Wasp nests

[Mickey]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any proven and safe ways to get rid of a wasp nest beneath a bedroom window and also one in a hole in the ground on a slope in our garden? How big are the underground one's usually and how difficult is it to keep wasps away for good.

I wouldn't usually mind them but this is the first year in 3 that we've had this problem and at least 1 of my 4 kids is severely allergic to bee and wasp stings.

Looking forward to hearing your opinions :o)

[Mickey]

Thanks for the advice and the links - will look into these options :o)

[Anonany]

We, also, have had this problem in the past and found that most ant powders worked very well provided you can locate the entrance to the nest.

Wait until dusk -- when the wasps are "home" for the night -- and puff the powder around the entrance. The dust is then carried into the nest as the wasps enter/exit. This may need to be repeated a couple of days later as the odd few may survive the initial application.

Just a comment about bees:

Many years ago when our children were quite small, we had quite a number of bee nests around the house, shed and garden.

Being very concerned, I rang a bee keeper to request advice and enquired about their possible removal.

His advice was "Leave well alone ... unlike wasps, they are not aggressive. Ignore them and, next year, they will find quieter parts of the garden to make their new nests".

We took his advice and, sure enough, next year the new nests were built as far as possible from the haunts of our lively children !

We still have many bees around the house and garden but -- even when they are massed around a flowering plant/shrub -- they take little notice of us human beings if we stick our noses in to sniff the perfume !

Sorry to hear about your child's allergy problem ... but I hope the above information may help to reassure you a little.

Kind regards, Anonany

[Mickey]

Hi all - we tried the smoking them out option when they were sure to be home in bed but don't think we really got it right because really our hearts were not in it to kill the poor little things.

We have banned the kids from that area of the garden and now try to avoid antagonising them when they fly around the windows or near the house.

The consensus seems to be that they will not return to the same place next year and so we are REALLY REALLY hoping you are right and leaving what's left of them to their own devices - Have bought a pharmacy full of Piriton though in case of stinging emergencies and will hope for the best.

Thanks so much for all the advice guys - your help is much appreciated :o)

[brettdundee]

Last year I had 50+ wasps in my compost bin. There are several toddlers around and the wasps often came into the house, not to mention the risk taking out the compost. I dressed up in thick clothing, quickly covered the bin in a large sheet of clear plastic and tied it around the bottom of the compost bin. Once the bin was sealed, I had all the time to belt the wasps through the plastic with a magazine. If any appeared outside the plastic, I just left it for a while. The plastic stayed on for a few days incase any emerged later, or were only stunned instead of squished. It worked and suprisingly I didnt get stung. They didnt return to the compost bin this year.

[Mickey]

LOL - that's brilliant :o)

Did you find any particular publication was more effective for said 'whacking'
I have a very visual sense of humour and you have just made my day, thank you :o)

You should have seen my hubby when he went to try smoke them out - lol - I would NOT have been surprised if the Gardai had turned up investigating a suspicious looking character wearing way too much clothing for the season and balaclava, beanie and leather safari hat (like he was going big game hunting) performing desperate fancy evasive maneouvres in the garden just after twilight - lol

[wheelbarrow]

Hi
I know this is funny. I had a wasp nest outside my Wood work shop door
some years ago. It got so bad you could not go in or out with them
When evening came I went in for the hover I made the hole in the wall biger
where they went in
I then sucked out as much as I could, taped up the hover bag and disposed of it
I have not seen any wasps there since That was 15 year ago

[coffeycase]

yeah we have been attacked by wasps as well this weekend and similar to the above, my mother is allergic to wasps and having 2 toddlers I do not know yet if they are intolerant but my difficulty is that we cannot find the source of the wasps, they are coming in the back door and windows at the back but we have spent many manhours with family trying to locate the source but to no avail, can anyone help re tracking down the nest?? as i am now terrified to let the kids outside as my son keeps running after them saying "Die, Die Die" so he will not stay away from them!!!

please help