xScrunchee Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have just discovered that I have got a wasp nest in my little willow tree. The tree is only small-under 5 foot I'd say but it's right nest to my fish pond and I have also noticed that I have got about 5 different species of ladybirds living on it so I can't really spray it or anything. I cannot actually see the nest itself so I can't knock it down but there are so many wasps in and out of the tree that I can't imagine that they are not living in it somewhere!! My neighbour suggested hanging a jamjar near to the tree with a small hole in the lid as the jam should attract the wasps and once they have gone in they cannot get back out but so far no wasps have gone inside!! What the heck do I do now? I hate wasps and don't want the kids getting stung yet the pond and the ladybirds means I cannot use sprays!! Please help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Call your council. They will remove it for about £40 . Shall I send LSH round? He hits wasp nests with a big stick and then runs . He's just said all he needs is a stick and a chicken and he'll sort it for you. (DON'T TAKE HIM UP ON THIS PLEASE - this is why !) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 You can buy the powder that the council use from B&Q for about a fiver. I found this out last year just after I had parted with £40 to the council. If you don't spray it round willy nilly, the ladybirds should be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhapsody Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 If you don't spray it round willy nilly oh dear got the Omlet Forum giggles as usual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 When we had our waspd nest the council was overrun with call outs & could not come for over a week Ethan was only 6 months old at the time & the nest was in the fascia board on the porch next to the front door- v dangerous, so we had to get a bloke out from a private company. It cost the same as what the council would have charged, though. There is a daft tale as to how we discovered them.... From our living room we could see more wasps than usual hovering near our lavender , & OH thought it was my gardening skills that were attracting them. The funny bit was when I went outside to look for the nest armed with a pair of binoculars to check out the roof. The pesky nesty thing was almost under my nose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 We had a wasps' nest in our loft. I got a mixing bowl, a baking tray, and a kettle of boiling water. I put the mixing bowl over the nest so that they couldn't escape, and then slid the baking tray in to form a lid. I then opened it a fraction and poured in the boiling water. This is not something that you could do with a nest in a tree. In fact, it's probably something that you shouldn't do at all: it could have been nasty. But it worked. A few weeks ago we had four fire engines in our street because a man burning paint off windows in the house opposite us set fire to a wasps' nest in the bit of loft over the top bay window, and caught the roof on fire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 If you don't spray it round willy nilly oh dear got the Omlet Forum giggles as usual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperman Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 one of gods creatures I know.........but what purpose do wasps actually serve!!! love bees, hate wasps! Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Yahoo answers have What is the point of wasps? but most people come to the conclusion that the only point they have is attached to their rear end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 I thought they ate aphids - but not enough to be really useful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoid Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Buy a flamethower! And torch the pests! [Happened in brazil once, soliders with flamewthowers came to a wasp attack in a school playground] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bokbokbok Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 I haven't found a nest (yet) but there are HUNDREDS of wasps covering the ground, trunk and branches of a fir tree we have fairly close to the back door. They seem to be drunk on the sap of the tree and needles on the ground - I can approach and spray wasp killer at them and they don't notice me. The wasp killer didn't even make a dent in their numbers. I have never seen this many in one place before. Much as I would like to pour boiling water over them - with them being out in the open I think this would backfire on me pretty quickly - I HAVE been watching to see if there is a nest anyway but can't spy it. I will have a look in B&Q the next time we are there for the powder. What is the attraction of the tree?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scary Mary Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 I know this is probably a silly question, but are you sure they are wasps. Wild bees are really struggling to survive and look like grubby wasps. Same size and shape, but the colours are no where near as bright. We had, what we thought was a wasps nest on a choisya on our patio, I was about to get rid of the nest when I realised that they didn't look quite right - so I gently prodded the nest and ran ( jolly stupid really ) - they were not at all aggressive, and didn't behave like wasps at all. Having had a massive rethink we realised that they were wild bees, which had been feasting on a large patch of clary sage flowering prolifically nearbly. We decided to leave them be ( ) and just told the kids to steer clear of that bush. We had no problems at all with them, despite thier close proximity to the house, although my kids were old enough to be trusted to leave it alone. For wasps, I find B and Q's Wasp nest destroyer Foam, sprayed into a nest at night (I wait untill at least 10 or 11) works very well, we often get them in the roof of the porch, and OH is very allergic to wasp stings so I caan't take any chances. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bokbokbok Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Hmmmmmmm - not sure. Anything that isn't immediately bee-like in my mind has always been a wasp - so have never paid any attention to identification. Good point - will go and look at them more closely. They ARE starting to roam about the garden a lot more annoying OH who is up ladders at the moment trying to roof the run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bokbokbok Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 No - they are definitely not honey bees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rona Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 I've noticed a lot more hover flies than usual this year, and they look like small wasps. Also wasps will gather in trees to collect the wood to make their nests, so you might have a nest nearby but not necessarily in the tree. You need to take a photo of one so you can get some expert identification on here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
