Wasps

[AWD]

Saw the first 2 Wasps I've seen this year in my garden this morning.

Deadly things. Hate them. Had a nest behind my shed last year which I managed to successfully destroy, I so hope they don't return this year.

[cornish snow]

I know what you mean,dont like them either.

Suppose everything has it's place and all that and i do try not to kill the queen's you see at this time of year.

Kill a queen and that's a whole colony gone.

[CreweCold]

I exterminated a queen wasp yesterday and I won't feel sorry for doing so. Horrid aggressive things. The opposite to bees.

[Eskimo]

Wasps only attack if you are getting too close to the nest or they feel threatened, pretty similar to all creatures across the Earth. 

[CreweCold]

Wasps only attack if you are getting too close to the nest or they feel threatened, pretty similar to all creatures across the Earth.

Not true at all. I've seen and had plenty of wasp stings to know exactly what they're like. Unless you count 100m being too close to their nest? I've also observed wasps trying to sting inanimate objects. IMO it requires little provocation to acquire a sting.Funny how I've never had a bee sting in 25 years of living. If you get too close to a bees nest they'll warn you by dive bombing you.There's a valid reason why wasps are in the top 5 most hated insects in the world!

[cornish snow]

I exterminated a queen wasp yesterday and I won't feel sorry for doing so. Horrid aggressive things. The opposite to bees.

Can say that iv'e never been stung by a queen wasp. When you see one,their just looking for a home.

Look,if i see a wasp i'll usually try to zap it,just feel that to kill the queen's, isn't quite cricket.

[Gowon]

When I was six, me and my brother were climbing a tree on the beach that had a wasp nest in it - when he jumped off, he shook the branch and disturbed them and I felt the full force of the colony - I was stung everywhere... even down my throat. My dad picked me up and dipped me in the sea water and made me gargle it. I was very sore for the journey back home, but at least the sea water had prevented the swelling in my throat... thank god.

[frogesque]

Wasps are OK, especially at this time of year. Queens are starting their first brood and then the new workers (ususally fairly small) will catch and dismember small insects for the emerging colony's lavae. The cycle repeats untill the autumn when the queen stops laying and the adult wasps have little to do so will either get drunk on rotting fruit and sweet stuff and can be very docile, especially if they are feeding off fermenting blackberrys. Later on comes the hangover and they get really cranky as they start dying and will lash out at anything.

The most amazing thing I've seen regarding wasps was a flying wasp took a daddylonglegs in mid air. Both crashed to the ground but there was only one survior who promptly fed off the newly deceased Mr. Longshanks.

Wasps are really a gardener's friend but can be the death of bees and you don't want them in your loft. They will chew the rafters!

[Methuselah]

I exterminated a queen wasp yesterday and I won't feel sorry for doing so. Horrid aggressive things. The opposite to bees.

Not as much fun as soaking a nest with petrol. Goes up with a nice 'whump-bzzzz, snap-crackle-pop'...

[Gowon]

Not as much fun as soaking a nest with petrol. Goes up with a nice 'whump-bzzzz, snap-crackle-pop'...

My dad used to feed the nests to our German shepherd... he said it would make the dog stronger.

[Crepuscular Ray]

Wasps only attack if you are getting too close to the nest or they feel threatened, pretty similar to all creatures across the Earth. 

Really? Their only plus-point of the nasty, aggressive little demons is that they eat aphids, especially greenfly.

[Nick F]

We should be thankful in the UK that wasps (and bees to a lesser extent) are really the only creature that can commonly inflict pain, unless you are unlucky enough to be bitten by an adder. Live in many other parts of the world (particularly with warmer climates) and there are many more beasties lurking that could bring you pain or perhaps even death!

[cornish snow]

We should be thankful in the UK that wasps (and bees to a lesser extent) are really the only creature that can commonly inflict pain, unless you are unlucky enough to be bitten by an adder. Live in many other parts of the world (particularly with warmer climates) and there are many more beasties lurking that could bring you pain or perhaps even death!

Spent 3 months in Canada many years ago trapping black bears and spent most of that time trying to avoid mosquitoes,black flies,and a type of fly whose name alludes me but which could bite the hell out of you.Like a horse fly on steroids.

I'll take a few pesky wasps anyday.

 

Has anyone been stung by a hornet?

[Crepuscular Ray]

I've been bitten by fire ants in Australia - ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.

[nitro_deluxe]

Seen quite a few hornets knocking about, generally on the mainland - they say size doesn't matter, unless of course you're talking about wasps!

 

Also worth considering, harming or killing wasps can make them instantly release pheromones, which in turn makes others aware of potential danger? effectively they may become more angry to the point that entire nests are immobilized...best stay clear and leave them be if at all possible.

 

Whilst sometimes a complete pain, they are all still part of natures great big patchwork.Despite ranking pretty high up on the hate list.

[Tamara]

There are very few creatures that I have any aversion to, but wasps are the worst of all. I too have been badly stung after putting my gardening secaturs through a wasp nest in a hedge that was completely hidden . I understand that I effectively disturbed their home, but they are very aggressive by nature at the best of times anyway, and so they took out their full fury out on me I had a sleeveless top on and could see and feel them stinging me all over my shoulders and arms as I dashed indoors among a large angry buzzing cloud of them.  I threw myself under the cold shower as the only way to get rid of them and wash them off me and the bottom of the bath had loads of drowned wasp bodies all over it. 

 

I was really shaken up and distressed and soon after I felt a tightness in my windpipe that alarmed me further. I lay down on the bed and kept taking deep breaths and trying to stay calm. I wondered if I should call the hospital - all the household were out and no-one was with me which made things worse. However within a couple of hours of lying there completely still and taking deep breaths, the horrid feeling started to disappear and I was fine again afterwards - although I was rather blotchy where I had been stung!  I've avoided them and been ultra cautious ever since.

[CreweCold]

There are very few creatures that I have any aversion to, but wasps are the worst of all. I too have been badly stung after putting my gardening secaturs through a wasp nest in a hedge that was completely hidden:doh: . I understand that I effectively disturbed their home, but they are very aggressive by nature at the best of times anyway, and so they took out their full fury out on me:( I had a sleeveless top on and could see and feel them stinging me all over my shoulders and arms as I dashed indoors among a large angry buzzing cloud of them.  I threw myself under the cold shower as the only way to get rid of them and wash them off me and the bottom of the bath had loads of drowned wasp bodies all over it.  I was really shaken up and distressed and soon after I felt a tightness in my windpipe that alarmed me further. I lay down on the bed and kept taking deep breaths and trying to stay calm. I wondered if I should call the hospital - all the household were out and no-one was with me which made things worse. However within a couple of hours of lying there completely still and taking deep breaths, the horrid feeling started to disappear and I was fine again afterwards - although I was rather blotchy where I had been stung!  I've avoided them and been ultra cautious ever since.

I stepped on a wasps nest in the ground as a small kid and felt the same aggression. Stung all over my body, including on the lip and in my ear.

[cheeky_monkey]

Not true at all. I've seen and had plenty of wasp stings to know exactly what they're like. Unless you count 100m being too close to their nest?I've also observed wasps trying to sting inanimate objects. IMO it requires little provocation to acquire a sting.Funny how I've never had a bee sting in 25 years of living. If you get too close to a bees nest they'll warn you by dive bombing you.There's a valid reason why wasps are in the top 5 most hated insects in the world!

where can i find this top 5?..and what does the top 5 most loved looked like?

[Crepuscular Ray]

where can i find this top 5?..and what does the top 5 most loved looked like?

I bet ladybirds feature in the most-loved list.

[Gray-Wolf]

I've never 'liked' them but I also wish them no ill?

 

I've had a number of ladyfriends who would do the silly 'wasp dance' and insisted I ofted them at any opportunity......of course if you do that the pheromone they release just attracts the rest of the colony to attack the attacker........

 

This time of year they are busy nest building and so are not an issue, you can get quite close to watch them chewing wood into pulp (leaving those 'scrape marks' on fences etc). Only when the nest is full and they get thrown out does the trouble begin.......what do you expect from a bunch of homeless blokes off their faces on sugar?????

 

They are part of the natural balance so try and not be indiscriminate in your hatred for them. A jam butty or bit of orange juice away from where your sitting will keep them happy and occupied (they'll even get stuck in the Jam or drown themselves in the juice if that's your gig?)

 

And 'Yes' I have had a colony take a dislike to me (and my dogs) a couple of summers back. They took the dog to the Vets but I was left to fend for myself........that 'lightheaded' feeling can be a bit disconcerting if on you;re own........

[Tamara]

I've never 'liked' them but I also wish them no ill?

 

I've had a number of ladyfriends who would do the silly 'wasp dance' and insisted I ofted them at any opportunity......of course if you do that the pheromone they release just attracts the rest of the colony to attack the attacker........

 

This time of year they are busy nest building and so are not an issue, you can get quite close to watch them chewing wood into pulp (leaving those 'scrape marks' on fences etc). Only when the nest is full and they get thrown out does the trouble begin.......what do you expect from a bunch of homeless blokes off their faces on sugar?????

 

They are part of the natural balance so try and not be indiscriminate in your hatred for them. A jam butty or bit of orange juice away from where your sitting will keep them happy and occupied (they'll even get stuck in the Jam or drown themselves in the juice if that's your gig?)

 

And 'Yes' I have had a colony take a dislike to me (and my dogs) a couple of summers back. They took the dog to the Vets but I was left to fend for myself........that 'lightheaded' feeling can be a bit disconcerting if on you;re own........

Fair enough  I am presuming that the male wasp/sugar analogy aligns with a male human/beer analogy?

 

More seriously, I wouldn't harm a wasp by wanting to drown one f.e, as much as I am nervous of them... as long as it left me alone - but then I wouldn't want to go near one anyway voluntarily even if it was occupied with fascinating and intricate tree markings. Seems like a fair compromise to me..

[be cause]

A few years back I rescued a wasp that splatted into a friend's curried chips. It was a complete mess ..the equivalent of a well oiled guillemot . For 15 minutes I held him on a napkin and watched and felt as he vibrated the gloup off bit by bit . I helped with the biggest bits but the wasp vibrated every trace off .. even using the hairs on the back of my hand to collect some bits .We gathered a crowd .. had been busking with friends .. now entertaining .

  I had been plagued with wasps in my mobile home for a week or two at the time ... and just as the wasp made ready to fly , I knew they would be gone when i got home.

And they were .. and to this day I have large nests of wasps on my nursery but never in my mobile !!!

 

We are one with everything  and if we act as if this is true we get to see it is true  

[AWD]

They're back;

[Bobby]

Seen a few around here lately too. Although midges are my worst enemy lately, got eaten alive by them the other night.

[Jax]

not seen a single wasp so far this year "woohoo"!