Wasp's Nest Revealed

Imagine that! Did you notice a lot of Bees Bathgate? If I saw that in my garden I would think it was a wasp nest. I had one once. I was digging a plant out in a corner and looking up to my left, on the side of a low wall topped with fencing, I saw a ‘paper bag’ stuck in the foliage. Then it ‘clicked’ in my brain, and I ran, dropping my fork right on the nest! No stings, but what a fright! That was the first time I ever saw a wasp nest. We had to get a professional to come and remove it. They arent keen any more because they want to protect the ecology...makes sense, but if you have young children as we did, you can’t risk it. My son is allergic to the stings and had to go to hospital once.

We had one years go on the bank and I strimmed over it not knowing it was there. They all rushed out and chased me and I got 7 stings. Never again... I don't understand how they knew it was me wot done it..

I thought it would be a wasp nest too Ck, as it looks like a paper type constructed outer cover that wasps would make. I thought bees nested within tree trunks, or in the ground.

Sounds like a narrow escape Karen. I'm glad you weren't stung. I wasn't so lucky. I stepped on one in the lawn with bare feet and had to soak my foot in epsom salt for a week. Others are sent to the emergency room. The pain was unreal. 7 times Stera? Yeouch!

It may very well be a wasp nest Linda. I don't see any activity but it's huge. I only noticed it once the leaves have fallen so it must have been there all summer at least. I assume it's full of larvae that will hatch out in the Spring so I'll have my gardener remove it. I guess I won't be getting any honey. I've been stung once and that's enough for my lifetime. :)

Usually only the queen wasp survives the winter Paul as wasps don't keep food supplies for the winter months, when alive they live on live foods such as small caterpillars and they eat greenfly for the sweet liquid within them, also they chew them up to feed their young with.
Ants milk the greenfly for the sweet liquid that they produce to take back to their nests.

That's interesting Linda. I know wasps perform an invaluable service for us novice gardeners. So this nest is vacant? No worries about removing it?

I don't know Paul, I would still be VERY CAREFUL!!!!! I would get someone who knows what they are doing with wasp removal Paul, and get them to put gear on just in case.

Wont be any wasp left in it alive if you have had a hard frost ..... if the nest survives the winter the wasps wont return or make a new one in the vicinity so best to leave ....

Queen wasps will have gone into hibernation till the spring and will hide in allsorts of weird places they love a multipurpose compost in a pot and its easy for them to burrow into I occasionaly find a queen wasp in the greenhouse in January if we have had a warmish day

Gg

I too thought wasp. Looks like the nests we get in the UK.

Thanks Sue. I'm sure you ladies are correct. This must be a wasp nest. Next Question; do you suppose it's vacant? It's very high up in the tree and I don't want to go up there to remove it - and possibly get stung again.

Gg - No hard freezes yes, but high winds & rain has caused sections of the nest to fall apart. I have no plans to go up there - let's see what happens when Spring arrives.

We were enjoying our log burner the other night when a Queen Wasp emerged and hovered sleepily around the living room! It gave me quite a fright as I had brought the logs in from the store in the dark! And she was a big lady! Interestingly, there was no buzz...none at all.

Eeek! It must have reawakened once it warmed up inside the house. A well aimed 'swat' with a rolled up newspaper or shot of bug spray should take care of it.

Once I was showering and a giant wasp came in through the bathroom window. I ran outside naked! :O

Lol...thats quite an image Bathgate! My OH found two half empty tins of insecticide...(dreadful stuff) and sprayed the room so much we had to evacuate the whole of downstairs! This was because we couldn’t find the critter. Next morning he found it...still alive! We had to give it the swatter treatment. Its bottom end fell off on to the floor and about 15 minutes later the thing was still twitching. Honestly..it was like a horror film. Poor wasp. She met a very long, painful and unregal end.

LOL! Amazing what these things put us through. Yeh, sounds like one of those old B movies from the 1960's. Had a good laugh.

;)

Karen: Had to show you this film clip

Beginning of the End - Giant grasshoppers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZywxcTRAV8

Lol....’They keep coming General’ ;)

LOL

Wow! That's a huge wasp nest! Do you still have a lot of wasp around?

I haven't seen any wasp activity at all - but the weather has been below freezing & snowing. I'm not sure if they are dead or just hibernating inside. I'll just leave it alone, until Spring at least.

They're most likely hibernating...especially, if the weather is below freezing.