Wasp attack

[Vanterrier]

Two days ago I broke the tabs on my new queen cage in a nuc made up from my Q- hive. Theres fondant above the nuc as there was very little stores in the frames I moved over.
I have an "Enrico" entrance and shut down to one beespace and moved to one side to create the tunnel wasps are supposedly unhappy about.
These wasps obviously have not read about that as they are seemingly accessing the nuc without too much of a challenge.
The nuc looks lost to the wasps if I leave things as they are.
The original hive is not bothered by the wasps with lots of guard bees standing by.
I have read on here the last resort is to move the nuc but I'm afraid that will unsettle the newly released Q?
Should I shake another frame from the hive onto a board to the nuc to bring up their numbers?
Presumably a newspaper unite would be too early for the Q.
I feel I need to do something today as the wasps are definitely winning at the minute.
Please help
K

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Move the nuc, it won't unsettle the queen unless you shake it about over your head as you move it

 

[Vanterrier]

How far would you recommend? Would 20 yards do it or will the wasps find it again?
Thanks for your quick reply above
K

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

How far would you recommend? Would 20 yards do it or will the wasps find it again?
Thanks for your quick reply above
K

as far away as possible really - and leave a wasp trap at the original site

 

[ericbeaumont]

do something today

Move the nuc

Get on the blower and find a friend, foe, or farmer more than two miles away and beg use of their garden for a few weeks.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Would 20 yards do it

No.

 

[Swarm]

How far would you recommend? Would 20 yards do it or will the wasps find it again?
Thanks for your quick reply above
K

Are they at an out apiary? How far away from your house? I put them in the garden so I could keep a close eye on them.

 

[Vanterrier]

They were in an apiary in a paddock 100 yards from house. I have now moved them to the other end - far west - about 250 yards from apiary.
Wasp trap in old location.
Fingers crossed now.
Thanks for the help
K

 

[ericbeaumont]

Fingers crossed now.

Check regularly, and in the meantime find a distant home, just in case. Let us know the outcome.

 

[enrico]

They were in an apiary in a paddock 100 yards from house. I have now moved them to the other end - far west - about 250 yards from apiary.
Wasp trap in old location.
Fingers crossed now.
Thanks for the help
K

I have a horrible feeling you will lose any flying bees to the hives nearest the old site and weaken the nuc even more. Sorry the wasp entrance failed. If you block one end and let them out only through the other end which is as far away from the original entrance as possible it should work.

 

[Vanterrier]

Haha I dont blame your entrance gadget at the rate that the wasps were attacking this morning there were no bees setting out for forage and every 4th or 5th wasp appeared to be carrying a dead bee so the few fliers were a necessary collateral cost I'm afraid some of the capped brood should be emerging soon to build the numbers again gradually.
I have reset the entrance as you say and might even extend it a few inches if I spot any wasps at the new site. So far So good...
Thanks
K

 

[Wilco]

Haha I dont blame your entrance gadget at the rate that the wasps were attacking this morning there were no bees setting out for forage and every 4th or 5th wasp appeared to be carrying a dead bee so the few fliers were a necessary collateral cost I'm afraid some of the capped brood should be emerging soon to build the numbers again gradually.
I have reset the entrance as you say and might even extend it a few inches if I spot any wasps at the new site. So far So good...
Thanks
K

Sightline the wasps flight path and follow them to discover and destroy their nest with landowner permission if it's that serious. I usually like to leave wasps well alone but a problem nest is fair game in my view.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have a horrible feeling you will lose any flying bees to the hives nearest the old site

It's a newly made up nuc
They will have gone already

 

[Malcolm B.]

These wasps obviously have not read about that as they are seemingly accessing the nuc without too much of a challenge.

As an example of my thought process :-
"The first Rule with Health & Safety is to remove the hazard.!
Only if you are unable to remove or make safe the hazard do you resort to other "protective measures".

I think that same rule applies in this instance with your bees.
If the wasp nest (let's call it the the hazard) is removed you should not need to attempt other drastic actions to protect the Nuc (your persons at risk).

Although wasps have a place on the eco system and can be very beneficial in the garden, if there are too many of them and they are causing damage, they most definitely need culling.

I'm with Mr Wilco on this. Find that wasp's nest - there may be more than one.
Wait til dark and destroy it/them.
Your bees will be able to get on with surviving without being continually robbed.

Malcolm B.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Find that wasp's nest - there may be more than one

Lost cause: you may find one or two, but what about the other six, and number four that's ripping into the nuc?

If the wasp nest is removed you should not need to attempt other drastic actions to protect the Nuc

Closing the entrance and moving a box is not drastic, but does take a lot less time & effort than hunting for wasp nests and destroying them.

 

[Malcolm B.]

Closing the entrance and moving a box is not drastic, but does take a lot less time & effort than hunting for wasp nests and destroying them.

You may well be spot on and correct in this instance.

Malcolm B.

 

[Swarm]

Lost cause: you may find one or two, but what about the other six, and number four that's ripping into the nuc?


Closing the entrance and moving a box is not drastic, but does take a lot less time & effort than hunting for wasp nests and destroying them.

This is why I suggested keeping them in the garden to keep a close eye. Only once I've had wasp problems, it was a weak nuc with a new queen and no entrance protection was stopping the constant stream. Once the nuc was moved to the car, the extent of attack could be seen with a cloud of confused wasps at the spot, they got short shrift at adjacent hives.
Unfortunately, no sooner sited in my garden than found again and this lot were heading off into the canopy of a large Ash.
A quick phone call to a friend, yes he could do with a nice queen for a queenless colony so I took the nuc straight over to him. Despite the hammering, she was still laying and there were fresh eggs in the cells.
All ended well

 

[Vanterrier]

All quiet at the new site so far... I watched for 10 mins and saw two returning bees and two leaving, one struggled out carrying a dead bee which it dropped outside the nuc, probably a casualty of the earlier wasp incursion(?)
So not much activity but at least no wasps so far
K

 

[The Poot]

Last year my garden hives suffered under a relentless wasp attack. The only really effective action to alleviate the bees intimidation, was to find and destroy the nests. All was well after the third and largest nest was ”sorted”.

 

[Vanterrier]

Wasp trap at old site is doing well with dozens of wasps caught so far.
K