Do you destroy wasp nests and if so when?

[RogerIvy]

I realise this could be contentious. Don't wish to pick a fight, just to increase my knowledge and to provide practical solutions.

If you have a wasp nest that you know of, do you destroy it at some stage?
If so .... when?
I realise that wasps form an integral part of our (modified) ecosystem and are good for reducing certain bugs.
I'm under the impression that at some stage their breeding cycle is over and they move from larvae robbers to honey robbers. At this stage they don't really help in the garden and in fact are on the way out. Is this correct?
I'm also under the impression that once they have completed their brood cycle and are just looking for food we don't upset the system too much by trapping them. Personally I don't like killing them but if it becomes survival for my bees I'll not hesitate.

I think ..... by watching over the last week .... that the only reason my bees are OK is because I have traps close to the hives. Old classic coke seems to work best.

p.s. I did search for a topic like this but didn't find one. If there is one I'd like the link please.

 

[Ian123]

If I find wasp nests and there not in a silly location I’ll generally leave alone until they become a pest. To be frank at this point it’s then open season.

 

[enrico]

I prefer to trap the queen's early in the year. Less hassle and less creatures to kill!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

the only reason my bees are OK is because I have traps close to the hives. Old classic coke seems to work best.

they probably do more to atract wasps than destroy them.
Only time I've ever resorted to destroying a wasp nest is if it is a danger to someone or a real nuisance
did one this year but only because it was behind the door of a frequently used outbuilding in the garden of an octogenarian couple
last year, one in a mouse nest that had been dug up by a badger - on a lawn right outside someone's back door
and once, some time ago in a shed used by the muzzle loaders at the range to clean their guns.

 

[Margaret Anne Adams]

DNA analysis of the sacs of wasp larval excrement show that worker wasps provide the larvae with a diet of 99% flies. In return the larvae feed a sweet juice to the workers. In the autumn, when the queen has stopped laying and the last larvae have pupated, the workers seek sweet juices elswhere in an effort to survive for a while longer. If you do have a huge number of wasps and feel you need to put out wasp traps, to catch the redunant workers, don't put them near your hives. Add vinegar to the bait as bees hate vinegar but wasps like it. We have only had to do this once since 1970. The fields round our apiary were full of cattle so flies thrived and in turn the wasps had plenty of prey for raising brood. In the autumn the redundant workers were hungry. (Note. Wasps have a waist so they cannot eat solids, that's why the non-waisted larvae process the pieces of fly, that the workers catch and crunch up with their jaws.)

 

[Erichalfbee]

DNA analysis of the sacs of wasp larval excrement show that worker wasps provide the larvae with a diet of 99% flies. In return the larvae feed a sweet juice to the workers. In the autumn, when the queen has stopped laying and the last larvae have pupated, the workers seek sweet juices elswhere in an effort to survive for a while longer. If you do have a huge number of wasps and feel you need to put out wasp traps, to catch the redunant workers, don't put them near your hives. Add vinegar to the bait as bees hate vinegar but wasps like it. We have only had to do this once since 1970. The fields round our apiary were full of cattle so flies thrived and in turn the wasps had plenty of prey for raising brood. In the autumn the redundant workers were hungry. (Note. Wasps have a waist so they cannot eat solids, that's why the non-waisted larvae process the pieces of fly, that the workers catch and crunch up with their jaws.)

Yes crunch. It’s quite alarming to watch wasp larvae waving about begging fir food. We’re used to passive white bee grubs after all.