Wasp nest

[magnetman]

 

Basically the workers get a bit hammered and become aggressive. I would guess that some of them just get tired but the aggressive ones probably cause more of a nuisance.

 

Also when a wasp's sting is activated (including if you squash a wasp) it sends out a pheromone which encourages others to attack.

 

Seems they are well designed beasts

[Jim Riley]

I got stung by a bee last week. Painful

 

 

£20 for a jar of honey.

[Jerra]

With no larvae to feed the worker wasps seek sweet substances on which to feed themselves.

This part needs a little expanding. During the season when wasps are feeding grubs they catch insects to feed the grubs. The grubs exude a sweet sticky substance which supplies thew adults with an energy food. Like bees as the season draws to an end the queen ceases to lay eggs so no grubs. They need then to find a supply of sweet food such as your jam sandwiches or beers.

 

Incidentally as I understand it the queen does not hibernate in the nest choosing instead a "cosy" crevice some times in a house.

[magnetman]

That makes sense as I have found queen wasps in my boats in the past on several occasions. With the boats being lived on I guess that would be quite an attractive option

I assumed they were the queens as AFAIK they are a bit larger than the normal wasps.

I got stung by a bee last week. Painful

 

 

£20 for a jar of honey.

This bit needs expanding on too

[Jim Riley]

That makes sense as I have found queen wasps in my boats in the past on several occasions. With the boats being lived on I guess that would be quite an attractive option

I assumed they were the queens as AFAIK they are a bit larger than the normal wasps.

 

This bit needs expanding on too

Nah, think about it. I was complaining to the member of a canalside Bible study group, coming down the Rochdale 9,that I had been stung on the neck by a wops a couple of locks earlier, he came out with that gem.

 

When we get wopses in our house or boat we talk to them nicely and ask them to leave, they usually oblige.

[patty-ann]

Right strawberry patch now donated to the worker wasp food bank...if I gives them their own freeby food supply they will leave me alone.

[Bill]

Bees I like, wasps are just bastards. Got stung twice last year (none this year, yet). Both times whilst out cycling, one landed on my right thumb and just sat there, I tried to flick it off with my left hand but was only partially successful, little bastard stung me. About two weeks later I felt (heard more than felt) something hit my cycling helmet, I then noticed something creeping under the brim above my right eyebrow, next minute it felt like my eye was on fire, bastard had stung me. No reason just because it could. I hate wasps.

[magnetman]

 

 

What have the wasps ever done for US ?

[Jerra]

What have the wasps ever done for US ?

Killed and eaten quite a lot of insect pests. Remember they are carnivorous for the majority of the year. Well they provide the insects for their young and they get a sweet material from the grub in return.

[magnetman]

Killed and eaten quite a lot of insect pests. Remember they are carnivorous for the majority of the year. Well they provide the insects for their young and they get a sweet material from the grub in return.

I like spiders too. They make webs over the portholes which are not only beautiful but also very practical for the inhabitants of the boat

 

Typo

Edited September 3, 2016 by magnetman

[Grassman]

I have a bit of experience with this having dealt with over 3,000 wasps nests during my 10 years as a pest controller until I retired last year.

 

In this situation that the OP has, the powder would be the best bet. Although preferable, it doesn't have to be pumped right down the hole into the nest but can be scattered sparingly around the entrance and any others that can be seen. Perhaps all around the base of the stump too. The idea being that the wasps will get the powder on them and take it into the nest, thus infecting the queen.

 

It doesn't need to be much, i.e a fine covering rather than piled up around it. In fact too much and it can put the wasps off going in and encourage them to find another way round it. There is a small chance they will do this anyway.

 

A spray or foam would kill a few but wouldn't kill off the whole nest as they only work where most of a nest is exposed. Be aware that the powder treatment will take a couple of hours before it completely kills off the nest and initiallly there will be a lot of angry wasps (another reason for not trying to pump it down the whole as that would aggravate them more).

 

Please check the active ingrediant and if it is bendiocarb (which it probably is and is the most effective) it is extremely harmful to fish and other aquatic life so be very very careful not to let any get into the canal/river or you will get a lot of dead fish.

 

What others have said is right in that the nest will die off anytime from the end of this month, however this does depend on the weather and in mild autumns I've known them to still be active at the end of October.

 

Contrary to what has been said, the queen doesn't survive. She dies along with all the males and most of the females. But between 10 and 20 of the mated females do survive and they fly off and 'hole up' somewhere to hibernate for the winter before emerging next spring to search out a place to begin new nests. They will never re-use an old nest but may sometimes choose the same location in which to build their own nest.

 

Edited to add - that I've now re-read the OP. I'd thought the block of wood was on the ground by the boat and not actually on the stern. This means that the nest will almost certainly be somewhere in the engine bilge. This makes it far harder to deal with as there would be lots of other places where they could bypass any treatments such as air-vents and between deck boards.

 

You could remove the boards and use a spray/foam directly onto the nest but IMO the risk of getting stung would be hugely increased and there's a good chance the nest will be attached to the other side of one of the deck boards.

 

I really recommend calling in a professional for this one, and if so you should be expected to pay no more than £70 and make sure they guarantee their work. Also make sure they are members of either the NPTA or BPCA,

Edited September 4, 2016 by Grassman

[patty-ann]

Thanks for the above post, thats very clear. I can leave mine alone and hope they don't return next year....will clear that bit of bank come November.

[Bill]

Bees I like, wasps are just bastards. Got stung twice last year (none this year, yet). Both times whilst out cycling, one landed on my right thumb and just sat there, I tried to flick it off with my left hand but was only partially successful, little bastard stung me. About two weeks later I felt (heard more than felt) something hit my cycling helmet, I then noticed something creeping under the brim above my right eyebrow, next minute it felt like my eye was on fire, bastard had stung me. No reason just because it could. I hate wasps.

 

Spoke too soon. Just been stung on the bottom lip whilst out on the bike. Doing a fair impression of Mick Jagger at the moment. i'm sure they are getting more painful, or I'm getting more sensitive.

[Jerra]

 

i'm sure they are getting more painful, or I'm getting more sensitive.

Or they are getting more painful because you are getting more sensitive.

[patty-ann]

 

Spoke too soon. Just been stung on the bottom lip whilst out on the bike. Doing a fair impression of Mick Jagger at the moment. i'm sure they are getting more painful, or I'm getting more sensitive.

Thats a pretty ouchy place to get stung....so I think any of us would feel the pain of that one

[Opener]

If you are committed to mass murder, my experience from a couple of nests at home, one in the shed and one in a dry stone wall: I'm with Grassman. When things are quiet, maybe late evening, provide your stripy visitors with a nice convenient landing platform at their entrance hole. A piece of card taped to the block or another piece of wood that you can quickly prop in position. The sprinkle some doggy flea powder on the platform. The occupants will then helpfully carry the powder to all parts of the nest and share it around. Seems to work very quickly and effectively.

[stripey]

I don't just hate wasps - they terrify me. I have once destroyed a wasps' nest with powder, as it was right outside our front gate at home, and there was a real risk of getting stung. Each time I've been stung by a wasp, or bitten by a horsefly, I've got a bigger reaction, so I'm not keen to risk being stung again the time I destroyed the nest, I covered my self from head to foot in protective clothing and then did the awful deed. My heart rate was up, and I was grateful for a shower afterwards!

 

Now, if there's a nest in the garden, I avoid the area, as I know the wasps eventually die out and don't use the nest again. But if I had one in the house I'd get a pro in. and I would most certainly do that if on a boat - no hesitation.

[rubblequeen]

Apart from feeding the grubs with insects do wasps contribute anything else positive to the eco system? By the way I live very close to Wasps Nest in Lincolnshire. No idea why I put that last sentence in but hey ho.

[patty-ann]

Knotweed "Jo" arrived to-day to review treatment from last year..as we wandered through awfulness that had been knotweed forest last year we noticed wasps crawling out the dead hollow canes..yep another nest. She tells me I can purchase "fake" nests next year and hang around horror house garden and no wasps will nest...one can only hope...Apparently bees and wasps love knotweed flowers..I guess its nice to know summit does...

[Grassman]

. She tells me I can purchase "fake" nests next year and hang around horror house garden and no wasps will nest...one can only hope...

 

By all means try this if you wish, but wasps will merely see those as being old nests. I regularly dealt with active nests which were close or even next to old ones. On occasions they'd even built their new nest against an old one. So I doubt those fake nests would work.

 

If the conditions are attractive in that vicinity, i.e food source, warmth (sun), nest building materials etc, your chances of getting a nest in and around that location is higher whatever you do to try and prevent it.

[patty-ann]

no brainer then..i have turned my garden in to a welcome to butterflies and bees zone so guess have to accept the unwelcome with the welcome.

[LEO]

There is an interesting article in the local paper (Bucks Examiner) this week - someone tried to remove a wasps' nest in their front porch using petrol.............

 

........they then set fire to it, porch destroyed, house extensively damaged, speedy response by Fire Brigade saved the day.................

 

L.

[Grassman]

no brainer then..i have turned my garden in to a welcome to butterflies and bees zone so guess have to accept the unwelcome with the welcome.

 

That's great, and it doesn't necessarily mean you will always get wasps nests. But if you do and they become a real pain, you could try a wasp trap such as this one (which I found to be very effective).

 

http://www.waspbane.com/

 

I used to use them in pubs and cafe's that I serviced. If used correctly they will help significantly in reducing the number of wasps but will not kill the bees. There is a section about it on their website under the heading 'bee keeping'.

 

You can buy much cheaper traps that will also catch wasps, but they aren't nearly as effective and may even attract more wasps.

 

Where to hang or place these traps is very important and the website contains information about this.

[Horace42]

 

By all means try this if you wish, but wasps will merely see those as being old nests. I regularly dealt with active nests which were close or even next to old ones. On occasions they'd even built their new nest against an old one. So I doubt those fake nests would work.

 

If the conditions are attractive in that vicinity, i.e food source, warmth (sun), nest building materials etc, your chances of getting a nest in and around that location is higher whatever you do to try and prevent it.

 

Wasps regularly nest in my roof space at home. It only becomes a nuisance if I need to get in the loft. - and when stray wasps wander into the house.

Unwittingly we moored next to a wasps nest - must have been just out of danger range because they did not attack me. We moved our boat when we found out.

[Bee]

Had a wasps nest in a hole in the 'rockery' last year, got another in the same hole this year, didn't think they did that, have still got an old hornets nest in the ceiling of our boat, they moved in whilst I was fitting it out and although I got rid of the hornets the nest was unreachable and I didn't fancy prodding it with a stick.