Topic: wasp nest in compost heap

[staris]

i found a wasps nest toady in my compost heap ,i thought there was only one wasp but when i tried to stamp on it they came flooding out  :o
what can i do to get rid of them or should i just leave them alone, i dont need to use any of the manure until later in the year  :)

[goodlife]

Oh..in that case I would leave well alone..that's if it won't cause any bother for you or your neighbours.. ;)

[gaz2000]

i have a nest in an old coat i have hanging up at work

doesnt bother me so have left it be,just hope no of the other staff atempt to wear the coat  as they dont know

[goodlife]

maybe you should..for sake of health and safety.. ::)..stick a warning sign on it.. ;D..nasty wasp uses this coat..be aware!

[gaz2000]

nah,sod them  ;D

i found a hornet in my welly at work once that just "fell" in,so its payback time lol

[goodlife]

 Ohhh..you are evil one..maybe that sign should be stuck on you.. ;D ;)

[staris]

i think i'll just leave it alone for now then  :)

[gypsy]

I would pour a bit of petrol in, and cover the heap to keep the fumes in. Have used petrol before, they dont like it, will either move out or die from fumes. Would be careful in case they get angry though!

[goodlife]

Yes..that is one option but small ball of cotton wool soaked with it and placed nearby will do same without needing to pour it over.. ;)

[Old bird]

I would leave them alone if they aren't in the way - they will do a load of good eating the insects greenflys etc.  They aren't all bad you know!  They sting when they are frightened or their nest is under threat.

Old Bird ;)

[staris]

i'm definatly going to leave them alone, i wasn't aware that they actually did some good until i read up on them a bit  :)

[Karen Atkinson]

I had one last year in a compost heap - couldn't get near the thing. They were absolutely ferocious, especially nearing Autumn. Petrol didn't work. I got stung just walking past on a number of occasions, and they'd attack at the slightest step towards their nest. I was very wary of letting my kids on the plot because of this. In the end I did resort to spraying them with something nasty (not an option I guess for those organically minded -which i am in the main, but it was definitely them or me. It did work). You could ask if council could deal with it perhaps.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'd leave them. I do kill them now and then - I did one yesterday for a neighbour - but they do a lot of good killing pests, and don't normally sting.

[Froglegs]

This one was a bit close for comfort in me potting shed,felt a bit guilty taking it away after all the hard work the queen had put  into it.

[Vortex]

They have a tendency to sting in the Autumn because they're feeding on fermenting sugars in fruit.
Drunk wasps sting .... notice any parallels?

[incredible edible]

Hello All, Ive got the same problem, wasps in the compost. Its quite a busy nest - yesterday i put a stack of shredded paper on top, lit it and ran (like  a John Cleese Ministry of Silly Walks lookalike) through the allotment. I plucked up the courage to return to the smouldering pile of ash on the top and the wasps were just coming in and going out like nothing had happened!

I really dont want to use a poison based spray as it will ruin my compost. I've read today that wasps hate mint (apparently its a neuro-toxin for them)so this evenings attack is a flask of boiling water with spearmint essential oil in it, sneak up while they are getting ready for bed, pour and run.  

Part of me hates killing anything - I dug 2 ponds on my plot just to get the toads and frogs in to do the slug killing duties and its working fine - but wasps are dangerous - and would you trust a wasp after its had a few too many, there is quite a bit of fruit in the pile so they will be having a party sooner or later and I don't want to be around.

Anyone else tried the mint solution?

[lincsyokel2]

They have a tendency to sting in the Autumn because they're feeding on fermenting sugars in fruit.
Drunk wasps sting .... notice any parallels?

they also are short of food because all the queens have buggered off and no one is directing the hive anymore, so there all milling round bored, hungry and unemployed, so they go looking for food and get attracted to human activity.

[Robert_Brenchley]

No one wasp ever 'directs' a hive. A queen is essentially an egg-laying machine, though in the case of the social wasps she can also take over the functions of a worker, and does so when first establishing the nest. Around this time of year, she ceases to lay eggs, beginning the collapse of the nest.

The grubs secrete a sugary fluid, which feeds the workers and ties the nest together; I'm not sure whether anyone's ever looked into the possible role of pheromones in this, but they're vital in a honeybee colony. As the supply of grubs ceases, the workers bcome purposeless, seek their sugar elsewhere, from fruit, flowers, kitchens, picnics, etc, and the social structure of the nest disintegrates.