European wasps are a serious pest in Tasmania and in vineyards they eat the profits. I was feeling quite relaxed about them this year as the flood in January should have taken care of the nests. Indeed, I didn’t see any around after the flood in mid January so didn’t think that baits had to be laid. Then about two weeks ago our vineyard was inundated with them. They really are a serious pest as not only do they eat grapes, they freak out the pickers. With good reason. It’s like taking a bone from a dog.
So, wasp hunting commenced. If you stand still late in the day and watch where they go, you can eventually source a nest. It takes time and patience but does work. Watch where a wasp flies and it disappears after 20 metres or so. Then you walk to where you last saw it and wait for another to fly over and so on ‘til you find the nest. It takes time but to find the nest is the holy grail. I have sourced nests and dusted them lots of times. Almost always a hole in the ground. Today I found the hole in the ground. Unfortunately for me, and owing to the season, it was in a steep cliff with a roof of dead ferns protecting it from the rain. Sheltered with a view you could say. (Something I have been waiting for a real estate agent to say). So, steep and littered with debris, not a place where you could amble away a few metres from after the dusting. Anyway, being complacent about the previous years of dusting a hole and standing back and watching the anger, I dusted and felt elation after the hunt. Not so good though when standing right in front of the nest and being unable to move.
There must be delineation of work in the nest as there was regular traffic to and from the hole at the same time as a swarm of about fifty or so were buzzing around my head. I know and have always said that if a swarm attacks, you must remain absolutely motionless. You cannot out run a wasp. And this was in a place where I couldn’t even move back a couple of paces. I got stung five or six times but I know that had I tried to flee, I would have been attacked massively. To stand absolutely motionless for half an hour while being buzzed by wasps and occasionally stung is something that I would not wish on anyone. And even writing this now and realising how close I came to catastrophe is, well, emotionally charged.
There is another nest a few metres form the one I found, and I would say the busiest I have ever seen, but I chickened out from treating it. It’s impossible to climb down there in the dark and after I got stung on the nose, I called it quits. I shall go tomorrow though covered in ample layers of gloves and head gear and with an arsenal of knockdown spray.
Garry Stannus
April 6, 2011 at 11:08
I once tried wiping out a nest by sticking a water hose down it and plugging the entry. I ran it for days and days, but somehow it didn’t do any good. Maybe, I reasoned, there were pockets of air in chambers which prevented the entry of water.
I eventually succeeded by lighting a small fire on top of the nest and keeping it going for some days. I surmised that perhaps the air/oxygen in the chambers (if that’s what’s in a wasp nest) had got vacumned up to the fire and that they had asphyxiated.
But it’s not everwhere that you can light a fire…
Imagine my astonishment at finding a nest on the dry face to the side of a waterfall in the bush! I haven’t had the whatever it takes to try and figure that one out. What to do! I’m hoping they’ll just go away. Do they keep using nests forever, or do they like to make new ones?
Adam
April 6, 2011 at 11:34
Not being an expert, I have had some dealings with these horrid creatures. Some tips I picked up from the experts, wear white not dark clothing, try to dust them when it is cold and dark.
JohnWade
April 6, 2011 at 11:51
Make a fat, short stake and using a lump hammer or similar heavy hammer plug the hole after sunset.
Rod
April 6, 2011 at 12:58
I worked out a way of killing these nests without getting too close. Get a piece of hosepipe, make sure it’s dry, and tape a pole to one end. Fill that end with dust. Use the pole to move that end to the mouth of the nest and blow in to the other end. Best done at dusk when all the wasps are bedding down for the night. Good luck!
J A Stevenson
April 6, 2011 at 13:57
In the Autumn all the last wasps are large female Queens, they mate with males and overwinter in solitary hiding places. Stacks of fire wood,in buildings or anywhere dry and off the ground. Wet weather and floods are unlikely to kill hibernating queens. In spring these fertile females look for suitable sites to develop their nests. Often a small mouse hole on a bank, hollow tree, sometimes among vegetation or in house roofs. The lone female builds a nest of paper containing five cells, in each of which she lays an egg.. When these hatch she continues building cells and feeds the larvae until they are sealed to pupate. Meantime she continues to develop the nest and lay more eggs. Eventually worker wasps build up until the queen does not have to venture outside but continues laying eggs as cells are emptied or new cells built. At the end of Autumn all the wasp nests are abandoned and worker wasps die. All the wasps in a wasp nest are the product of one single queen. If a large wasp is seen in winter when bringing in firewood, kill it and eliminate a wasp nest later in the year. Wasps eat anything sweet when adult. The larvae are fed on protein obtained from other creatures which the wasps kill, butterflies, moths flies etc. Until fruit start to ripen wasps do much good, keeping down other pests.
The time to search for wasp nests is before fruit start to ripen. In a saucer place some jam and pieces of chicken chopped small. Ignore wasps which eat the jam but follow the wasps which are flying away with the chicken, these will fly directly back to the nest.
When wasps are raiding something like a vineyard it will be almost impossible to eliminate all the nests. The wasps could be coming from 1kl away, if you vineyard is the only one in that area they will be coming from all directions.
Rocky
April 6, 2011 at 14:36
Rod #4, Key word here is BLOW not SUCK!
Steve
April 6, 2011 at 16:17
Pleased to see this article. I can’t believe how apathetic most of the population are about wasps. If everyone declared war on them, there’d be very few left.
When I first came to Tasmania I rang up Primary Industries for some information on wasps, having never lived with them before. They wouldn’t even talk to me on the subject. Blank refusal, in case I got stung and sued them. “Call a pest control company” was the answer. Bit rich when all I wanted was general information on a primary industry pest!
Personally I think the Government should run a campaign to educate the populace and encourage eradication. As you say, the nest is the holy grail, but there are other things that can be done. Make all effort to kill every queen you see in spring. A cunningly employed wallaby leg can kill thousands of workers. Kill enough workers and the nest may become too weak to produce many queens.
Perhaps they should introduce a bounty for queen wasps. Worked for thylacines!
For locating nests, I put out a sacrificial piece of chicken. A wasp carrying a chunk of white chicken is more easily followed. In hot weather, there’ll be a detail of workers on water carrying duty. They leave water and fly a wasp line to home with their load, then return down the reverse course. Sit next to the water and take a bearing on the direction.
I like the blow pipe idea for killing them. I put a marker on the nest in daylight, then tip toe back at night to pour in the powder. Then I block the entrance. 100% success so far. I reckon for your nest on a cliff I’d be borrowing a beekeepers veil and wearing heavy overalls, gloves, with the sleeves and legs taped up. Take your time that way and save breaking your neck.
Charles and Claire Gilmour
April 6, 2011 at 21:17
Agree totally with JA Stevenson. We have eliminated many by concentrating on the queens at the right time. Beware about being stung too many times, I was only stung twice previously, over about a 5 year period, on the third time, on April fools day last year, it was an ambulance and hospital trip.
Wining Pom
April 6, 2011 at 21:58
Well, you’ll all be pleased to know that the second nest, and a third which was right next to it, have been treated. And I can honestly say that it was the busiest nest I have ever seen. We count the amount of wasps going to and from the nest to guess it’s size and I could not with this one. There were just too many to count. I went back suitably attired in overalls, face net and gloves and let them have it. I do have all the gear to do it properly, just got a step ahead of myself the other day. I have a duster which is a rubber ball with long tube to poke in holes. Works very well but is not an instant knockdown.
The DPIW developed a bait which is fed to wasps when they are in the meat eating stage and they take it back to the nest to feed the larvae which wipes the nest out. So sure that there were no wasps this year, I didn’t put any out. Generally we start that in mid Feb through March but I discovered yesterday that they are still eating meat so they have been laid. I checked the vineyard at about 5pm and couldn’t see any so hopefully I’ve got on top of them.
Tony Saddington
April 6, 2011 at 22:19
I put out a small meat bait. When a few wasps have gathered around the bait I then cover them in cornflour. A white wasp is easier to track by sight when returning to the nest.
The Mt Pleasant site, (DPIW), were providing effective baits – kangaroo based, but only for landowners/orchardists etc.
However it is not yet commercially viable to produce these baits.
Besides Tasmania, wasps are serious pests in NZ and Chile.
Mark Wybourne
April 6, 2011 at 22:44
Actually I find that the most effective method is to get some ant dust (that say beware, fatal to wasps), mix a good dollop of it with a cheap tin of tuna. Place it somewhere safe (from kids etc), and in a few days all wasps in the area are gone …. for a long time. The bait is taken back to the nest and shared by all.
Cheap and effective
amyb
April 6, 2011 at 22:52
Petrol.
In late twilight after the insects have returned to the nest pour a small amount of petrol (250-500 ml per nest)into the entrance, place plastic sheet immediately over the hole and seal with a brick or some-such weight.
Petrol fumes kill them almost instantly, no need to light it or any such dramatic thing. Just make sure you have all entrances/exits (if any) to the nest sealed well before treating the main entrance.
William F
April 7, 2011 at 00:20
Does anybody else see the irony of comments from some of the people posting on this topic?
Seem to be advocating the use of pesticides and even petrochemicals that will leach into our water courses, to protect a chemical reliant monoculture of an introduced species, which is propped up by government subsidies… grape vines….
William
barry
April 7, 2011 at 01:14
Crikey,some people do things the hard way.The baits are great but probably mnot available to the generalpopulation..Once you find a nest ,baygon powder sprayed into the hole will wipe it out.
Dust it on a dark as possible night but use a torch covered with red cellophane.You can see in this light, but wasps cannot,its not in their spectrum.Step back after you dust and move away as the odd wasp will still fly around looking for a body when the nest is disturbed.Make sure the cellophane covers the entire light and there is not a gap with white light showing.The wasp will go for that very quickly
J A Stevenson
April 7, 2011 at 12:13
We used to use Cy-Mac, a powder which released cyanide gas and a table spoon lashed to a longish handle. Placed at the entrance into the hole, they collapsed and died. We used to dig out the nests the next morning, there would be a few young wasps, just emerged from the cells overnight. The wasp grubs were highly prized for trout bait. Win win situation. Also this took care of the queen cells, which hatch late in the season, If sealed to pupate, would hatch out, mate and hibernate.
Provided one did not stand in the flight line, make hasty movements or ground vibrations the wasps ignored one.
Wining Pom
April 7, 2011 at 12:20
Nice comment 13. Typed into a computer made in a factory somewhere, packed in cardboard and shipped over the oceans in a petrochemical guzzling behemoth and trucked to your local shopping centre.
JohnWade
April 7, 2011 at 16:10
Now for the Bumble Bees, ay Jim? Gotta clean them up. Mongrels try to steal my bees’ honey!
William F
April 8, 2011 at 00:04
RE#16
Think you missed the point
William
Garry Stannus
April 8, 2011 at 11:48
I like the fat stake idea, Does it work? Or can wasps create their own holes, tunnels, i.e. can they dig their way out around the stake?
J A Stevenson
April 8, 2011 at 13:50
Re: # 9 Could you say where this DPIW developed bait can be purchased. This is an ideal solution. Why do the DPIW not publicise this product. By all deploying this substance no queens would develop. I would assume that a strong wasp nest would produce perhaps dozens of queens around this time of the year. All nectar/honey eaters live on sweet things when fully developed. Protein is essential for growth which is either obtained from pollen in the case of bees. Wasps are very beneficial in the natural scheme of things, they capture many other pest creatures to obtain protein to feed the larvae. Birds such as honey eaters catch insects, often honey bees, and large ones sometimes raid other birds nests to obtain nestling’s to feed their own babies
Bumble bees raiding the hives will be doing so to obtain protein from the pollen stored there. I never saw bumble bees anywhere near my hives. The only danger was to weak colonies being raided by stronger ones.
Trying to block the wasps in would rarely be successful. When the queen selects a mouse hole for her nest she will find the mouse nest site, about the size of a tennis ball. Here she will start to build the nest attached to the roof. As the colony builds, the area is enlarged by digging away the surrounding soil until the nest has grown to the size of a soccer ball. Perhaps this is why trying to flood out the nest is unsuccessful. The mouse would have thought this out when selecting that site. Blocking the entrance only requires the wasps to excavate a wasp sized exit hole to exit one at a time, whereon they would mine from the outside in. As the colony expands they cut away any growing vegetation which impedes their flight path. If one sees wasps settled on old weather fence panels these wasps are scraping away the wood which is carried back to make the paper nest .
Tony Saddington
April 8, 2011 at 17:57
#20, The DPIW operated a ‘cottage industry’ type operation, (at least up until last season).
The baits are extremely effective with a nest destroyed after 3 days.
The people at DPIW are dedicated and produce frozen meat blocks in ice cube containers. Unfortunately it appears that production of baits are not deemed essential as any attempt to eradicate the pest is impossible.
The best that can be hoped for is control. They are here to stay.
I believe that there may have been some interest by a commercial pest control manufacturer, but wheels turn slow.
DPIW policy on the baits restrict them to commercial, primary industry, use.
Wining Pom
April 8, 2011 at 18:01
The bait cannot be bought. I checked into whether it was worth making a dried one in the government food lab in Scottsdale but, it would have been beyond my capabilities for an investment, introducing it to the market etc. And I tried to start a wasp eradication business but the thing is, when you can treat them, they are not a problem. When they are a problem, you can’t treat them.
Philip Lowe
April 8, 2011 at 19:24
What an entertaining and informative blog of postings.Much learned.
Pete Godfrey
April 9, 2011 at 00:18
Phil I am amazed that you stood so still for half an hour waiting for the wasps to go away.
That took some patience.
Once while digging gravel for my road in Northern NSW I put the shovel into a paper wasp nest. Standing still was not an option, my body was way too fast for that, with a cloud of paper wasps coming for me I ran. They caught up and my fortunate reaction was to tear off my flanny and wave it in the air like a helicopter around me as I ran.
Result they gave up, no stings.
I have heard from a friend that he just puts a petrol soaked rag into the hole when he finds the nests and claims that that works.
Good luck with them. Fortunately I don’t have many at all, haven’t seen any for the last 3 years here.
JohnWade
April 9, 2011 at 11:50
2 things Jim @ 20:
1 – I will post a pic of my bees attacking bumble bees that are trying to enter the hive.
2 – A surveyor’s peg puts and end to a wasp hole. My most recent was two weeks ago, under a helibore. By the time any wasp could get out the other wasps would be eating the hive for survival.
I used to do wasp hives professionally. My method was diesel sprayed into the hole, a diesel soaked rag pushed into the hole then lit. A pressure sprayer of water or hose from tap is essential.
J A Stevenson
April 10, 2011 at 01:11
John I would like to see a photo of honey bees attacking a bumble bee which was attemting to enter a bee hive.Even if it could manage to get in I don’t think it would do much damage, they are largely solitary workers.
Blocking in the hole may work. We used to have 14lb tins of Cy-mac for rabbit extermination inside the fences of new plantations, ex wartime fellings.
Pete, I felled a 50 ft spruce tree and was dressing it out when I became aware of lots of flies bussing around until I realised they were wasps, retreated quickly, there had been a paper wasp nest hanging from a branch 40ft up.
I have discovered wasps going under the ridge plate of the house.
Mark. Will try the ant powder in tuna. Perhaps this should be used more widely out in the country, might also take care of some of the feral cats.