Wasps

[juicyjamie18]

the windows of my bedroom are constantly open and I get a lot of wasps coming in. They're my worst creatures, they creep me out! I've tried spraying them with furniture polish, deodrant and bleach but they don't die. What else can I use? And also, if they sting me will it hurt?

[mystyk_star]

Close your window. And yes it will hurt because they can sting you numerous times and live to tell about it, unlike honey bees that can only sting you once and then die.

[woofgang]

Wasps don't want to sting you. All they want to do is live their lives in peace. I have been stung by a wasp more than once and while it was painful, it was nowhere near as painful as (for instance) toothache. If you are stung, put vinegar on it, don't try to remove the sting as wasps dont leave their sting in the victim. We have old fashioned plain net curtains at our bedroom windows, the kind with a weighted hem. Laurence ll-B might cringe but we can leave the windows open all night and the flying beasties can't get in, alternatively you can buy fine black mesh screens that attach with velcro, one place that sells them is lakeland, bu there are others. Please don't kill wasps unless you really need to they do a lot of good in the garden.

[Toffee]

I don't like to disagree with woofgang, but we can get on quite alright in the garden with bees hoverflies etc. It always makes me wonder why wasps were ever put on the face of the earth. they do little if no good to anyone or anything. They ruin summer days out. All they're after is our beer, soft drinks and our food and if anyone can devise a way to totally exterminate them, they'd have my full blessing.

[Toffee]

Since I posted the above, I've just spent an hour and a half in an olde english pub garden observing the behaviour of insects. The lavender was playing host to numerous bees of several varieties. The clover in the grass was being visited by other bees and by hoverflies. Never have I ever seen a wasp visiting flowers. There were wasps around but they were only interested in my beer, my wife's food and the apples fallen from the tree.. They are the creator's major aberration.

[Wisebird]

I don't particularly like them Toffee and I agree that they are a real nuisance to us, but Wolfgang is right, quote: 'Many of the caterpillars and other insects preyed upon by wasps are garden pests, and in this respect wasps are beneficial in helping to regulate pest populations and prevent potential damage to garden plants. Thus, wherever possible, it is sensible to leave wasp nests undisturbed in order to encourage the natural control of pests, and perhaps reduce the need for insecticide treatments. This will save money (garden insecticides are not always cheap to buy), but more importantly it will help protect wildlife and your garden environment from unnecessary exposure to pesticide contamination.'

[Toffee]

Thanks Anniekon. I spend a lot of time and effort (and money) trying to attract birds into my garden and, despite my neighbour's cat, have had some success. They can be very helpful with pests. Hoverflies and ladybirds are very very voracious when it comes to aphids on your greens. I'm not convinced that wasps are worth their place in the order of things. Coincidentally this afternoon I spotted a kind of wasp I've never seen before -- smaller and more delicate than the usual. Is global warming causing new species to be present in SE England? I have its body and may check it out if I get the time.

[Philtaz]

You've tried every other type of spray so why not try wasp killer spray? You might find it a tad effective!

[quattro]

I sat in my garden this afternoon surrounded by flowers which the bees were visiting the wasps however were more interested in me and my wife who is petrified of them I went to the shops to get some fly spray spayed a few when they came to bother us then--they seemed to dissapear and we were'nt bothered by them again.Wasps may well do some good in the garden but this year and last year there are hordes of wasps around and due to their nature are coming into contact with us more and more so if you are scared of them as my wife is a quiet afternoon in the garden is impossible.

[secretspirit]

You could try getting one of those wasp traps which you put jam inside and hang up. If you put it in the window they'll get stuck in there before they get to you. Wasp killing spray works but they usually crawl around for a while before dying. I've no truck with being nice to them after one of the litte ******** stung me for no reason. It does hurt... a lot.

[juicyjamie18]

They don't want to live their lives in peace, they go out of their way to sting us!! They have no purpose at all!!

[enigma]

I am absolutely petrified of these horrid insects , having been stung numerous times - despite acting on my mother's advice to stand still , on the basis that they will not attack you ... I beg to differ - they do. Twice on my neck on one occasion and it looked like a vampire bite ! Does anyone else feel that not only do they appear to be out in force lately , they seem more vicious and will not tolerate being dismissed with a wave of your hand ? Instead they seem to keep attacking. I remember once when my husband and I were just dating , he had visited me at my flat and we were having a carry-on , tickling each other. He grabbed me to tickle me and I fell onto my sofa and started screaming. He thought that I was screaming at being tickled and kept on with it until he realised that I was jumping about in pain but unable to speak because he was tickling me. I felt a sharp pain in my bum and ran to my bathroom to look for the source of my aching botty. A wasp dropped to the floor and I realised that I had been stung several times. Unfortunately , I couldn't remember whether it was vinegar or bicarbonate of soda for a wasp sting , so headed to my local village store to find out. The sales assistant asked me to wait for a moment and promptly disappeared through the back of the store. When she returned , she had a paper towel soaked in vinegar and asked me where the sting was so that she could apply it for me. Rather red faced , I explained the delicacy of the situation and she told me that in that case I could apply it myself. She then shouted across to her supervisor that she couldn't apply it for me as requested by her boss because it was on my botty , much to the amusement of the packed store ! I made a point of remembering what to use on stings and have never forgotten since !!!

[juicyjamie18]

Why do people say "stand still"...that doesn't make them stop! They just want to attack. I run a mile when I see one...when one comes into my bedroom I close the door and run downstairs where I stay for at least an hour...hoping it's gone out through the window.

[enigma]

I believe that the theory is that wasps will only sting if they feel threatened and if you stand perfectly still , then you are not putting them in a state of fear or alarm and therefore they will leave well alone. Rubbish ! I've lost count of the times I was stung as a child whilst following this advice. Must just be my sweet smell they go for lol !!!

[Toffee]

Anniekon, what is the source of your quotation? My observations don't bear it out.

[norfolk boy]

Wasps,pidgeons and rats kill the lot!The only thing i've found that will stop a wasp dead in mid flight is easy start.This is a spray used for starting diesil engines in the winter time.Having disposed of several wasp nests in my time (nests are very pretty coloured)and tried various products such as petrol,thinners,diesil,water and smoke,easy start is the only thing that will kill them as they come out of the nest to sting you.

[Wisebird]

Hi Toffee. This is where I found the quotation. It was one of several I found that basically said that wasps prey on garden pests: http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/wasp.htm Incidentally, we seem to have a lot of wood wasps. These live in our wood pile, are about twice the size of normal wasps and very much slower - really evil creatures that have the most horrible sting as my husband will verify as one was in his bathrobe when he put in one morning, and it stung him somewhere unmentionable. Incidentally, I have never been stung by a wasp - I must taste very sour!!

[Wisebird]

Norfolk Boy Is anything safe from you here is this lovely county!! Only Joking - Hope you are enjoying the heat.

[Toffee]

Thanks Anniekon, I've read that and I'm trying to figure out what their agenda is. Norfolk boy, would you agree to including collared doves and starlings on the list? I'm a bird lover, but I'm sitting here with coo-COO-coo, coo-COO-coo coming down the chimney incessantly.

[Tiger67]

Try shooting them with a BB gun that will sort them out. And if you do miss and they make their escape they will tell all their friends that will scare any of them comming back.

[Lizi]

I've never been stung...but I find the things damn annoying indeed!! Thing is though...I don't let them sting me...they buzz around my ears for far too long before trying anything else - enough time for me to get a bit of paper and shoo 'em out the door/window (for the first wasp) any further disturbances I have and I get the fly swot - one swift hit against a hard surface and they're down. However, best not to try hitting them when they are resting on a plastic bottle - it just stuns them cos the surface isn't hard enough!! lol But yeah...is most annoying in hot weather, when you want the doors/windows open but it means you get wasps (and at night, moths)!! I do believe wasps are some of the most stupid creatures ever though!!