Topic: Wasp nest in greenhouse?? somwhere

[Jeannine]

I managed to get into the gardens greenhouse they have said I can use .I was warned there had been a wasps nest in it so be careful

Long bench down one side..gravel on floor. lots of junk on and under the bench. lots of pots, buckets, all over floor and weeds growing in the gravel

I started  cleaning on th bench  but after just a few minutes I sawa wasp, then another and in a few minutes I could hear loud buzzing so I hoofed oi out quick.

I need to go back in prepared,

Can anyone tell me where the nest is likely to be, I am going to try to move the siding down the centre to clear under and behind it..will the nest be obvious or are they likey to be in the gravel.

I would really appreciate any help you can give me.. bug spray, hospipe, whatever. I will have to try to go back today.

XX Jeannine

[Paulines7]

Don't go in there Jeannine pleeeeeease.  It could be anywhere and if you disturb them, they will attack you. 

Is there no way the plot holders could club together and get someone in to deal with them? 

[:(]

What Pauline said. One of my neighbours distruebed a nest in his compost bin last week and got badly stung. He went and got one of the sprays that are supposed to kill them and got badly stung again. People walking past the end of hos plot also got stung, one bloke had 5 stings in his hair. He got some beekeeping kit on and doused the nest in petrol and lit it and they were still flying around. One found the gap between his shoe and trouser leg and got him there a couple of times. Unless its only a tiny nest get a professional to do it.

[Ellen K]

^^ eek! wot they said, get a professional in.

Once I saw a man with a can of WD 40 and a cigarette lighter (you get a mini-flamethrower effect) torching wasps as they came out of a hole in the ground.  I got stung just watching from what I thought was a safe distance.

They are EXTREMELY serious about defending a nest.  Putting a hose on them ??  You might as well tickle them with feather.  Likewise bug spray.

Their nest is an amazing thing, I have found a few when pruning early in the year.  They are great engineers, you have to give them that.

I don't know how the pros do it but it must involve something like cyanide or napalm.  And lots of it.

[Kepouros]

There should be no need to go into the greenhouse to deal with it..  I don`t know how big the greenhouse is, but the average aerosol can of fly/wasp killer contains sufficient to clear an average room several times.

The wasps will all return to the nest at dusk, leaving just one on sentry go on the outside of the nest, and they won`t emerge until dawn unless alarmed.  Go there just before dawn with several cans of spray and empty them all as far into the house as possible, then shut the door.   Go back again during the day, open the door slightly and empty a few more cans in.  There shouldn`t be many left after that.  Repeat the procees after a few days to catch any more that have emerged.  The queen will still be in the nest with several grubs, but can easily be dealth with.

The nest will almost certainly be a rugby ball shaped structure of paper/wood pulp and most likely attached either to the underneath of a structure, or where two objec ts form a corner.

This is the method I always use for a wasps` nest in any of my buildings and I`ve not been stung using it yet... but I suppose there`ll always be a first time.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I just squirt them. Get the right sort of spray, get all the places they're going in and out, and that's the end of it. I haven't been stung doing it yet.

[Jeannine]

Ok. mixed views here... well, I am a tough old broad so id I decide to go the do it myself route, is it likely to be attached under the bench..if I could see it it might be easier. What if we carried the bench outside if it is attached to that or would they get angry if it started to move.

It is a big greenhouse and there is a top window that for some reason  that has been removed so I can't seal it off without working in there for a while.

Robert what is the right kind of spray.

We had one years ago in a compost pile and I must admit I got rid of them by breaking up the pile, running and coming back the next day and putting a hose in it and flooding it all day., they eventually took off, but I can't see the nest.

I have to go there soon.

XX Jeannine

[picman]

I had an uncle who caught a wasp and tied a short piece of red thread around it and followed it to the nest... I'm not suggesting you do , we have a nest at our site , in the ground , we will leave it and dig it up in the winter, grubs are just right for anglers i believe.

[Jeannine]

Robert,or whoever else knows. I have been googling and have found that the wasps will die off  at the end of the season apart from mated queens who hibernate.

If I just left them, when in fact would they be dead.

Then if  I wasp proofed the greenhouse as much as I could it may solve the problem of another nest next year.

Is this doable please?

XX Jeannine

[landimad]

The wasps are dead after the first frosts and wont come out again until the warmer weather shows up in the spring. If you wait until the frosts hit, then about the second week after it would be safe to enter and clear the nest and debris from this house.
We have one that is in the cavity wall at present and needs to be dealt with now. I will wait until dusk or dawn to tackle it, using a proprietary nest foam to kill them off. Then seal the hole to which they gain entry. Trouble is the hole is some 30' in the air and can only be reached via a ladder.

Nippon or Rentokil are the products I use to get rid of them, both work well and see if they do that sort of thing over there.

[non-stick]

I found one in our allotment the other week. It was a ground  nest at the edge of the plot and went under the grass path. I only discovered it because I was weeding nearby and they attacked. They were incredibly angry and the final sting was incurred 50 yards away. As Rep I called the council the next day as I was worried others could get stung and wasp stings can be very dangerous. Council sorted it the same day, nest destroyed

I'd leave wasps to the professionals - nasty beggars when riled

[Robert_Brenchley]

Exactly when they die off depends very much on the species and the temperature. A very few nests have been overwintering in recent years, but as far as I know those are all in heated buildings. Once we get some cold weather they won't bother you again.

Use 'wasp nest killer' if you're going to spray them. I'm not sure what it's called, but the stuff that foams up and covers everything works well.

[Jeannine]

Thanks Robert, I will need to find it first though,If on the backside  or underside of the bench in the greenhouse do you think we are safe to gently lift it away from the wall into the middle of the greenhouse or will the movement set them off.If it doesn't and they are on it, could we gently continue outside with it? The greenhouse is in a compund that is retricted so very few people go in there.

What do you think.

I am nervous that it might be fastened to the greenhose too and moving the bench might damage it which no doubt would start them off.

It would be great if under the bench and it can be lifted out.

XX Jeannine

[lottie lou]

Do you REALLY need to use the greenhouse before next spring?  If not leave it until after the frosts and the wasps will be dead.  They don't go back to their old nest or so I have heard.

[Jeannine]

Yes, I have over winter stuff t get in ASAP,I can live with the nest but I have to clear the rubbish out. If the place was tidy with a nest it wouldn't matter.

I am not muchly scared of being stung a few times and I am not allergic to them  but I would like to know the best way to do it... I am not looking to be stung if I can help it.

We took a bit of junk out today so am getting closer I know which corner they are in now. Maybe we can uncover it in small stages. I now fee it is fastened under the bench, will go down with a heavy flashlight and look under it next.

XX Jeannine

[Robert_Brenchley]

I've shared my shed with wasps several times, and never been stung once. Presumably they've been there all summer while you've been using the GH.

[Jeannine]

No, the greenhouse hasn't been used all summer it is on our gardens  in a compound used for growing food for the food bank or for growing plants for seed. It has been closed up but has  a missing window.

Few days ago we found three nests, 2 in the roof and one under the bench, they are very small but there is a lot of activity in their every time we go in..too many to comfortably work among as they settle down on us which isa bit scary.

As there are aleady three, there could be more.

We tried to pull the bench out last time we went and instantly there were
loads in the air buzzing.. we hoofed it. We went back about an hour later and it was quiet again which is when we carefully looked under and clearly saw one..it is about the size of half a grapefruit, the other two up on the roof are smaller.

XX Jeannin

[Robert_Brenchley]

Just now I pulled the lid off an empty beehive and found, not for the first time, that it was full of wasps. The air was thick with them, and I didn't get a single sting. Don't panic, find the nests and spray them with wasp nest killer.

[Jeannine]

Ok I will do that, do I have to wait for nightime..what happens to the wasps that are out and come back anf find their nests gone, will they just go away.

Thanks Robert

XX Jeannine

[Kepouros]

Youyr best plan is to examine the nests during daylight - using binoculkars if you don`t want to get close.  Each nest will have just one entrance, and the most effective way of dealing with the nest is to find this.

At dusk all the wasps will return to the nest and go inside except for just one, which will patrol the outside of the nest, and it`s a good idea to have a `Knock Down` fly/wasp spray to deal with this one. Then spray your wasp nest destroyer (the whole can) into the nest entrance and retreat.  There will not be any wasps to return to the nest.

As there are 3 nests I would advise you to deal with them one at a time on separate nights because as you deal with the first nest the sentries on the other two will probably give the alarm to their own nests and if you stay too long you`ll be surrounded by the wasps from those nests.

I deal with 3 or 4 nests every year, including in my roof, under my wooden floors (via the air bricks in the walls), in holes in the ground, and rugby-ball type nests in my shrubs, and I was last stung 20 years ago