Wasps

[little duck!]

Hello,

I have a strange question! We have been going to the boat most weekends for last few months but not staying overnight, we have had engine running and fire going so all cosy! We are due to have a short break over Easter but have now become a liitle concerned. The last few visits a wasp has appeared on the kitche worktop, i hear a loud buzz and it appears but not sure where from. This has happened at least three times now and each wasp has been quite large ( well to me who hates them they are!). There is only a buzzing just before i see the wasp i cant hear it any other time and onlu usually one wasp each time (disposed of- sorry animalt lovers!) Last week one shot from the kitchen area and i think it stung the dog before i got to it.

Is it likely we have a wasp nest where would i look and what do i do? Or am i over reacting to the stingy buggers and seeing a co-incidence (always in kitchen) where there is none?

Look forward to your replies!

[Arthur Marshall]

I'm assuming they kip down over winter and then suddenly reappear when it gets warmer. I'm a weekend visitor at the moment and have found the same - mysterious arrival of slightly dozy wasp. And always in the kitchen area. Moths, however, appear from the back of the bookshelf over the bed, which is a bit unnerving.

[little duck!]

would they nest near water, i really have no idea! I have vague recollections of a wasps next hanging off our house when i was kid, us kids were kept inside whilst dad( or maybe soemone else it is a vague memory) got rid of nest, probably back in the 70,s in a way not reccomended these days! Also when i was a kid i almost got knocked over when i tried to run away from a wasp, so really not keen on them sharing my boat space!

 

edited for fingers typing faster than my brain could keep up!

Edited March 28, 2015 by little duck!

[BruceinSanity]

IIRC they all die except the queens before the winter. The queens hibernate until about now when they emerge and start looking for nest sites.

 

Every wasp killed now is thousands of the buggers less this autumn.

 

Go, go, go!

 

Edit for spilling.

Edited March 28, 2015 by BruceinSanity

[Sabcat]

Moths, however, appear from the back of the bookshelf over the bed, which is a bit unnerving.

 

I have no idea whether the op has a wasps nest in their boat but you my friend have a portal to hell in yours.

[little duck!]

but three, would three queens be in the same space?

[Timleech]

Tho OP won't have a nest yet, AFAIK they build a new one every year & it's a bit early yet.

As said, it/they will be queens waking up from their winter sleep.

Wasps may be a nuisance to us in the autumn, but are actually useful creatures in the grand scheme of things. If you don't have a major problem with wasps, just push them outside to get on with their lives.

 

Tim

[Taslim]

If it's a large wasp then it's a queen and do as Bruce says and save us all problems later. It's not unusual to find moe than one queen in the same spot.

 

L D. They do nest near water. A chum, picking a remote spot to moor, stepted off his boat and into a nest. Not his best move of the day. I think another boater of this parish had a similar incident.

 

As Bob Marley said 'Kill dem before de grow'.

[Phil Ambrose]

Or if it looks like a very large wasp, then it's a Hornet.

I had a problem once on our previous boat were wasps were able to get in through a vent in the roof and had found a way into the space between an old roof lining and a new one. They always emerged from the same cabin so I was able to locate the point of entry, poison the little buggers and seal the point of entry.

Oh and wasps have no problem being near water.

Phil

[David Schweizer]

If it's a large wasp then it's a queen and do as Bruce says and save us all problems later. It's not unusual to find moe than one queen in the same spot.

 

L D. They do nest near water. A chum, picking a remote spot to moor, stepted off his boat and into a nest. Not his best move of the day. I think another boater of this parish had a similar incident.

 

As Bob Marley said 'Kill dem before de grow'.

 

Or a Hornet, which can easily be mistaken for a large wasp. Hornets are generally considered to be less agressive than wasps.

[Timleech]

 

Or a Hornet, which can easily be mistaken for a large wasp. Hornets are generally considered to be less agressive than wasps.

 

Much noisier, though!

 

Tim

[bottle]

 

 

With thanks to https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/hp331-2014-25/?page_id=102

[Henhouse]

but three, would three queens be in the same space?

 

 

Sounds like the making of a good poker hand.

[Theo]

1catch them under a jamjar. Slide a bit of paper between the surface and the wasp so trapping her in the jar. Release outside. She will fly off to find a nest and will do lots of good rather than being an alarming presence on your boat.

 

N

[Keeping Up]

That reminds me of an old limerick that went around in my school days:

 

 

 

There was an old man from Dundee

Who was stung on the arm by a wasp.

When asked "Did it hurt?"

He replied "Just a bit,

But what a good thing it wasn't a hornet!"

[system 4-50]

Wasps like to overwinter on curtains. In a cottage I visit there can be as many as half a dozen in a single window. About this time of year they start to wake & can be easily caught because they are sluggish. It is a good idea to give your curtains a good shake now as later awakeners will be harder to deal with.

[Taslim]

 

Or a Hornet, which can easily be mistaken for a large wasp. Hornets are generally considered to be less agressive than wasps.

A very large wasp. They do look different too.

 

We had a 'hornet year' a while back with a nest in the roof space. You must have a more tollerant strain of hornet in your neck of the woods. Our lot invaded the bathroom, atacked the dogs & if any light was left on swarmed around it taking a pop at anyone near by.

 

The wasps nesting in the bank provided the kids with hours of entertainment as they watched the wasps carry caterpilers & other bugs back to their nest. Then came the Autum........ Serious nusance value!

[Arthur Marshall]

 

I have no idea whether the op has a wasps nest in their boat but you my friend have a portal to hell in yours.

You speak truth...

[Jerra]

The wasps nesting in the bank provided the kids with hours of entertainment as they watched the wasps carry caterpilers & other bugs back to their nest. Then came the Autum........ Serious nusance value!

For most of the year wasps feed their young meat as you say, they produce a sweet waste which the adults feed on. They become a problem in autumn as the number of grubs slows and eventually ceases meaning the adults have to go out looking for a source of sweet food rather than killing other things.

[little duck!]

Been to boat again today checked all the curtains and every drawer cupboard and anywhere else I could think of and not one wasp. Feel better now!

[Jim Riley]

We find if we talk to wasps nicely, giving them the option of leaving or being blatted, they often go quietly.

[meerdog]

This is going to sound like the daftest question ever. What are you burning on your stove? We have had the wasp problem in our house and found the answer is the queens are going into my log shed to hibernate.I bring them in on the logs and warm them up by the stove and they fly round the room . Simples

[little duck!]

The last time we had no wood left on the boat and hadnt used fire! I Think as someone mentioned they were on the curtains asthis makes sense as they landed on kitchen worktop. I shook ans checked the curtains today and there was no sign of any flying creature! On the subject of wasps what does everyone find helps if stung so I can get supplies in case. I was stung last year and only had vinegar on the boat. Wasp was on arm as I started to use windlass as my arm bent..... ow! Then a week later I felt something land on my neck tried to flick it with hand and it stung my finger, did I mention I really don't like wasps!

[tillergirl]

Antihistamine cream and tablets??

[dccruiser]

I have had a few stings, personally they dont bother me too much, but i carry both antihistamine tablets and cream in the first aid box

 

Rick

Sorry, cross posted with TG