Wood-eating wasps on the way! How to deter?

 
Every year we discover busy wasps have succeeded in building large white
papery nests behind cascading aubretia plants or in abandoned
rabbit-burrows.  And every year we also discover where they've gathered
their nest-building material from!  Answer: our outdoor wooden steps and
railings.  It's clear that although all our outdoor wood has been coated
with wood-preserver, after a year or so the wasps don't mind it and they
munch straight through the coating.  Of course they barely take anything
away, but where they munch they expose the unpainted wood beneath and so
the wood is left looking "attacked".

So this year, we intend to be ready for them!  Beside being alert to
wasps and trying to follow them to wherever they are building their
nests, armed with a spray-can of deterrent, we're wondering if there's
any fluid that can be applied to the wood to deter the wasps - something
that won't wash off completely the next time it rains.

Of course if we gave all the wood a fresh coating of preserver that
would probably deter the munchers, but the wood would end up looking
"black" with the unnecessary annual coatings.

Here's a pic I took yesterday morning to show the damage the wasps
inflict on the appearance of the wood.  This is a close-up of a
hand-rail.

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg82/EddyBentley/nest-buildingwasp-damage.jpg

Thanks.

Eddy.

 
Maby you should wood chip and not chiped bark as a mulch.

 On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 04:24:56 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill


How much wood should a wood chip chip, if a wood chip can chip chips?
--

Martin