Wasps !!!!!!. ( b^$t^*d$ !!!)

[middi]

There is a wasps nest ( massive !!!) in the debris heap at the bottom of the garden ( period saw dust, bits of period rotten wood, not so period grass cuttings, the odd grandchildren plastic cricket bat and so on...) . I have disregarded all the advise which I gathered from the internet about the various humane solutions to disperse them I concluded that I have no intention to show human compassion to wasps and decided to exterminate them. Drawing on my own scientific knowledge about wasps I decided that the best way to proceed with the task was to dose the " heap" with a litre or so of old two stroke mix and set fire to it, which I did very safely and successfully. Flames up to 20 feet up in the air and ,me, making a victory dance thinking " I have got you B^$t^rDS ".

WRONG !!!!!!
This morning there was about a thousand wasps ( well, lots of them anyway ) trying to get back where the burned heap was ( and still smoldering). Aren't living things suppose to move on or die when there is no more home left ?.
Are these insects expected to move on ?. If not what is the next step . ( no, I am not rebuilding their home unless I get sued)

Middi

 

[Schoolmarm]

£35 Will buy the services of a wasp removing person.

 

[Flyfisher]

£5 will buy a spray can of wasp killer from any half decent garden centre. They have a good range so you don't have to get too close to the nest. Wait until dusk, when all the wasps have returned to the nest, and give it a good spray. End of wasps.

 

[middi]

£5 will buy a spray can of wasp killer from any half decent garden centre. They have a good range so you don't have to get too close to the nest. Wait until dusk, when all the wasps have returned to the nest, and give it a good spray. End of wasps.

Maybe that is what I should have done in the first place FF.
The problem I have created is that I have burned and blocked their entrance, now the stupid things instead of moving on to new pastures ( to another county, preferably), are hovering around the nest like headless chickens trying to find their way into a, probably, non existent nest. Maybe I wait another couple of days a re-evaluate the situation.

Middi

 

[Lime]

I presume your knowledge of wasps and their nest is somewhat limited middi?

 

[d49xc]

I have used the wasp powder - in smiliar plastic squeeze type bottles to the ant killer powder.
probably around £7.

Wait till evening when all is quiet
dust liberally round nest espicially round entrance - or if nest inacessible then in/around entrance hole if in/behind wall/fence etc.
The effect is that the wasps simply go away, dispere,vamoosh.
Then you can remove nest after about a day - though big nest may require more than one application.
job done

 

[Nigel Watts]

Is noone going to speak up for this important native species of ours?

Wasps are predators of flies, caterpillars and other insects as well as being important prey for certain other native species. It is true that as the summer progresses their more aggressive female workers seek out more sugary foods to feed their queen's brood - a time of year which tends to coincide with humans' tendency to wish to dine al fresco (an uncomfortable and messy habit) - but they don't spread diseases or, except in very occasional cases to those with over-sensitive immune systems, cause serious harm. Their nests, which are marvels in themselves, are abandoned at the end of autumn each year as all but a very small number of fertilized females die as winter approaches.

Live and let live should be the guiding principle.

 

[middi]

Lime-, You are absolutely right, my scientific knowledge of wasps stretches as far as ---EXTERMINATE---

Nigel-, I dug very deep within my soul to find a way to let them go away peacefully hence a bit of reseach on the net, after all, all living things have evolved and adapted for a reason and who are we to play "GOD" in deciding what lives or what dies. I concluded that I would exercise my right of " the survival of the fittest" and decided to kill the "B^$t^rDs".

( I sat on a wasps nest when I was about 10 yrs old, they chased me for quite a few 100 yrds and stung me several times, since that time the name "WASP" deletes from my memory bank any rational explanation as to their useful role on this earth)

It looks as if I need to approach the problem with the chemical solution as OP suggest.

Middi

 

[Keithj]

While I defend most of God's creation, wasps and a couple of other critters push my tolerance a bit. In the end, self-defence comes to the fore, and the big spray can is applied to any wasps in the house or within a few yards of it. Nests get a 1-second blast.

The other delight here is ants - we had something over 200 ants nests in the back lawn (I stopped counting), and the green woodpeckers can only eat so many ants. Now that the ants aren't inside the house, I'm more tolerant of them.

 

[Flyfisher]

Live and let live should be the guiding principle.

I would generally agree with that sentiment and I've only killed off one wasp nest, when I was our roof dormers and there was an active nest under the tiles nearby. After a few hours of being buzzed (which I wouldn't normally mind except I was on a ladder at the time with a brush in one hand a paint kettle in the other) I'd had enough, though the final straw was being stung on the neck. A quick trip to the garden centre and there were no more wasps the following day.

I've nothing against highly evolved social insects, it's the anti-social ones I object to.
This old Private Eye cartoon seems to summarise the general view of wasps and other social insects:

 

[robgil]

Wasps are pretty cool insects, they wont harm you , people just get frightened by them.
I wouldn't want to live in the same room as one though.

 

[LadyArowana]

There are worse things than wasps. I have traded dealing with them for roach removal duties by His Lordship. On our recent holiday there was a wasp in the hotel bedroom and I had to make good on my promise. Glass over wasp, postcard under glass, relocation to outside, fly away wasp.

 

[Johnboy]

It's a well known fact that wasps contain the souls of dead traffic wardens... hence the colouring, and behaviour. :lol:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Middi - when petrol fails in these situations, there is only one alternative.

Explosives.

(Big ones)

 

[Lime]

CO2 is the best to kill insects.
It's almost instantaneous.
I have used old part-used fire extinguishers to kill nests before.

 

[88v8]

We had a huge nest in one attic, interwoven into the insulation. I left it.
Then they nested in the superstructure above the side gate. That was more difficult, one had to scuttle a bit, and when the gate shut whummmp! (it's a heavy gate) out they came, and once they got me. But I left it.
They are part of the ecosystem, and a gerdener's friend.
If they were in the house that might be a different matter.

Ivor

 

[middi]

Update . hardly any wasps around the (old) nest this morning. I think they have got the message and moved on.

Middi