I seem to have a wasp nest in the back garden, under the borders. There are seven holes spread out over an area of approximately the size of a manhole cover.
I did some reading up and what I have read suggests spreading an insecticide powder (one with bendiocarb in it) around the holes after dark.
Just wondered if anybody has any tips, or can suggest a good brand of insecticide that they have used.
Also, if anybody knows how long nests take to die with this approach.
Any help appreciated.
Last edited by: SteelSpark on Wed 21 Apr 10 at 13:23
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you sure its a wasp nest? All the ones I have had have been balls of papermache hanging up
Its more likely to be bees. Just get a puffer of commercial wasp killer and puff it in the holes. when activity has died down, dig it out and kill the larvae
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 21 Apr 10 at 13:31
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>> you sure its a wasp nest? All the ones I have had have been balls
>> of papermache hanging up
>>
>> Its more likely to be bees. Just get a puffer of commercial wasp killer and
>> puff it in the holes. when activity has died down dig it out and kill
>> the larvae
Thanks Zero, yeah I am pretty sure it is wasps because I saw two go into the holes, unless they are after a fight with the bees! :)
AFAIK wasps do sometimes have nests underground.
I have been having a search on the B&Q and Homebase websites, but have only come up with this foam stuff so far:
tinyurl.com/y8xgzc8
which I reckon is more for when you can see the nest, so that you can spray it directly onto it.
I reckon that I need something like this, but I just need to find a shop where I can pick it up.
tinyurl.com/y3xl6ez
Last edited by: SteelSpark on Wed 21 Apr 10 at 13:40
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Is it causing a problem? If not just leave it alone. Wasps can be beneficial in keeping other insect pests in check and they do also assist in pollinating some plants.
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We often get a wasps nest in a dry bank by the hedge. I leave them alone for the reasons CGN gave. Howver, if they build one in the hedge itself, it's not such an easy decision. They're fast little beggars when annoyed, as I found to my cost when trimming:)
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I agree, only bother about it if it is a nuisance, and you are certain it is wasps.
Get one of those plastic squeezy insecticide tubs, shake it up, check the nozzle is not blocked, then walk up slowly and squirt the up-ended bottle into the hole.
Then run like hell into the house and shut the door.
In my experience when you go back an hour later it is all over - a few lost looking wasps flying about, and that's it. There is no need to dig it out, just block the hole.
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>> Get one of those plastic squeezy insecticide tubs shake it up check the nozzle is
>> not blocked then walk up slowly and squirt the up-ended bottle into the hole.
>> Then run like hell into the house and shut the door.
The advice I read was to just leave it until dark when they are not active, mind you having a big load of insecticide injected into my house, might even get me out of bed...*might*..
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>> The advice I read was to just leave it until dark .............
As dusk approaches the wasps will start flying back into the nest. Wait until there is little or no activity and then puff the insecticide powder liberally onto/around the entrance/exit holes. It doesn't seem to matter what insects the powder is claimed to kill. In fact you'll often find that some companies (Doff, for example) market separately the same substance as wasp nest destroyer and ant powder. The Wilko product we've got contains 0.5% permethrin.
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>> Is it causing a problem? If not just leave it alone. Wasps can be beneficial
>> in keeping other insect pests in check and they do also assist in pollinating some
>> plants.
We have had a few in the house in the past few days, plus they are attached to all the bright yellow of the toys in the back garden.
I am probably in overprotective parent mode, but I can do without the flowers having their insect enabled nookie, for the sake of avoided a stung kid. Plus we have plenty of bees. If we get overrun with the other insects, I'll only have my self to blame.
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SS
If as you say the wasps are causing a problem the simplest and cheapest way to destroy an underground nest is to pour paraffin or diesel into the the nest and seal up the entrance holes. The fumes will kill the wasps in less than 24 hours
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Badgers dug ours out, there was honeycomb stuff all over the place. Came back the second night to finish the job. I'll send 'em round. You can keep them. Please :-(
JH
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>> Badgers dug ours out there was honeycomb stuff all over the place. Came back the
>> second night to finish the job. I'll send 'em round. You can keep them. Please
>> :-(
Thanks for the kind offer! :)
However, I reckon that I am just going to go with this stuff.
tinyurl.com/y62lkqj
They do have cheaper stuff
tinyurl.com/y59jpv5
But Wikipedia seems to suggest that the active ingredient is carcenogenic, unlike the active ingredient in the more expensive powder.
Had another look at the holes, definitely wasps going in an out, but very little activity, so I guess the nest is probably new and quite small (from what I have read, they get large around June).
Last edited by: SteelSpark on Wed 21 Apr 10 at 14:32
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SS, "they get large around June". Oh yes!
Sure you don't want the badgers?
JH
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>> SS "they get large around June". Oh yes!
>>
>> Sure you don't want the badgers?
Send 'em over anyway, maybe they can hunt down the culprit that keeps ripping our rubbish bags open.
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Bendiocarb, the active ingredient in your weapon of choice may not be carciogenic but its not the sort of stuff I would play around with
"What effect does bendiocarb have on wildlife?
Pure bendiocarb is highly toxic to birds such as ducks and quail.
Bendiocarb is highly toxic to honey bees.
Bendiocarb is also extremely toxic to earthworms, reducing a population over 90% in one study in which bendiocarb was applied at a standard rate.
Bendiocarb is also moderately to highly toxic to several species of fish and aquatic invertebrates such as shrimp, crabs, and insects.
Signs of toxicity in humans.
Early symptoms associated with bendiocarb exposure may include headache, malaise, muscle weakness, nausea, gastrointestinal cramps, sweating, and restlessness.
Greater exposures to bendiocarb may lead to pin-point pupils, tearing, excessive salivation, nasal discharge, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle twitching, and problems with coordination.
Severe poisonings can result in convulsions, coma, and death "
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Wed 21 Apr 10 at 14:50
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If there's a nest already, it's likely to be bees, not wasps. Wasp colonies do not survive the winter; each spring a queen wasp sets up a new colony and it's a bit early for that.
Some references on the internet suggest bees, or some types of bees, are protected species, but I can't verify that, though I believe some species of bumble bee ARE protected. However, there is a huge problem with declining numbers and, as they are major pollinators, there could in future be real difficulties with producing crops that rely on pollination if bee numbers do not stabilise.
Bees are invariably furry insects, though shape, colour and size can vary.
Please don't kill them! They will not attack humans unless interfered with. If they need to use their sting, they can do so only once, as they die afterwards.
Last edited by: ChrisPeugeot on Wed 21 Apr 10 at 14:43
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Try the local council website and ask the Pest Controller to come out.
Wasps do indeed nest underground as we found out when we hired a mini digger to dig out the pond.
It was a Sunday afternnon so the local council were closed but we rang a man from the yellow pages from the safety of the house with windows closed!
He was actually in the village playing cricket ( an away match for him) and he had to finish batting before he could come round to us.
10 minutes later he was all togged up with his protective suit from the boot of his car and the wasps were gone.
We were £40 lighter, and off he went to finish the game of cricket:)
It could only happen in the Fen!
Pat
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>> Try the local council website and ask the Pest Controller to come out.
Thanks Pat, council website says to use the powder, so I imagine the pest controller wouldn't come out for this.
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>> Try the local council website and ask the Pest Controller to come out.
I've not found that to be necessary. Over the years I've satisfactorily dealt with several wasp nests with whatever insecticide powder I happened to have to hand at the time ~ Ant Killer, Wasp Nest Destroyer etc. For nests where the wasps went into the roof void via a gap at the edge of the soffit I fitted a piece of flexible PVC tube to the outlet nozzle of the puffer bottle and then turned the bottle upside down before doing the puffing. One application is generally enough although it may take a couple of days for all the wasps to be killed. Mature wasps get the powder on them when they leave the nest the next day. Wasps born after the application of the powder may take a day or two before they come in contact with the powder. Wait until it's dusk before approaching the nest ~ the wasps all go back into the nest as it starts to get dusk.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Wed 21 Apr 10 at 15:26
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>> Bees are invariably furry insects though shape colour and size can vary.
>>
>> Please don't kill them! They will not attack humans unless interfered with. If they need
>> to use their sting they can do so only once as they die afterwards.
Chris, they are definitely wasps, if they were bees I certainly wouldn't consider killing them.
As I mentioned above, there doesn't seem to be much activity which would tie in with this being a very new, small nest.
Last edited by: SteelSpark on Wed 21 Apr 10 at 15:08
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Wasp nest - Zero
