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Talkback: Those wasps are still going strong

Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
in Talkback
We have them all over the place. Been told that old fashioned moth balls, dropped into their run, are a deterent as they hate them...have the moth balls but haven't tried them, as yet, I imagine it would need to be dry weather and we haven't had that in a long time. Our dogs used to deal with them but they have gotten lazy in their old age. Then we got a murdering kitten, who would sit out watching the mole hills, waiting for a mole to appear. Used to find the bodies in the morning. It's a shame because they are beautiful animals but hell hath no fury like a gardener with a mole problem.
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  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    we had a wasp nest at the bottom of our garden in the lawn I decided to leave it be as my garden is 140ft long so it was well away from the house and my kids are all grown up now so it wasn't a danger to them. Yesterday when I went to check my compost bins I saw that the small entrance to the nest had been burrowed down by about a foot I can only asume it was the foxes that visit me every night.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Reply to Faith: You don't say where you live, but it will be interesting to see just how long they can survive in southern England. Since I wrote my notes the nights have been clear and it is noticably much colder these last few mornings, but warm during the day. It might take a much longer cold spell to first get rid of their prey, then the wasps will die off.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    What is the best way to act when a wasp is near? I tell my children to stand still and it will fly away when it discovers you are not food! But they still squeal and flap their arms around...
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Reply to Frieda: Flapping arms around is the worst thing to do. Stand still and they will ignore you. If you find several buzzing round, you might be in the flight path back to the nest so move sideways and backwards away from the danger. If they are up to it, put a blob of jam or honey on a plate and get your kids to watch the wasps feeding. When they see that the wasps are just after a bit of sweetness, they will soon realize that the wasps are not after them.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    The wasps are still active after lots of frosty nights. They could have burrowed into the bottom of the manure heap, and I am wondering if it is extra warm there. I managed to get a barrow load of the manure early in the morning before they were about. As you say I suppose the cold nights will kill off their prey. I saw a shrew wander towards their hole and am wondering if they would have stung it? (I live in Hammerwood, Nr. East Grinstead, West Sussex).
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    I have been amazed this year to see so many wasps at the bird bath - when it needs topping up they almost queue waiting for the water to arrive. They are also stripping my garden fence, presumably for nesting material. Still very active to date.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    My wasps are still active, and still foraging. Has anyone noticed theirs dying off?
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    A word of warning as to where you store your gardening gloves, last week I put mine on that are kept in the greenhouse and was stung by a young lady who had decided my glove was a good place to spend winter. Valerie.
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    There is wasp nest (somewhere) just outside my glass room. The wasps have managed to find a way into the glassroom, and there is no sign of them stopping!! There is normally about 30 dead wasps each day when I return home. My local council are refusing to help as they decommission their wasp controllers in October!! Shall I get a private company? Or wait until they all die?
  • Gardeners' World Web UserGardeners' World Web User Posts: 17,147
    Reply to Paul: Just wait. These are either workers, in which case you will not have long to wait before they all die off, or queens seeking hibernation sites, in which case they will soon have all left the nest and the supply will fail. Keep an eye out next spring, in case some have successfully sheltered in your house and are roused in April or May. These will be queens seeking to establish new nests and you can safely let them out of the window. They will repay you by nesting nearby and keeping your garden free of many pests next year.
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