Number of Wasp nests near Apiary

[buzz lightyear]

Hi all,
Hope this is in the right place. If not I am sure admin will move it.

As folk will know from my recent posts I am (have been) under attack from a major wasp army. I have sorted 7 nests out but know there are others I am currently unable to get too. I was interested in the sort of numbers members have encountered, to give me a handle on what sort of numbers are encountered. Thanks all.

Dave

 

[BlidworthBees]

None near me.
Have seen a few single wasps about which is to be expected at this time of year but not attacking the colony. Put up a few home made wasp traps which caught some but no great numbers about which would be the case if there were nests nearby.

 

[Midland Beek]

Something wrong with someone's beekeeping?

 

[buzz lightyear]

Hi MB, hows that?

I am on a fruit farm, with a high number of wasps. How does that relate to my bee keeping?

I do know that there is a high amount of over ripe fruit which makes for loads of food for the little buggers.
Regards, Dave

 

[biggles]

Do mind him he thinks we should help wasps not kill them. Killing wasps make's you a bad beek!

I'm very bad, I've sorted 8 nest so far this year.

Been more about here than normal.

Pete

Only good wasp is a dead one

 

[georgia b]

well so far we've found and dealt with 7 wasps nests yet we still have more wasps ...

 

[Der Alte Fritz]

Very good year for wasps, we have had 4 nests in the house when normally we only have one. Being a C15th house, they tend to get between the wall tiles and the wall where there is a cavity and build quite big nests. Use a professional exterminator who pumps poison dust up a 20 foot pipe straight into the nest.

 

[BKF Admin]

I was fighting a losing battle with traps in one Apiary so went for the nests instead.

All 3 nests were in the ground (Remember ground wasps are much more aggressive and sometimes have more than one entrance)

Took out 3 nests to date and the problem is much better to manage.
I think I have one more nest to find.

Last year I ended up in bed for 48 hours after being attacked by a nest and taken down while running.

I understand Ireland is having a bad wasp year as well,what is Scotland/France like for wasps this year ?

 

[kathrynat]

We have lots of wasps but not found a nest so far.

 

[madasafish]

Get a powder sprayer and spray the wasps with flour.. Then you can see where they are going...

Nests are usually quite close - within 100 metres..

When we added fresh loft insulation last year, there were 30-35 nests under the eaves - most of them empty..



I destroyed a monster nest under our tiles (not the eaves) - it regularly had 100 + wasps flying in and out.. None now ..


The best traps at this time of year are water plus suagr plus rotting fruit plus dead wasps...plus alittle vinegar to discourage bees plus jam..

 

[oliver90owner]

No hassle with anything, even the colony with a wasp nest within 3m of the entrance.

I did give that one a good dusting into the entry hole, as the hive was only a 'building' colony (about 8 frames last check) even though there was no apparent interest shown around the hive. They had perhaps got fed up with trying?

No traps out anywhere. Wasps around immediately one opens a colony and always hanging around the hives but no entry generally. Not seen any wasps carried out of the hives either. Nothing approaching the problem last year (when it was not really any difference excepting numbers around the hives).

Entrances are typically 50-80mm wide, some 22mm deep, some only 8mm.

Regards, RAB

 

[Midland Beek]

Is this thread about a wasp problem or is it wasp paranoia?

I mean, are wasps having free access, as in coming and going from hives? If so, that is not the 'fault' of the wasps. That is the fault of the beekeeper because his management of his colonies has not been diligent enough.

If someone is a novice beek, or has 500 colonies to watch over single-handedly, or has never read a hal-decent beekeeping book ... the he/she might get wasp trouble.

 

[iball]

No wasps here, nothing around the hives, none in the house,my trap has caught 2 in the last 4 weeks.

Ian

 

[biggles]

Is this thread about a wasp problem or is it wasp paranoia?

I mean, are wasps having free access, as in coming and going from hives? If so, that is not the 'fault' of the wasps. That is the fault of the beekeeper because his management of his colonies has not been diligent enough.

If someone is a novice beek, or has 500 colonies to watch over single-handedly, or has never read a hal-decent beekeeping book ... the he/she might get wasp trouble.

You just don't understand. My hives had the entrances closed done to 15mm and the wasps still got in. Just because this has not happened to you, dose not mean it doesn't happen or its bad bee keeping.

 

[oliver90owner]

biggles,

You are down as having 9 colonies.

Either you are trying to run before you can walk (you call yourself a new beek with 9 colonies on the polling thread!) or your bee management is somewhat amiss.

I know how you feel I've just been down to mine and one hive had as many wasps in it, as bees. your post on Aug 18

You should not be surprised if it is a weak colony; however small you close the entrance the wasps will still try to get in. If the colony has already been 'raped and pillaged' by the wasps, it is far too late for simple measures. With nine colonies you should know that. If not, you do now. Learn from it.

You just don't understand. My hives had the entrances closed done to 15mm

Like as not only half the story, or less. What size were the entrances when the wasps first gained access? Strength of the colony? Which way are the frames and where is the entrance in relation to the brood nest? Feeding? Return of wet honey supers?

All things (probably among others) to be considered - and not in isolation.

I am tending to be in agreement with MB.

I will get wasp trouble at some time.

That is inevitable if one keeps bees - either keeping a lot, for long enough, or for some other reason, but it will occur.

How you deal with it, or just harp on about it, is another matter. Get on with the beekeeping, take advice, and act appropriately, or expect the problem to continue - no get even worse.

RAB

 

[biggles]

biggles,

You are down as having 9 colonies.

Either you are trying to run before you can walk (you call yourself a new beek with 9 colonies on the polling thread!) or your bee management is somewhat amiss.

I know how you feel I've just been down to mine and one hive had as many wasps in it, as bees. your post on Aug 18

You should not be surprised if it is a weak colony; however small you close the entrance the wasps will still try to get in. If the colony has already been 'raped and pillaged' by the wasps, it is far too late for simple measures. With nine colonies you should know that. If not, you do now. Learn from it.

You just don't understand. My hives had the entrances closed done to 15mm

Like as not only half the story, or less. What size were the entrances when the wasps first gained access? Strength of the colony? Which way are the frames and where is the entrance in relation to the brood nest? Feeding? Return of wet honey supers?

All things (probably among others) to be considered - and not in isolation.

I am tending to be in agreement with MB.

I will get wasp trouble at some time.

That is inevitable if one keeps bees - either keeping a lot, for long enough, or for some other reason, but it will occur.

How you deal with it, or just harp on about it, is another matter. Get on with the beekeeping, take advice, and act appropriately, or expect the problem to continue - no get even worse.

RAB

Yep 9.
New beek last september. With a good teacher. He's been an inspector and has been a professional bee keeper for many years. I think he started in 1965.
Run before I can walk, well we all had to start somewhere and why not 9 if I have the time to do them. Should I have stuck to one and just built up over nine yrs. I have learnt a lot this yr and still am.
The hive that was under attack is now doing fine. It was a 12 frame colony with one full super. Frame running warm way. Entrance is std nat entrance block with foam to close it down.
Entrance was 30mm give or take a mm.
I added bees from a house hive and put the entrance down to 15mm. Put more wasp traps out and killed a few more nest.

You can help to stop wasps attacking bee hives but there's no full prof method and just telling people "you're a bad beek" is not helpful at all.

I'll take your advice though and not harp on about it.

Shame there's not a newbie part of the forum wher we could harp on and not get dismissed so quickly.

Pete

 

[Midland Beek]

You can help to stop wasps attacking bee hives but there's no full prof method and just telling people "you're a bad beek" is not helpful at all.

I do not think anyone has said someone else is a 'bad beek'. But, I think, get a few years experience under your belt and you will come to see that it is never really the fault of wasps that colonies are lost at this time of the year. Instead, it is the fault of the beekeeper. There's no shame to it. That's how beekeeping is.

Like:

Beek too late putting entrance reducers in.
Beek too late in reducing entrances down further - where required.
Beek not diligent enough in building strength of weak colonies.
Beek overstretching things by making up nucs late in the season.
Beek manipulating unnecesarily during months of Aug and Sept.
Beek taking too long manipulating with wasps on his/her shoulder.
Beek spilling syrup about.
Beek with leaky feeders/holes in his/her hives.
Beek dropping honey about while manipulating.
Beek not bothering to read a half-decent book telling him the above.

 

[victor meldrew]

Wasps desperate to survive an extra couple of weeks ,
attack hives of varying strengths .
Good year for wasps, bad year for wasps in differing areas !
Nucleus hives particularly vulnerable.
When wasps are on the rampage , they're on the rampage whether or not the beekeeper spills syrup etc.
The good beekeeper will do something to protect his bees .
The bad beekeeper will blame himself and stand wringing his hands whist his colony perishes !

NO THANK YOU !! MB.

John Wilkinson

 

[buzz lightyear]

Beek too late putting entrance reducers in.
Beek too late in reducing entrances down further - where required.
Beek not diligent enough in building strength of weak colonies.
Beek overstretching things by making up nucs late in the season.
Beek manipulating unnecesarily during months of Aug and Sept.
Beek taking too long manipulating with wasps on his/her shoulder.
Beek spilling syrup about.
Beek with leaky feeders/holes in his/her hives.
Beek dropping honey about while manipulating.
Beek not bothering to read a half-decent book telling him the above.

Funny enough done no feeding as yet (too many wasps to risk it). Last nuc must have been moved 6 weeks ago. Supers when taken off went straight into the car, didn't want to risk robbing (bees or wasps), got more books than are good for me, closed down to a couple of bee spaces, and yet the yellow peril still came.

I guess I need to say I am not completly wasp obsesed, and to a degree understand where MB is coming from, however, lets use some common sense and agree to the old maxim "all things in moderation"

Has anyone got a good recipe for wasp soup.

Regards, Dave

 

[biggles]

I do not think anyone has said someone else is a 'bad beek'..

Something wrong with someone's beekeeping?

You're just the type of person who will not make a good beekeeper.

From another wasp thread.

If this isn't saying someone (me) isn't a bad beek then I hate to hear what you would say to a bad one.

Thanks for the help I've had on here from others, but I don't think I'll be posting any more, to be told "YOUR A BAD BEEK" by MB

Pete