[milan]

hiya

just discovered a wasps nest in what was meant to be a bird nesting box

its at the bottom of our garden so not exactly near the house but near the shed which we go in and out of quite a bit - thing is should i get rid of it or would it be a good idea to leave it so the wasps can eat any nasties off my veggies?

thanks
 

[beansticks]

Get rid of it,i'm sure they have some use.Personally i hate them.

[Babstreefern]

We had a wasps nest at the bottom of our plot on the allotment, virtually next to our cabbages.  The wasps don't bother you, until you cross the "invisible line", then they attack.  We had to run into our greenhouse, until they decided they'd had enough and flew off.  We left them, until the autumn when they died off - usually around October.  The Council will clear it for you, but at a price.  I live in the Tameside area of Manchester they were asking for £50.

[barney rubble]

i agree with beansticks - they gotta go.

I was once held prisoner by a swarm of them 3 - 4 am . I went out, the outside light went on, and a swarm of them just literally rose from the bushes and undergrowth and went for me. It was like something out of a movie. They tried to attack the windows where the light was on and I couldn't go out of the door.

I don't know if they were just a swarm that chose to rest there for the night, but it was late in the season and they supposedly get drowsey by then and probably didn't like the light being turned on in the middle of their sleep. It was not a pleasant experience, and it took a long time - till mid morning for me to dare to venture out.

Unlike bees, they will sting without good cause.

Your local council might be able to help or a private pest control firm (but make sure they remove the nest, not just spray or fumigate it - lots of cowboys around)

[DavidT]

As long as they are not causing any harm I would say leave them, if you don`t bother them, they should be ok. And they will help keep the aphids down.

[Salmo]

My local Council simply refer you to a pest control company who charge quite a lot. Cheaper to do it yourself. There are several chemicals sold in garden centres and chemists that will destroy wasps nests. Most are powder that you put over the nest entrance and the wasps coming in and out carry it into the nest.

In a nestbox powder may be difficult to place to be effective. I had a nest in the eaves of my house and used a product that you sprayed on from a distance. It was a bit like silly string and covered the hole with a layer of foam. Nests often take a day or two for every wasp to die.

[pumpkinpatch]

if they are coursing trouble a can of WD40 and a match will sort it out 

[8doubles]

If they are not a problem i leave them alone, warspies really do take a lot of caterpillars off your brassica`s.

[SnooziSuzi]

for 2 years running we had a wasps nest right outside the upstairs bathroom window in the eaves.  They didn't once come into the house, even though we left the window open day and night.  THey haven't come back this year and they didn't bother us in the slightest so I let them stay.

[Dominic]

Re Tameside
I live in Mossley, hello

Any, Wasps.
I suppose it depends how they are.
My Girlfiend had a wasps nest under her bedroom floor, they'd got in through a tiny hole, and built a nest theat must have 10ft long between two floor beams.
Couldnt open the windiows till they were gone.
I had a few in my loft, they wouldnt let me up there, didnt attack me, but if I went up, a group of them would line up, flying almost verticaly with their stingers pointed at me and
just hover in place.
Both of them were problems, so had to kill them off.

I'm happy to leave them be if they're out of the way and not causing any trouble though.

So, I supopose thats it, if they cause a nuisance, get rid, otherwise, leave em be(e).
hehehe

[Swing Swang]

Not usually a problem until the autumn then they get aggressive, and they do keep pests down in the meantime.

Means to say that you'll have a bigger nest to get rid of if/when the time comes though.

If there're very close I'd deal with it now, if they're a little further away I'd wait and see.

If you get rid of them using non-toxic methods (I've waded in with full beekeeping kit in my time!) fishermen will be happy to take the nest as the grubs/pupae make good bait.

Regards,

SS

[Debz]

My mum had a wasps nest in a bird box a couple of years ago.  We thought that as there was a limit to how big it could become (given the dimensions of the box) that we would just leave it until the autumn and deal with it when they got grumpy.  One day we found larvae on the wall underneath the box and very quickly after that all the active wasps disappeared.  We don't know what was going in and throwing the grubs out because we never saw anything.

[8doubles]

Not usually a problem until the autumn then they get aggressive, and they do keep pests down in the meantime.

Means to say that you'll have a bigger nest to get rid of if/when the time comes though.

If there're very close I'd deal with it now, if they're a little further away I'd wait and see.

If you get rid of them using non-toxic methods (I've waded in with full beekeeping kit in my time!) fishermen will be happy to take the nest as the grubs/pupae make good bait.

Regards,

I had a small nest which i thought i`d use as bait so i sneaked up to the nest late at night armed with a plastic bag and a knife to cut it off the corrugated asbestos roof.
I didn`t manage the neat cut i was trying for and  the little darlings poured out  the top of the nest. I was off .....

When i returned from down the garden after a 'settling down period' my old work boots were still near the nest where i`d leapt out of them.

[diggerjoe]

We had a wooden garage in a state of collaspe under a russian vine a couple of years ago that housed a huge wasps nest. OH is a londoner and lived in a flat never had a garden so hates them with a vengence - the wasps all knew this and everytime he went outside they went for him and followed back to the house,while we all laughed inside. They never bothered me or son. We had them cleared and were told they were very small agressive ones there are lots of different sorts apparently. All summer in our house since OH sits with a can of Raid by the side of him just in case!!! mind you the do hurt if they get you

[gillie]

I used to let wasps' nests be as long as they were not interfering with our comings and goings.

However wasps build their nests from chewed up wood.  I later discovered that they had chewed a substantial hole in a beam in our potting shed.

Not so cheers,

Gillie