflies, but it's always very concerning when numbers of anything start falling, and there doesn't seem to be any obvious reason. Has anything major happened in your area that could have affected them? There's been huge amounts of wildfires up here already because of the horrible hot, dry weather affecting ground and water levels. Even in our normally wet glens, water sources have been affected, and levels of rivers and lochs are noticeably lower. All these things can have an effect on wildlife, in the same way as flooding etc.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
thanks
Observe their routes in and out carefully. Give these routes a wide berth.
I would buy some wasp killer, especially with children about. I still have some BHC - possibly illegal. Does your friend have any views on nature vs humans?
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
You have said that you garden in a wildlife-friendly way … can we rest assured that you will now do the responsible thing and dispose of it in a safe and approved manner?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
We have a nest being built in our shed at the moment and although I still need to get in and out of there occassionally, the wasps don't bother me because I don't bother them. I know it's different with children but if they are old enough it's a great learning experience, especially one where they learn we don't need to persecute every living thing.
Mine were both fascinated by anything like that when they were young. Older daughter still loves anything to do with the wasps/bees/birds. We did have to remove one from the loft once, because they were emerging from the loft hatch, rather than going in and out via their outside vent entrance, and the hatch was right outside the girls' bedroom.
I had two nests of wasps last year, and they were both in awkward sites as one was near a fence I needed to repair, in a purpose built box I'd made, and the other was just to the other side of the fence, in the raised bed there, and accessed from that side - right by my car. I had no problem working around them though. I've kept the nest from the one they made in the little box. There's one in the hoghouse just now too, but I think they may have left that one, as I had to move it to access the hedge, which is a pity.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Wasps didn’t evolve to be annoying to humans. They have a vital function in the eco-system and should be respected. We all want to protect our kids but using this situation as a learning opportunity has to be better, given the circumstances, than killing the wasps.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...