I THINK I've got a wasp's nest...

[basketcase]

At the back of the plot is a pile of stuff (wood, bricks etc) that's been left long enough to look like a compost heap! When starting to clear that area I noticed some wasps and thought they were interested in some of the plants. BUT...

There are always 3 or 4 wasps hovering around the same place and I've seen wasps coming out of and going into a hole near to the 'hoverers'. It's a nest, isn't it?

[Hilary B]

The wasps that usually bother people build a nest like a ball of papery stuff, usually hanging from a timber (although I have seen then built bulging out of the surface of a thick sheet of MDF).
There MAY be a nest there, but it MAY not be a wasp nest. Picture would help.
If you were disturbing a wasp nest in the location you describe, I would expect you to get stung by now!

[pdblake]

All the wasp nests I've ever discovered have been underground. In our last house I accidentaly put a fork through one in a border three years on the trot. Talk about beating a hasty retreat

Quick guide:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfact...iles/427.shtml

[ginger ninger]

We had a wasps nest in the attic, they had got in through where a slate had come off, we didn't use the attic for very much, so we just left them alone..but the wasp nest its self was beautiful & very light..once the wasps had left, OH moved the nest, put a new slate on & we've never had any more wasps..i myself haven't heard of wasps nesting in bricks before..although wood yes.
If you know any fishermen, i think they would be more than willing to come and move the nest for you, they use the grubs for fishing, or phone your local council and they should move it for you if your worried about it...in the mean time DON'T GET STUNG

[Speed Gardener]

I had a wasps' nest in one of my council dalek bins last year. one that was full of leaves. I found I could only spend a few seconds near it before the "hoverers" came out to greet me. In the end I pulled the bin over and on a daily basis with my longest-handled tool, whacked the pile/nest and then ran away. After a week or so, they had disappeared. So go in fast, strike, and get out fast!

[Maximillian]

I've just found a wasps nest in my garden but in the ground. Got stung three times and now have a swollen arm. Council charges £45 to get rid which isn't bad. At least I can enjoy the garden...if the flipping rain stops!

[Paulottie]

I had a wasps' nest in one of my council dalek bins last year. one that was full of leaves. I found I could only spend a few seconds near it before the "hoverers" came out to greet me. In the end I pulled the bin over and on a daily basis with my longest-handled tool, whacked the pile/nest and then ran away. After a week or so, they had disappeared. So go in fast, strike, and get out fast!

A perfect description of how not to deal with a nest....Very dangerous.

First decide...Is the nest/flight line a real nuisance where it is? Wasps are generally useful in the garden till Late Summer. If it has to go... then wait till evening and put foam/powder at the entrance to the nest they will carry the poison in on their feet next morning.

[Dynamo]

A perfect description of how not to deal with a nest....Very dangerous.

First decide...Is the nest/flight line a real nuisance where it is? Wasps are generally useful in the garden till Late Summer. If it has to go... then wait till evening and put foam/powder at the entrance to the nest they will carry the poison in on their feet next morning.

Thats what I did when we had one. Much cheaper than spending 45 quid on getting the council to do it for you.

[NOG]

We had a wasp nest once in the eves. I told Mrs Nog to deal with it....I came home and she gave me a tin of spray...she wanted me to go up the ladder and spry them....not.

We got the Council dude in to do it.

[gardenofeden]

we had one a few weeks ago burried in the pile of sods we'd taken off the beds and covered with black plastic. I pulled the plastic back, pulled the sods back that were near what looked like the entrance and blowtorched the nest. The nests don't burn well because they seem moist but they are tiny and eventually will turn to ash. It's not guaranteed that they will move on but they did in my case.

Just wear a coat with a hood or something, they seem to instinctively know that your skin is where they need to attack.. no stings this time though

[SimonA]

We always seemed to get a nest every summer at my old house. First few years I had the council out, £45 a go. On one occasion they made a nest inside the cavity wall of the house, entering through a small gap. You could see them flying out with bits of insulation foam. Other times they made a nest under bushes in the garden.

The last year I was there wasps made a nest underground, Firstly I tried to flood them by leaving the hose pipe running all day. That didn't work, so I poured petrol down the hole and dropped a match on them. Didn't see any more wasps after that.

[elsie-scot]

i had nest as opened the shed door, so it had to go, dont waste money getting council to do it, the spray works great - just wait til evening when they are all back, cover yourself just in case, spray and leave ASAP.

I went OTT with the protection - thick jacket, hat, ski googles, scarf, thick gloves- but I didnt see one single wasp!

[Alison]

We think we've got one in our eaves at home but will probaly ignore it and just keep the window next to it closed at all times. As already said, they do have benefits also and unless you're getting stung all the time I'd rather leave them be and put my energies into getting rid of the local slug population!

[basketcase]

The wasps that usually bother people build a nest like a ball of papery stuff, usually hanging from a timber (although I have seen then built bulging out of the surface of a thick sheet of MDF).
There MAY be a nest there, but it MAY not be a wasp nest. Picture would help.
If you were disturbing a wasp nest in the location you describe, I would expect you to get stung by now!

Firstly, thanks to everybody who got back. This is obviously a very common problem!

Sorry, Hilary, but I can't take a photo - can't see it.

Thing is that I've just taken over an allotment. At the back is a pile of what I thought at first was probably just a heap of compost and I added a bit of my own to the back. Now that I've got round to moving a fair bit of other rubbish I can see that it's actually vegetation that has covered a pile of other stuff including: blocks of stone, old wood (in not very good condition) and at least one piece of corrugated metal. So there's bound to be room and building material down there.

Before I'd actually moved anything in that area, I noticed the wasps that appeared to be 'on sentry duty', backed off (cos I didn't want to get stung!)and then saw wasps entering and leaving a hole. This was a while back and the situation's still the same.

Does this spray stuff really work?

[basketcase]

I went OTT with the protection - thick jacket, hat, ski googles, scarf, thick gloves- but I didnt see one single wasp!

Sounds like good sense to me, Elsie!