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By
Alan J Hartley
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A Problem With Wasps.
August seems to be the time for
problems with Wasps, just as the Fruit is ripening. We have certainly
had a problem with them at work and because of the nature of the Centre
where I work - having Adults with Learning Disabilities on site, we have
to get Pest Control in to deal with them straight away and from other
people’s stories it appears to be a bumper year for Wasps. I haven’t
escaped unscathed with a Nest being built into my Bungalow and the Wasps
accessing it through an Air Brick. I tried to deal with it with some
Insect Powder and it seemed to work for a few days, but then they
gradually reappeared again. I don’t know if that was due to Grubs in the
Nest hatching to replace the dead ones, or what, but I may have to get
the Pest Control in to deal with it. Unfortunately I have also had a
Wasp Nest on my Allotment for the first time this year. That is, the
first time for a Nest anywhere on the Allotments. I spoke to a couple of
Committee members and they were undecided what to do.
The Nest had been
excavated in the edge of my Strawberry Bed where the soil has a lot of
Wood Chips mixed into it. They build their Nests from chewed up wood fibre to make a papery like material, so obviously all that Wood Chip
was ideal for them. We could not make up our minds as to whether we
should leave the Nest until the Winter, when the Wasps will naturally
die, or get it dealt with straight away.
It seems that Adult Wasps do bring some benefits to Allotments as they
Pollinate Flowers when they go for the sweet Nectar, although sometimes
they cheat and cut a hole in the back of the flower to get at it, and
they feed their Young Grubs on small Insects like Aphids. So they are
helpful in their own way with Pest Control as well which Bees don’t do.
However, the adult Wasps also feed on over ripe fruit, of which there
can be a lot at this time of year. Wasps will eat into fallen Apples and
they have a reputation for liking Plums with them often being found
burrowing into Fruit that is still on the Tree. I have also found that
they love Figs which should come as no surprise with them being very
sweet and sticky when ripe. Indeed I went to pick my first Fig of the
Season towards the end of August and pulled back just in time to see a
wasp crawling round inside it.
Before I found the Nest on my Plot I was badly stung by the Wasps as I
was weeding a path running next to it. While picking the Weeds up I was
bending down close to the Nest and one of the little blighters got
trapped between my Glove and my Watch Strap and just kept stinging me. I
have never reacted much in the past to the odd Wasp sting, but this time
I did and had to go down to the local Pharmacy for some anti Histamine
Tablets that took the swelling down. Even then it took a few days for
all of the swelling to go.
I immediately warned one, or two, People and one in particular as I knew
she was Allergic. We often joke about getting stung by being silly
around Wasps, but for the few who are Allergic it can be a life, or
death, situation if they don’t get urgent treatment.
With this in mind I talked the situation over with my Friend who has the
Plot next to mine and we agreed that I should put some Insect Powder
into the hole and not wait for Winter. There was a problem though in as
much as they wouldn’t let you get close enough to squirt the Powder down
the hole. So, after I realised that they don’t fly at night, I decided
to launch my attack after dark. I warned the Allotment Secretary that I
would be wondering Around the Allotments after dark with a Torch and not
to call the Police. After all it might look a bit suspicious ! ! ! One
Plot Holder asked me if I was going to leave the Allotments as it was
getting dark and he offered to shut the Gate after me, but I replied
that I was going “Big Game Hunting,” “Or at least Small Game Hunting As
I Was Hunting Wasps!” I added “I’m A Bit Of A Coward though, So I Am
Going After Them After Dark When They Have Gone To Bed!” I explained to
him and he left me to carry out my attack. On inspecting the hole after
Dusk, everything seemed to be quiet with only one, or two Wasps crawling
round the hole, but not actually flying around. So I gave a good squirt
of the Powder into the hole and quickly moved away hoping for the best.
Like the Nest at home it seemed to reduce their activity for a few days,
but did not completely cure the problem, so I think we will have to get
the Pest Control out after all.
As I have said in some ways Wasps do benefit the Allotments, but they
are never thought of as kindly as Bees. Over the years we have had
several Plot Holders express an interest in keeping Bees on our Site. I
did think that allowing the Wasp Nest to stay might go some way to
appeasing the request with them carrying out some Pollination work,
although of course there would be no Jars of Honey ! ! ! Perhaps Wasps
are slightly more aggressive than Bees under normal circumstances, but
neither should be a problem unless threatened. However, after the
incidents with the Wasps I remembered an incident, with Bees at my
Ex-Policeman Friend’s Allotment, in the next Village, a few years ago.
The Following “Link,” will take you to an article that I wrote at the
time. (Article 121.)
I had been working on his Plot next to the Hive and was stung several
times as was my Friend, but when he was attacked they were very
aggressive and even followed him down the path and into his Car. At the
time we thought that maybe some African Bees, that we had heard about,
might have got mixed in with the Hive, but the authorities said then,
and still say now, that there have never been any in this Country. The
Bee’s aggression was merely the result of bad management of the Hive the
day before in the same way the Wasps aggression was due to my
interfering with the soil around their nest. I think both Bees and Wasps
need to be treated with respect. There are some quite strict regulations
on Bee Keeping and quite rightly so. The Rules have probably changed
since that first incident, but I don’t think Bee Keeping is for the
faint hearted and isn’t as simple as some people think and if you are
going to permit a Wasp Nest to remain, you need to take extreme care
around it.
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