Posted by Broadback on August 2, 2004, 11:52 am
This year the wasps here are more numerous than I have ever seen. I was
looking forward to my first taste of apples this year, no way, the wasps
have had the lot. You risk life and limb picking the raspberries, they
are half way through my plums.
They have not started yet on my peaches. How do commercial growers
cope? Is there anything that can be done to protect fruit from the
blighters?
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Posted by David W.E. Roberts on August 2, 2004, 4:16 pm
> This year the wasps here are more numerous than I have ever seen. I was
> looking forward to my first taste of apples this year, no way, the wasps
> have had the lot. You risk life and limb picking the raspberries, they
> are half way through my plums.
> They have not started yet on my peaches. How do commercial growers
> cope? Is there anything that can be done to protect fruit from the
> blighters?
Control is by destroying wasps nests.
Next door has had one done, and I have just had a go at the second because
the entrance was accesible from our side.
With all due deference to those who point out that wasps are a generally
good thing on balance, if they get to be a nuisance or a pest which destroys
fruit&veg then war must sometimes be declared.
In our case their entrance was near to our balcony, so every time we try to
eat or drink there we have uninvited guests, and they have also started to
invade the house.
RIP (I hope).
Unlikely to dent the main wasp population, just make one small area more
habitable.
Cheers
Dave R
Posted by Dave Poole on August 2, 2004, 5:08 pm
On Mon, 2 Aug 2004 21:16:47 +0100, "David W.E. Roberts"
>Control is by destroying wasps nests.
>Next door has had one done, and I have just had a go at the second because
>the entrance was accesible from our side.
>With all due deference to those who point out that wasps are a generally
>good thing on balance, if they get to be a nuisance or a pest which destroys
>fruit&veg then war must sometimes be declared.
With extreme reluctance, I had to call in Pest Control to deal with 2
nests that were too close to our car-parking area. Most years, wasps
become troublesome and dangerous in late summer. Not so this year,
they started dive-bombing and threatening last week. Personally, I
suffer pain only from wasp stings, but any of my students may suffer
far worse and the thought of one going into anaphylaxic shock as a
result of a sting is far too serious to consider.
Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November
Posted by me on August 2, 2004, 5:15 pm
On Mon, 02 Aug 2004 22:08:10 +0100, Dave Poole
>On Mon, 2 Aug 2004 21:16:47 +0100, "David W.E. Roberts"
>>Control is by destroying wasps nests.
>>Next door has had one done, and I have just had a go at the second because
>>the entrance was accesible from our side.
>>With all due deference to those who point out that wasps are a generally
>>good thing on balance, if they get to be a nuisance or a pest which destroys
>>fruit&veg then war must sometimes be declared.
>With extreme reluctance, I had to call in Pest Control to deal with 2
>nests that were too close to our car-parking area. Most years, wasps
>become troublesome and dangerous in late summer. Not so this year,
>they started dive-bombing and threatening last week. Personally, I
>suffer pain only from wasp stings, but any of my students may suffer
>far worse and the thought of one going into anaphylaxic shock as a
>result of a sting is far too serious to consider.
When I visited the walled garden in Helmsley I noticed that several of
the bird boxes had been taken over by wasps, which had built wasp
nests in them.
--
Martin
Posted by Lazarus Cooke on August 2, 2004, 5:10 pm
> Control is by destroying wasps nests.
I've been following a discussion about this on a beekeeping network (I
have a hive at the end of my Brixton garden. Wasps predate on bees).
It can be nasty if you break into a nest unprotected. An ingenious
solution is to leave a vacuum cleaner running sucking at the entrance.
Be careful when emptying the bag, though.
Lazarus
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> looking forward to my first taste of apples this year, no way, the wasps
> have had the lot. You risk life and limb picking the raspberries, they
> are half way through my plums.
> They have not started yet on my peaches. How do commercial growers
> cope? Is there anything that can be done to protect fruit from the
> blighters?