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wasp nest

 i,ve recently put up two nest boxes in my garden hoping the resident blue tits would nest in them.after a few weeks of blue tits surveying the nests & entering the nest box it all whent quite,so a quick  peek into the nest box to see if anything was in there & sure there was but not a birds nest but a begining of a wasp nest,not just in one box but both,now i no wasps are good for the garden but  i prefer the blue tits,should i rid the wasps or leave the boxes's till next year and clean them out in the winter,thanks dm.

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Posts

  • ightenighten Posts: 184

    Good news is the wasps wont come back next year.

  • Jayne5Jayne5 Posts: 23

    At least you know where the wasp's are, better there than in your roof!

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    I know many people worry about wasps and nests, but I think they're very underrated and undervalued members of the garden. If you get a chance to look at their nest when they eventually go, you'll be amazed at how beautiful a structure it is.

    Congratulate yourself that they love the new homes you've provided them with! image

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • artjakartjak Posts: 4,167

    FG, I beg to differimage My neighbour has had a wasp's nest in his garden for the last 2 years; he whinges to me that he has spent £20 trying to get rid of it. The wasps fly through a tiny gap into my conservatory and then into the house, so for the last 2 summers there have been 100 wasps in the cons every morning. I spray with Raid to kill them. Can't do that this year as have loads of food plant seedlings and a small mutt. Had to scrub down the walls and ceiling as dying wasps leave a nasty stain on everything.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117

    I can understand that art. Yours is a totally different situation and I'd certainly never advocate leaving a nest in the house - I had one or two in a previous house and had to destroy them. Your neighbour should respect the problem it creates for you and frankly, be a bit more helpful.

    If you have sealant - try using that on the gap. I did that at the point where the phone line came into the house. That's where they were getting in and accessing our loft.

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • WelshonionWelshonion Posts: 3,114

    Councils now charge for getting rid of wasps.  Or recommend you 'get a firm in.'

  • Cate 32Cate 32 Posts: 10

    We had a nest in the compost bin last year.  Normally I'm a live and let live person but these wasps were really aggressive and reluctantly had to get pest man in to deal with it.  Hope it doesn't happen again this year!!

  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener Posts: 1,237

    We nearly always seem to get wasps nests in our compost area and eliminate them if they're in a place where we're going to be working but leave them otherwise.Last year we also had one under the lawn which definitely had to go as we discovered it just before a niece was due to visit with her toddler. We also had one in an old compost heap which I left until November and then dug over. The nest was huge and really impressive in structure (I have a nasty feeling that much of the surface of our teak garden furniture had gone into the construction of this!)

    We've found that a very effective way to get rid of a nest if you can get to the entrance hole is to squirt Nippon Wasp powder (or ant powder, which seems to be the same thing under a different name) into and around the hole so that the wasps carry it into the nest. Do this at dusk with a torch so that there is minimal wasp activity at the time. Then re-treat a few days later when new young wasps begin to emerge. We've never needed more than 2 treatments.

  • Cate 32Cate 32 Posts: 10

    Thanks for info will bear it in mind this season.  When I emptied the bin last month I did find a couple of groggy adult wasps in the compost.  Not sure if they were the advance party!!   IAs long as they jdon't bother us I would prefer to leave them alone.  last year they were dive bombing whilst I was working on raised beds nearby.

  • Gillian53Gillian53 Posts: 112

    We had a wasps nest in the air brick just at the side of the back door. Husband said we would have to lift the bathroom floor to get to it. Decided to leave it and just sort of timed our trips to back garden or dustbins. Never got stung. We also have a few solitary bee houses on the same wall. My other half has sadly inhaled one or two of them in passing!

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