Wasps

[Rainy]

SW Bowland.

How are you for wasps this year? Grr. Two wasps nests already established within 10 yards of the house door. One S facing, the other E facing. Didn't have any nests close by during the last two summers. Hardly saw any wasps feeding here then despite growing fruit in the garden and lots of blackberries in field hedgerows. Thought they had all died out in all the wet and the cold ...!

[Shiny_Bottom_1]

SW Bowland.

How are you for wasps this year? Grr. Two wasps nests already established within 10 yards of the house door. One S facing, the other E facing. Didn't have any nests close by during the last two summers. Hardly saw any wasps feeding here then despite growing fruit in the garden and lots of blackberries in field hedgerows. Thought they had all died out in all the wet and the cold ...!

To be honest, i've only seen 2-3 so far this year.

In fact, i've seen more bees and bats (individually) than wasps (and we seem to be getting more and more bats each year here).

[LadyPakal]

Wasps, not so many (phew). Bumblebees - many (we have at least 3 nests close to the house - 1 in an old sink planter, 1 in a hole in the wall and 1 in an old tattie sack in the shed).

[Rainy]

Lancs. SW Bowland. 12 miles NE of Preston. Well, I'm sorry to say I had the Council Pest Control officer here today and he has destroyed the 2 nests I mentioned. They were impossible to reach with an ordinary puffer even from a ladder. Very cunningly they had set up home in holes in the stone walls, but hidden awkwardly behind right angled bends. He used permethrin in a pump action high power pressure device with a long tube. Rather like a spot treatment sprayer. Sorry to have to do this. The wasps had worked hard keeping greenfly down recently. But could not tolerate them so near the house door where children play. No doubt there will be other nests somewhere round the premises.

Bees too nesting. One nest is just a couple of feet below the wasps. We didn't treat that. They nested there last year and were reasonably friendly. I'm sure there have been many more bees or bee-type things about this year.

[OldGreggsTundraBoy]

hhhm havent been so many Wasps this year around my area of London, oh noo!! :[

some FAT bumble bees tho, seriously i never seen such big fat bumble bees :lol: must be the heat :]

[BARRY]

Loads of bumble bee's not seen a wasp yet.

[Phil UK]

Lancs. SW Bowland. 12 miles NE of Preston. Well, I'm sorry to say I had the Council Pest Control officer here today and he has destroyed the 2 nests I mentioned. They were impossible to reach with an ordinary puffer even from a ladder. Very cunningly they had set up home in holes in the stone walls, but hidden awkwardly behind right angled bends. He used permethrin in a pump action high power pressure device with a long tube. Rather like a spot treatment sprayer. Sorry to have to do this. The wasps had worked hard keeping greenfly down recently. But could not tolerate them so near the house door where children play. No doubt there will be other nests somewhere round the premises.

Bees too nesting. One nest is just a couple of feet below the wasps. We didn't treat that. They nested there last year and were reasonably friendly. I'm sure there have been many more bees or bee-type things about this year.

I would never harm or disturb bees if I can help it. Bees do in fact go out of their way to avoid humans.

Wasps, on the other hand, I take a different point of view. Such as yesterday when one tried to nick my beer when sitting outside becoming rather red and it even had the audacity to get in my face. Bad idea!!

Phil.

[Methuselah]

S0...who does likle wasps...

Not me!!!

Edited July 1, 2009 by Pete Tattum

[TEITS]

Annoying little gits.

The only thing I will say is my parents had a nest of euro wasps in her garden and I couldn't help but admire how they built their nest in the tree. You could actually see where they had torn strips of wood off the fence to build it.

Never forget when admiring the nest close up my mother thought it would be funny to throw an apple at the football sized nest. The little devils swarmed out and I was lucky to have avoided being stung. Still to this day my mother laughs if I bring this up in conversation.

Still only been stung a few times by wasps and to be honest its relatively painless. Never understood why some people make such a song and dance about being stung.

Edited July 1, 2009 by THE EYE IN THE SKY

[Mark Bayley]

Hate them, they sting you for no reason! Its like they have a radar and they pick up a humans and its attack, atack, atack!!

[The PIT]

Wrong forum already a discussion about them elsewhere. Hardly seen any again this year.

[Methuselah]

Wrong forum already a discussion about them elsewhere. Hardly seen any again this year.

Oops...sorry guys!

[sunny scunny]

How can anybody like them? I hate the bloody things :blush:

[flagpole]

I like them. I think they are fascinating.

[Rustynailer]

I have chainsawed through 2 wasps nests and ran over one each with a quad, a tractor and a transit van also felled countless trees with nests in, been stung about 20 times, worst was about 30 stings.

I still love all of mother natures creatures.

If its black and yellow don't let it spoil your day, work somewhere else Till winter...

[Costa Del Fal]

I have barely seen any this year!

[Thundery wintry showers]

They are an important part of the food chain, and kill some pests, so apparently they are of use.

I personally can't stand them, I've had about half a dozen wasp stings in my lifetime so far, mainly from when I was younger.

[sundog]

When i was a kid i was running about in a field of fairly long grass behind the house where i used to live and i fell,i fell right beside a bloody wasp nest as luck would have it and was stung about 5 or 6 times. So that was not a very pleasant experiance

[Cheese Rice]

Everyone hates them tbh, they are (apperantley) of use though, they tend to divebomb into people for no reason, recentley a awfull lot of bees/wasps keep flying into my window for some reason

[TonyH]

Yes.

Respect all of natures bewildering diversity and adaptations.

[Nick_W]

Wasps are b*stards, they're just b*stards.

Saxondale.

Edited July 2, 2009 by Nick_W

[TonyH]

They are pollinating insects. Without a variety of these there would be no plants no food and ultimately no us.

[Koppite]

I have barely seen any this year!

Nope nor me, certainly don't miss them. But if they are of use, then as long as they stay out of my way, carry on pollinating.

Edited July 2, 2009 by Koppite

[Terminal Moraine]

I agree with Flagpole, useful, fascinating and fiesty little creatures, although they can be a bit irritating if you're eating outdoors and they want to share.

As an outdoor worker(and as a child, although then I deserved it ) I've been stung dozens of times. A few years ago I was reducing an overgrown hedge with a petrol cutter and, on hearing a tearing sound, thought I'd cut through a newspaper.

I looked up to see where it was just in time to see the wasp nest fall on my head; cue much running about and flailing of arms.

[inga]

Yes - at a distance! Fascinating and vivid creatures. They make the most beautiful nests, too, and unlike slugs, they don't eat my hostas.