Wasp extermination ?

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Has anyone tried the "intrance" things? www.beespacex.com ? Supposed to be good for this and I think could be put inside a nuc entrance (albeit a quick switch into a modded second box is probably the way).

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have hardly seen a wasp this summer, even though there were lots of queens feeding on the cotoneaster horizontalis in the spring.
I have spotted half a dozen failed nests in various places in the garden.
We have a cotoneaster franchetti in the sunshine and it is usually humming with wasps at this time of year. But not a single one to be seen.
If I had European hornets I’d welcome them. A few nest boxes have been put up for them after I spotted two last year.

 

[madasafish]

I have hardly seen a wasp this summer, even though there were lots of queens feeding on the cotoneaster horizontalis in the spring.
I have spotted half a dozen failed nests in various places in the garden.
We have a cotoneaster franchetti in the sunshine and it is usually humming with wasps at this time of year. But not a single one to be seen.
If I had European hornets I’d welcome them. A few nest boxes have been put up for them after I spotted two last year.

A week ago,I would have said the same.

But now seeing small but increasing numbers - four today vs one on the occasional days..

August is the month for wasps round here: last year any small weak nuc/mating nuc was overwhelmed...in August . I lost about 8 mated Qs...

( I have some 12 Virgin Qs in nucs just now - fingers crossed)

 

[madasafish]

Has anyone tried the "intrance" things? www.beespacex.com ? Supposed to be good for this and I think could be put inside a nuc entrance (albeit a quick switch into a modded second box is probably the way).

I have just read the entire website - and confess I am totally confused..Yes I know that takes very little but I really cannot see how it works as claimed...and I don't really understand WHAT is claimed

(I close down to a minimum all entrances and OMFs in winter - and half my hives are on solid floors..)

I'll wait till I am stone cold sober

 

[Ian123]

I know there’s been some discussion in the past re bottle traps and if they attract more than they kill. The fact is on many occasions over the years I’ve placed out good numbers and they have a direct impact on foraging wasps around hives and on a number of occasions pub type gardens. Most times they amount to no more than old drinks bottles with an upturned lid, placing out in a good numbers you tend to get noticeable results in a few days it’s not instant and but will get a impact on foragers. So if your worried about them start putting some around the garden/apiary

 

[mbc]

I took the insecticuter from inside the honey shed out into the general shed because the hum was getting unnerving and left it on overnight, it's worked a treat, I've made great slaughter of the beasts.

 

[Amari]

It sounds like you do have a nest there, and so you should be seeing a good stream of wasps going in and out. Here at the moment many wasps are busy chewing the cladding on nearby houses for nest building material, and some owners have mistaken this for a nest being present.

That's interesting. I was called by a neighbour this morning: "Bees have moved in". In fact it was small wasps about 3/4 size of the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris. They were busily entering and leaving through a small hole in a garden room gable. The exiting bees were all carrying small loads of white material, some of which had caught on a cobweb. It was a white coarse crumbly powder. My neighbour had tasted it, thinking it might be honey!
We wondered if the wasps were stealing the under-roof insulation?

I cannot identify this presumably social wasp because it is definitely smaller than the 22mm quoted for the common wasp and other socials.

An identical wasp has a nest in the soil 2m from our patio table. They're very busy flying in and out. We can sit and eat lunch and not feel threatened - they do not invade our personal space in contrast to their vulgar cousins.

Can anyone help with identification. And could they be stealing my neighbour's insulation?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Can anyone help with identification. And could they be stealing my neighbour's insulation?

I've posted this in native bees and wasps
Kaz might see it

 

[Erichalfbee]

That's interesting. I was called by a neighbour this morning: "Bees have moved in". In fact it was small wasps about 3/4 size of the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris. They were busily entering and leaving through a small hole in a garden room gable. The exiting bees were all carrying small loads of white material, some of which had caught on a cobweb. It was a white coarse crumbly powder. My neighbour had tasted it, thinking it might be honey!
We wondered if the wasps were stealing the under-roof insulation?

I cannot identify this presumably social wasp because it is definitely smaller than the 22mm quoted for the common wasp and other socials.

An identical wasp has a nest in the soil 2m from our patio table. They're very busy flying in and out. We can sit and eat lunch and not feel threatened - they do not invade our personal space in contrast to their vulgar cousins.

Can anyone help with identification. And could they be stealing my neighbour's insulation?

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=715306#post715306

 

[Karol]

Vulgaris wasps do come in two distinct sizes and to my mind they are different hybrids if not different species which is why I refer to them colloquially as greater and lesser vulgaris even though they are not officially recognised as such. Given that wasps use their antennae as rulers for measuring the dimensions of each cell that they build, size is primarily a function of genetics rather than environmental factors albeit that wasp nests do produce runts after the sexual progeny have flown.

It is common to see wasps excavate cavity or void insulation when building nests. Typically they deposit the excavated material on their efferent flights on route to either hunting or wood pulping flights.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

That's interesting. I was called by a neighbour this morning: "Bees have moved in". In fact it was small wasps about 3/4 size of the common wasp, Vespula vulgaris. They were busily entering and leaving through a small hole in a garden room gable. The exiting bees were all carrying small loads of white material, some of which had caught on a cobweb. It was a white coarse crumbly powder. My neighbour had tasted it, thinking it might be honey!
We wondered if the wasps were stealing the under-roof insulation?

I cannot identify this presumably social wasp because it is definitely smaller than the 22mm quoted for the common wasp and other socials.

An identical wasp has a nest in the soil 2m from our patio table. They're very busy flying in and out. We can sit and eat lunch and not feel threatened - they do not invade our personal space in contrast to their vulgar cousins.

Can anyone help with identification. And could they be stealing my neighbour's insulation?

I had a nest between two hay bales a while ago. About half size of common jaspers and disinterested in annoying humans. As the hay was used up the nest was exposed around the beginning of August. It was anchored into the hay so it was badly damaged and turned out to have no grubs with very few adults left.
I gave the empty structure to the local junior school.

 

[philipm]

First real sign of wasps around the hives yesterday, but haven't seen a huge amount this year. Did have a wasp nest in a bait hive a while ago. Don't know if the shortage of fruit this year due to the late frost will have any effect as they usually devote a lot of time to the windfalls.

 

[Amari]

Vulgaris wasps do come in two distinct sizes and to my mind they are different hybrids if not different species which is why I refer to them colloquially as greater and lesser vulgaris even though they are not officially recognised as such. Given that wasps use their antennae as rulers for measuring the dimensions of each cell that they build, size is primarily a function of genetics rather than environmental factors albeit that wasp nests do produce runts after the sexual progeny have flown.

It is common to see wasps excavate cavity or void insulation when building nests. Typically they deposit the excavated material on their efferent flights on route to either hunting or wood pulping flights.

Many thanks Karol. Yes, I get it now - they're not stealing the insulation for their own use but dumping their excavations.

 

[Monbees]

Has anyone tried the "intrance" things? www.beespacex.com ? Supposed to be good for this and I think could be put inside a nuc entrance (albeit a quick switch into a modded second box is probably the way).

I was interested in these intrances but when l posted on bee forum longer standing beekeepers were quite sniffy about them.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I was interested in these intrances but when l posted on bee forum longer standing beekeepers were quite sniffy about them.

Did you try one?
That would have been a good course of action and you could have come back with a review

 

[Levitt53]

You really didn’t fall for that did you!!.........Boy wonder go get yourself some powder and apply liberally

Bizarrely I bought a cheap fake wasps nest in the spring when I had a queen constantly trying to start nest in our shed. It looks nothing like a nest and is more of a dark camouflage material. I hung it up with little hope but never saw her again!

 

[enrico]

Don't forget the do it yourself job I tested last year. It worked so well and cost pennies!
E
https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=45362

 

[Monbees]

Did you try one?
That would have been a good course of action and you could have come back with a review

No l didn't try one on the basis that older, wiser heads probably knew best.

 

[Erichalfbee]

No l didn't try one on the basis that older, wiser heads probably knew best.

even if they were sniffy
All my floors are UFE so I’ve never been tempted but curious to see if they do work.

 

[Ian123]

Bizarrely I bought a cheap fake wasps nest in the spring when I had a queen constantly trying to start nest in our shed. It looks nothing like a nest and is more of a dark camouflage material. I hung it up with little hope but never saw her again!

It’s bull she probably got eaten by a bird as do the vast majority. A friend of mine asked if I would pop round and remove a wasp nest for his business partner. Hanging off the eves 1 meter from nest 1 of those silly balls