Wasp nest in planter

[Mike Barnes]

There's a wasp next in the garden, near a seating area so a bit of a problem.

It's in a wooden planter and all I can see is a gap in the foliage with wasps coming out - the nest itself is presumably buried under there somewhere. You can see a wasp exiting in the centre of this photo:

Yesterday I tried Rentokil Wasp Nest Destroyer Foam where the wasps are appearing from, which effectively blocked that exit but dozens of wasps appeared, presumably by other routes. Today the wasps are using the original exit apparently unaffected.

I did hear that they don't like soapy water. I have a pressure washer with a long wand that I could poke down the hole from about 8 feet away and let them have it.

Any ideas?

[Nick Odell]

If you are planning to provoke them, get yourself inside one of those cute Ebola all-in-one suits with facemask first. Is there anyone else you ought to warn? Any pets or neighbours that might be affected by a marauding swarm of very angry insects? Doesn't your council offer a pest control service?

Nick

[John Williamson]

Get a professional in.

[thescullster]

I've found repeated daily applications of the wasp nest destroyer foam to work OK. Apply late on when activity level is low. I've not been "swarmed" using this method, but make sure you have a clear run to safe enclosed space. If you haven't got good access to nest it could take a while - 2 weeks plus depending on nest size. I've also heard that ant powder applied to the nest entrance will work, but not tried this. Also I reckon you would need to be uncomfortably close to the nest for this approach.

Phil

[GB]

I had a wasp nest on the roof, in a valley. The professionals dressed up in protective clothing, then pumped powder around the nest. The professionals said the wasps would carry it into the nest and they would all die. They did.

Nobody was hurt. It was not even all that expensive, about £40 (for 5 minutes work).

[Tim Streater]

Trouble is judging from the picture, to know where the entrance(s) is/are. Can the shrub be sacrificed - or slowly cut back to reveal what's going on? Once the entrance is obvious, then the foamy stuff can be applied from a distance without the sprayer being associated with what's happening.

[Davey]

Agreed.

[Tim Streater]

Well not really. They had to take time to go there, assess the situation, decide on what turned out to be the right course of action, and implement it safely. Applying the powder may take 5 mins but you're paying for a lot more than that, as TMH will agree.

[Roger Mills]

If the planter's not too heavy, wait till dead of night when the wasps are all inside and then use a sack-truck to move the planter to an area of the garden where the wasps will be less troublesome.

[GB]

Oh, I agree. That's why I said it was not expensive. :)

[Brian Gaff]

They will all die of in a month or so I'd imagine. Wasps are difficult, if its in the house then you need to kill them, but outside, despite folk hating them, they are part of the wildlife food chain and also do pollinate plants.

I don't know if there is a safe way to get them all without either annoying them enough to attack, or poison other creatures who eat them. Brian

[stuart noble]

IME they go about their business and don't bother anyone. They won't return to the same site next year either, so why make trouble?

[Brian Gaff]

Many councils won't do wasps, only vermin. I got referred to a commercial company with large prices last time I rang them.

Brian

[Tricky Dicky]

We had a wasps nest in the corner of our eaves on advice from the council w e chose to leave well alone since it was September. The last of them died o ff in late September early October, they did not return this year but we ha d an awkward few weeks with dying wasps invading the nearby conservatory. H ad we moved in earlier in the Summer we would have definitely had the nest nuked ASAP. If doing the poisoning yourself wait till dusk on a cool day I believe wasps are inactive below 40F.

Richard

[Mike Barnes]

Yes, I squirted the foam in late in the evening evening when activity was low. My skin was protected: I'd never have thought that skiwear (balaclava, goggles, padded gloves, etc) would come in useful in August.

I'll repeat the process for a couple of evenings, and if there's no progress, get the council in.

Thanks, everyone.

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

In my experience any contactual activity around the flight path/entrance will be seen as an attack and invoke an aggressive attack.

Saw this in "Splashdown" in Paignton a few years back when my son happened to brush a very similar in-plant entrance with an inflatable ring. Eyes were the the attack point for the wasps. He got stung a few mm from the outside corner of his eye and the young girl that was by his side got stung on the eye-lid (which had she had a huge reaction to)

If it were me I'd give the whole entrance/area a good puffing with wasp killer dust stuff late at night when they were all inside. Do it for several days and monitor flight activity.

Pete@

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

Normally I'd agree but when it can be accidentally brushed passed by man or beast it will lead to an instant attack from emerging/returning wasps..

[Tim Lamb]

In message , Brian Gaff writes

I think the middle of a seating area counts as *in the house* or close enough. The chemical in the foaming spray might be Permethrin which is a plant derived product targeted at insects.

The nest will be made of chimbled up wood and look like grey cardboard. Coating the nest itself with the foam should work but may need several applications as the grubs go on hatching out.

Spraying their current route out of that Hebe? is a waste of time. They will also nest underground if the Queen finds a suitable void.

You could poke around with a long stick and a pre-planned exit route:-)

[Tim Streater]

It's prolly too early for the nest to be producing queens, yet. All those grubs were most likely just workers.

[Jabba]

Brian Gaff wrote

I'd leave them alone. Just avoid wearing anything yellow. They don't go out of their way to sting.