The Bas…..s got me 11 times

[Inspector]

My father made cider (fermented type) from the apples that the horse didn't get. Horse would reach up and grab a branch and pull down hard. Then he would look for the ones that fell. Between the two of them the wasps didn't get much.

Pete

 

[Lons]

I deliberately leave a fair amount of apples lying, just rake them into heaps at the grass edges and they feed the blackbirds and flocks of fieldfares and redstarts for several months though the winter.

 

[Windows]

I’m sure I’ve said it on here before, but if you really, really must wipe out a nest of wasps (try not to! Wasps are beneficial too), you can do it without chemicals by getting a wet-dry vac and filling it with soapy water (doesn’t need to be very soapy, it’s just to reduce the surface tension) then attaching the hose to a long stiff pole (duct tape it to a pruning pole perhaps) so that you can manoeuvre the sucking end into position by the entrance without being anywhere near. Leave it a couple hours, observe and adjust position a few times, and come back again the next day for stragglers.

 

[Cabinetman]

I’m sure I’ve said it on here before, but if you really, really must wipe out a nest of wasps (try not to! Wasps are beneficial too), you can do it without chemicals by getting a wet-dry vac and filling it with soapy water (doesn’t need to be very soapy, it’s just to reduce the surface tension) then attaching the hose to a long stiff pole (duct tape it to a pruning pole perhaps) so that you can manoeuvre the sucking end into position by the entrance without being anywhere near. Leave it a couple hours, observe and adjust position a few times, and come back again the next day for stragglers.

Well , sorry they’re dead.
So they drown presumably. At first read I thought you were saving them, wouldn’t like to be the one that took the top off and let them out!

I haven’t felt too good over the past couple of days, Pam says it’s my body dealing with all the venom, and on a couple of the sting sites I’ve got a 2” x3” raised hot area. Sorry @Windows but Im not feeling very charitable towards the blasted things.
Ian

 

[Jonathan]

If you pour vinegar over a wasp sting it helps a lot, or if your out in the bush with nothing urine does the same
When my eldest son was just walking he got attacked very badly and they didn’t let up, he was covered, to make things worse it was summer and over 40 degrees they get very aggressive and will attack for no reason. Same son later in life was on his moto x bike an Asian hornet flew in this helmet and stung him he doesn’t like wasps.
We have to regularly cull wasp nests in the early hours when they’re not flying.
The Asian hornet’s are a little tricky as the breed we get work 24/7

 

[wallace]

I deliberately leave a fair amount of apples lying, just rake them into heaps at the grass edges and they feed the blackbirds and flocks of fieldfares and redstarts for several months though the winter.

I do that, I'm sure I've seen the odd tipsy blackbird as the apples get a bit fermented

 

[Accipiter]

I haven’t felt too good over the past couple of days, Pam says it’s my body dealing with all the venom, and on a couple of the sting sites I’ve got a 2” x3” raised hot area. Sorry @Windows but Im not feeling very charitable towards the blasted things.
Ian

Sorry to hear about the affect they've had on you Ian . Sincere best wishes for you recovering soon.

This hot weather here at the moment is having an effect on me and my charitable abilities... 36°C here yesterday ... supposedly getting cooler from today... bit of rain forecast for Tuesday (blink and I'll probably miss it.

 

[Lons]

I've just cut the main part of the grass and my feet got wet so it must have been damp overnight though I'm sure it didn't actually rain. A bit cloudy and low 20s so grabbing a coffee before a less strenuous hour on the ride on but I've seen more wasps than usual this morning.

I really don't like them despite knowing they also do some good, just too many encounters where they've been aggressive without obvious reason.

We had a nest a couple of years ago above a bedroom window where they'd got under a roof tile and into the top of the cavity wall, we couldn't open a window along the back of the house without being attacked. It's pretty high and not accessible so we had to get an LA pest controller out. He had a long pole and used four canisters of powder where he said usually one was enough and there were thousands of the little sods. some followed down the pole and attacked him but he was suited up, I was inside with everything shut watching through a window. The best £60 I've spent for value.

 

[Cabinetman]

If you pour vinegar over a wasp sting it helps a lot, or if your out in the bush with nothing urine does the same
When my eldest son was just walking he got attacked very badly and they didn’t let up, he was covered, to make things worse it was summer and over 40 degrees they get very aggressive and will attack for no reason. Same son later in life was on his moto x bike an Asian hornet flew in this helmet and stung him he doesn’t like wasps.
We have to regularly cull wasp nests in the early hours when they’re not flying.
The Asian hornet’s are a little tricky as the breed we get work 24/7

Blast I knew that but had forgotten. Probably a bit late now, most effects are subsiding now.

Sorry to hear about the affect they've had on you Ian . Sincere best wishes for you recovering soon.

This hot weather here at the moment is having an effect on me and my charitable abilities... 36°C here yesterday ... supposedly getting cooler from today... bit of rain forecast for Tuesday (blink and I'll probably miss it.

thank you.

I've just cut the main part of the grass and my feet got wet so it must have been damp overnight though I'm sure it didn't actually rain. A bit cloudy and low 20s so grabbing a coffee before a less strenuous hour on the ride on but I've seen more wasps than usual this morning.

I really don't like them despite knowing they also do some good, just too many encounters where they've been aggressive without obvious reason.

We had a nest a couple of years ago above a bedroom window where they'd got under a roof tile and into the top of the cavity wall, we couldn't open a window along the back of the house without being attacked. It's pretty high and not accessible so we had to get an LA pest controller out. He had a long pole and used four canisters of powder where he said usually one was enough and there were thousands of the little sods. some followed down the pole and attacked him but he was suited up, I was inside with everything shut watching through a window. The best £60 I've spent for value.

wow, that was a big nest! Definitely a case of leave it for the experts. Not expensive either.

 

[Accipiter]

Great opportunity missed there Bob... should have got the video camcorder or camera out

 

[fuse]

The asian hornet already has a strong foothold in the uk
Annoyingly for the beekeeper, rather than destruction,the current advice is to report them to the National Bee Unit so they can be traced back to the original nest.
They hover over the entrances of bee colonies and quickly devour the foraging bees as they exit and return until the colony within starves.
The french have had the issue a little longer and one of the better devices to emerge is a " harp" which,placed in front of the hive zaps the hornet with its electric strings while allowing the bees to pass through.

 

[fuse]

I had to destroy a wasp nest last year as they had made a nuisance of themselves for the householder
Done in the early morning I used nothing more than a pressure plant sprayer with water although washing up liquid solution can also be used to greater effect.
The paper nest was around 4" spherical.
and it had three horizontal decks of " honeycomb" and the top one was made of dirt,heavy like a clay pigeon -all suspended by a thin paper shell.
A lot of clever work.

 

[Accipiter]

View attachment 56270

The asian hornet already has a strong foothold in the uk
Annoyingly for the beekeeper, rather than destruction,the current advice is to report them to the National Bee Unit so they can be traced back to the original nest.
They hover over the entrances of bee colonies and quickly devour the foraging bees as they exit and return until the colony within starves.
The french have had the issue a little longer and one of the better devices to emerge is a " harp" which,placed in front of the hive zaps the hornet with its electric strings while allowing the bees to pass through.

That's interesting Martin... I'm aware of having to report any sightings of the Yellow-legged Asian Hornet, have the app on my phone but, thankfully, haven't had to use it. I'd not seen any mention of the "harp" device until your mention now... very interesting indeed.