Wasps
- Thread starter Alastair
- Start date
Getting a few residential calls for extermination of nests in Christchurch itself. New job as a pest control tech is putting my old bee suit to good use
Nice Grant hope it goes well. I used to be our local Councils wasp exterminator, easy as work and very good money, I did as many as 300 nests a year and without that probably would not have paid the mortgage.
It's still too early to tell if there's going to be much of a wasp problem this year but given the amount of flooding we have had I would expect their numbers to be much reduced this year. On the other hand all the rain has created a perfect environment for many insects(Wasp food )so those nests that haven't been flooded may be doing better than we think and may surprise us. I know from bitter experience that wasps can go from zero to zillions In the blink of an eye.
Was asked to deal with suspected bee hive in the wall of a neighbours house a few doors down today and it turned out to be a huge vulgaris nest that was between two floors of the house ,they were entering behind toilet sewage pipe through a gap there.Sprayed heavily with a long lasting crawling insect spray apparently the noise in the house after spraying was LOUD. Drones came out and died the works alot died,made the entrance quite wet with spray and foragers were getting killed trying to go home.I knew there was wasp nest near by so glad I found it.Im pretty sure I killed the nest. Now to find the germanic ones that were attacking my Bees last season as well.Hopefully the germanic ones were underground and have been drowned.
Weird thing, just when I thought I was pretty much wasp free, and if not these floods must surely finish any survivors, At a site today in pouring rain (had to cos it was grafting time rain or shine), and there's wasps bothering the hives.
Never mind, I have vespex in the freezer 😏
Never mind, I have vespex in the freezer 😏
Very interesting Nadia and certainly looks like deformed wing.
We could hope the wasps will get that virus, some ants do. But if it had it, how would it have got to your hive? I'm wondering if it's wing is damaged cos it had a tussle with your bees. I have seen paper wasp reproductives trying to enter beehives.
It was below a nest I haven’t bothered to remove from the garage guttering. Quite close to the hive though. We don’t usually see them trying to get into the hives. Glad to say no DWV walking bees round the hive.
Yesterday I was back at the site where wasps had been harrassing the bees, not a wasp to be seen. Floods must have got them!
Why did you mention wasps - had seen none all season till last few days they turned up around my hives in the mangroves