Wasps!

In message , Jape writes

A narrow necked bottle, suspended and part filled with cider.

This is revenge rather than a cure.

Catch a Wasp, tie a few inches of button thread round it's waist, follow it as it flies slowly home. This may not be easy in the urban environment:-)

regards

Yes, leave them alone and they will return the compliment. Try to harm them and you are likely to get stung.

Ignore them, they won't be around for long if you let the colony go through its normal cycle. If you kill individuals you could prolong the life of the colony because it will take more time for the next generation to mature because of lack of food.

Mary

Take a nearly empty strawberry jam jar, you know, with a little jam smeared all around the inside. Pierce a large wasp sized hole in the lid. Half fill the jam jar with water and screw the lid back on. My mother used to put about 4 of these on outside windowsills and they filled up pretty quickly. Multiple floating wasp carcasses give me the heebee geebees, but it does work.

Suzanne

I've been stung three times by wasps. And on all three occasions I did nothing to antagonize them. The first time I just stayed still after it landed on my leg. It decided to sting me and then flew off. Second and third times out of nowhere they stang my ear and flew off.

The advice that leave them alone and they'll leave you alone is, IME, complete rubbish. Wasps are vindicative little critters.

Rob

I haven't seen many this year and according to a program I watched on the box the other day there will be a lot fewer wasps this year due to the weather but more hornets, lovely!!!

Anyway I use a couple of pots of jam just place them somewhere away from you and they will eventually be atrracted to them and should leave you alone.

CHeers

Richard

Take an old jam jar, add a table-spoon of sugar, 5cm of warm water (warm to dissolve the sugar), drill a 1cm hole in the lid, screw the lid on and leave the jar where you have a wasp problem. You will catch lots of flies, too...

I have found loads of nests, in the shed, garage, playhousse etc. In previous years we have had none.

Perhaps the weather is causing them to nest in different places?

sponix

Yes, find the nest and quietly sneak a big plastic bag over it when they are all asleep. Cut the nest awy from whatever, tie up the bag and gently place it in Mary's front garden (or the 'Leeds wasp sanctury' as it's known round those parts (or 'the old crazy woman' as she's known on this list)).

Then go home and finish yer jam / beer in peace (the wasps don't like Mary's home-made jam or ale so she's ok).

All the best ..

T i m

I saw a few queens earlier in the year but one worker since, it's a puzzle. And ours is a wasp friendly garden.

Mary

Sadly, the wasps would be unlkely to survive.

You know, Tim, you really shouldn't give bad advice. The OP would be likely to suffer if he did that.

Mary

Not so, unless they had previously been harassed.

Oh dear ... (I'm not sure those who have been stung 'for no reason') would mind too much? You know, Tim, you really shouldn't give bad advice.

Or joke apparently ;-( to suffer if he did that.

If I had wanted that I would have suggested "bashing the nest with a baseball bat then killing the waps by sitting on them" ?

But what if *you* haven't actually harrased them but they take it out on you? Are you allowed to defend yourself then, say with a rule, newspaper or Vax?

All the best ..

T i m

You're ALLOWED to do whatever you want.

And if you did kill those insects (which might not sting you but you never know) would it mean that there were no more in the vicinity?

Of course not. No trap or splattering or even removal of all the nests you can find can guarantee no stinging or biting insects in the air.

We should think sensibly about these things before we act hastily, on impulse. Surely Man is capable of more rational behaviour?

Mary

Mary

Yes, of course. Silly me, I obviously didn't read what you said the first time.... oh hang on I did.

Just because *you* say it doesn't make it right. IME wasps don't need to have been harassed to sting you. In general you may be right, but in general is not all the time.... an interesting description of wasps on this page

Rob

It's a wonderful way of attracting more wasps too.

You have to ask, with all that has gone on before? :-)