And then there were none ...

[grizzly]

June - 3 Hives - 3 Wasps nests
July - 2 Hives - 3 Wasps nests
August - Pissed Off Beekeeper
Today - 2 Hives - 0 Wasps Nests

I must say i love the crackling of Yellowjackets in the morning !!! never underestimate a Grizzly with a Blowtorch.....



Sorry insect lovers - i know they can be useful, however they decimated one of my colonies, so they had it coming.

 

[the naked beekeeper]

 

[Haughton Honey]

Well done!!!

I'm tearing my hair out at the moment with the amount of wasps raiding my hives even though the entrances have been reduced to one 'bee width' and all holes cover.

Can't see any wasp nests in the area but there are still well over 50-100 or so floating about my four hives on a regular basis.

 

[Hawklord]

Cutting the entrance size down seems to have done the trick for my 1 hive, but everywhere I walk the dogs I seem to find a nest. They seem fairly passive at the moment but wait until the nests break up in a couple of months.

 

[Bcrazy]

I have a few apple trees and what I do is to place all the bruised or damaged apples near my hives about 15-20 feet away in a big bucket. The wasps are more interested in the apples than the hives although I have reduced the entrance on the hives. I check and so far the wasps have been happy enough on the apples.

Regards;

 

[victor meldrew]

Hi Mo, wait until the apples are fermenting and the wasps become fighting drunk, That's the time to look out (billigerent little so and sos')
.
John

 

[Bcrazy]

Thanks for the warning John.

Regards;

 

[hedgerow pete]

i have killed 3 nests so far at the allotments and still people are finding more

 

[Peteinuk]

I've just lost my one and only hive to hornets and wasps. I closed down the entrance on Wednesday which gave the bees a chance to see off the wasps though they were still getting in. I also noticed a few hornets flying around.
I prepared a new site for the hive on Thursday away from the farm where I was keeping them, went back late on Friday to move them when it was almost dark. I checked them on Saturday because there was no movement and found just a few dead bees and the honey stores stripped.

 

[Rosti]

Pete, sorry to hear your news. I'm on one hive at the moment and for beeks like us a loss is 100% not just a set back. I hope you are going for a new start next year? You've lost the colony yes, but still got the experience. In sympathy, Rosti

 

[anwe]

I have found that a bucket of hot soapy water is not good for wasps (stops them breathing)

 

[grizzly]

Traps

These home made jobbies help keep numbers down.

 

[hedgerow pete]

beautiful to see grizzly

 

[Haughton Honey]

.........or do they attract wasps that would otherwise not be in the viscinity?

 

[mark s]

does that really matter wpc if they are ending up in the trap job jobbed in my view

 

[Hawklord]

Nice 1 Grizzly, what have you got in the mix?

 

[Hombre]

Wasps!

 

[grizzly]

Hi White Park, i only placed these traps within my apiary as the wasps were already in situ, as you say if there were no wasps then i would not locate them so close to the hives.

Hawklord
All i have in there is some sliced apple, a dollop of strawberry jam and the rest is water, banana works well too.

 

[Geoff]

My wax moth lure is really pulling them in at my out apiary. i need to put the bee suit on because of wasps, rather than the bees. The impression i get is that the wasps are queing up to get in the traps and are not bothering the hive entrances. They sniff round the roof but they can't get in there. I think they go for the easy meal, rather than fight for it.
In the garden I had a very small nuke and that has been over run. Wasps wont even go round the front of the two hives and there were several dead wasps underneath. I am making up wasp traps as soon as we finish a plastic container of milk. Orange juice and jam seems to work well and I am lobbing in lumps of ripe apple in to ferment. I have a big early apple tree nearby and that always pulls in loads of wasps every year.

 

[Geoff]

I have found that a bucket of hot soapy water is not good for wasps (stops them breathing)

How do you get the wasps in the bucket?