Wasps

[daoniesidhe]

Wasps, and they're are destroying my bees. By the time anybody reads this I will be en route to B&Q to buy wasp killing ingredients. I have found their bike, and tonight they die.

[Jon]

I asked our bka sec to send out a warning about wasps earlier today as I noticed yesterday there were wasps attacking the weaker apideas.
A determined wasp attack can destroy a nuc, especially after a recent split when it has no flying bees or guards.
You have to be really careful with the sugar syrup and sticking litres of the stuff into a small nuc is a recipe for disaster as the wasps will attack it relentlessly for the prize.
Feeding a small amount at dusk is one option but the best option is to avoid the syrup unless really necessary.

What's this about wasps and bicycles. Surely not another poster with a copy of the 3rd Policeman!

[daoniesidhe]

bicycle ? I never said anything about a bicycle. Proper biking here my friend, Moto Guzzi style :)

And it appears after a brief bit of googling that Screwfix is a) nearer and b) has more wasp killing ingredients.

[The Drone Ranger]

No NO not wasp killing gear from B&Q bad move !

First take a honey jar with lid
Cut a cross in the lid with a strong knife
All the way through the metal and halfway to the rim of the jar
Put the hive tool or something bang in the centre and bend the metal down in the centre
Now that's easy to crawl down into but not fly out of
Put jam (not sugar or honey) in the jar then fill about 1/3 full of water and shake
Put the cut lid back on and place near hives
Wasps will crawl in the jar and not be able to fly out so they drown
Bees don't like jam so they won't go in
You will catch hundreds so empty often

[daoniesidhe]

Powder it is, I am going for the source. 6-8 gardens down from me in an abandoned hut. I have approached the owners and they are ok with it. Last year apparently they nested in the hut. Unsure if they are in or under it this time.

Either way they are dead meat.


No NO not wasp killing gear from B&Q bad move !

First take a honey jar with lid
Cut a cross in the lid with a strong knife
All the way through the metal and halfway to the rim of the jar
Put the hive tool or something bang in the centre and bend the metal down in the centre
Now that's easy to crawl down into but not fly out of
Put jam (not sugar or honey) in the jar then fill about 1/3 full of water and shake
Put the cut lid back on and place near hives
Wasps will crawl in the jar and not be able to fly out so they drown
Bees don't like jam so they won't go in
You will catch hundreds so empty often

[The Drone Ranger]

Any who make it out will be raiding your hives covered in insecticide powder

[Jimbo]

I'm with DR on this. I make my wasp traps using a 2 Litre Coke bottle. Cut the bottle an inch or two below the cap. Turn the cut top (funnel) and place inside the bottle. Staple the plastic together after putting jam and water into the bottle.

[gavin]

I can see why DS wants to destroy the bike in the shed, and although petrochemicals are quick and neat I'm not sure that spraying some in someone else's shed is a good idea.

On wasp traps, I have used the inverted top type in the past but found these ones to be much more efficient:

http://www.sbai.org.uk/sbai_forum/showthread.php?289-Wasp-traps

G.

[daoniesidhe]

The deed is done, waited until flying had ceased then I fired it in the entrance. All done with shed owners approval as they were a nuisance to him when trying to get stuff out of the shed.

Tonight will see a lot of dead wasps, with the amount I put down anything that hatches within the next few days will die pretty quickly. I understand the risks with insecticide covered wasp trying to raid my hive. However I am facing a dead hive if I don't do this. I have 5 traps set in the garden, I drown a *lot* of wasps. But they were still overpowering the hive.

Also having seen the state of a wasp after coming into contact with this stuff, I doubt any will have the where with all to find my hive.

[Neils]

I'm reminded of that old Craig Ferguson stand up routine... "I hate wasps".

I won't link to it on account of the language. :)

[daoniesidhe]

Which in turn reminds me of the story of the wee Effin bee


I'm reminded of that old Craig Ferguson stand up routine... "I hate wasps".

I won't link to it on account of the language. :)

[GRIZZLY]

Gavin posted "Effin BeeE on an earlier thread.VERY funny.

[gavin]

What, this one?!

http://www.sbai.org.uk/sbai_forum/showthread.php?190-A-cautionary-tale-for-the-polis-and-ex-polis-amongst-us!

[gavin]

I've been tolerating a wasps' bike attached to our kitchen window this summer. It has galleries pressed against the glass and rather active larvae which seek food more enthusiastically than bee larvae. This morning it had half a dozen queen wasps loitering near the entrance and a couple of males too - small wasps adorned by long curved antennae. 'Swarming' time for wasps then? Is that it? Do they let the queens go in one rush then they're done? I suppose that I'll know the answer soon.