| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Gail |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 07:19:42
Up until last week, we shared a driveway with a neighbour who originally subdivided our block from his. Anyway, to cut a long story short, we now have our own driveway and the kids think it is great to have a 100m of good surface for riding their bikes down and not have to worry about the neighbours cars going in and out... up until the first time the kids all went down with their bikes. They came up again very quickly with several wasp stings each. There is a big paper wasp nest on a powerpole in the paddock next to the driveway. The nest is about 30cm long by 15cm wide and thick with hundreds of wasps. The wasps were obviously disturbed by the machinery the last few days and now won't let anyone near them. It isn't just the kids on bikes either, can't even walk past to check the letterbox. The nest is nearly 3m up on the side of the powerpole so well out of reach of the kids, we didn't even know it was there.
Normally, I would leave any wasp nests alone unless they were in a dangerous position and I would have thought this one would be ok being so high and a couple of metres from the driveway. I'm just wondering whether they would settle down eventually so we could walk past and the kids could play safely or will I have to kill the wasps and remove the nest? I don't really want to do that though. A couple of small scrubby trees had to be removed when the driveway was being cleared and this did expose the nest to the sun (after about 10am) so I wonder whether they will move on eventually? Any suggestions?
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| otamot |
Posted - 06/03/2009 : 16:42:38
rug up well gail! and be careful  |
| The Estate |
Posted - 06/03/2009 : 08:32:03
That is one big nest 
My basic weeding rule: if they grow in rows they're flowers;
if they don't they're weeds.
Melbourne |
| Gail |
Posted - 06/03/2009 : 08:24:54
Here are a couple of closer photos though are a little blurry as I took them from the car... just have to remember next time when taking photos in an idling car that I shouldn't use the car as support to hold the camera still... the car vibrates a little too much  
I also gave the nest a quick squirt of spray to reduce the numbers a little and will go back this arvo or first thing in the morning and knock the nest down. The rest of the wasps will hopefully find a new home in a better position.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
| Gail |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 16:08:34
I'll wait and see what happens after the driveway is finished. My neighbour said he would spray them but I don't know when as he can be slow at doing things sometimes... The wasps may settle down or move on but could be weeks before they do. The safest time to knock the nest down is night time when they are quieter, will just wait and see what's happening first. The kids can't use the driveway until it is finished properly anyway and we will just have to drive down to check the mail and get the morning paper until then.
Pitta, you are right and there are thousands more wasps around. It is a very healthy balanced area (ecologically speaking) with a wide range of insects and birds so losing these few wasps isn't going to make a lot of difference. They will breed up again soon. I would leave them if it was safe to.
There will be a fence on the right side of the driveway as that is the horse's paddock (locked up over at the neighbours at the moment) but the left side of the driveway will just be going to waste... what a shame... just have to plant some trees there instead We were thinking of filling it up with trees and shrubs  just have to decide what sort... decisions, decisions Thanks for the offer Pamela but neither of us like lomandra much... it is alright for a couple of years but have seen too much of it when it gets big, old and ugly and cutting it back regularly makes it look worse. They are tough though as you say and never need watering.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
| Pamela |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 14:11:24
I agree. Get rid of that nest. There's plenty of bush out there without it endangering you and your family. Be careful if you knock it down - I am not sure that a hose spray will be enough for the wasps I dealt with here.
Lovely new planting possibilities beside that driveway. I have oodles of lomandra longifolia seeds on my plants - sent some more to Ota - but the question is when to pick up stem of seeds when the time is right - maybe the pantyhose trick is the answer. Would look lovely planted close together on either side as they wave in the breeze and are lovely and also stop some water flow to a certain degree. And are as tough as nails so no water needed if planted out of the heat of summer. Seeds are on the plants now.
"The air of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears." |
| pitta |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 14:06:49
Finally it posted ok.All I was going to say was, get rid of the wasps . There will be thousand more
not too far away .Poor kids I know haw the stings hurt.
If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive.
Gwen
Cooktown |
| pitta |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 14:04:04
I've tried to reply re wasps 3 times and every time I try to post it
does the disappearing act.
If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive.
Gwen
Cooktown |
| Gail |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 13:01:33
There are a heap of guys working on the driveway now but I will go down when I can and try and get a better pic. I had a couple of the dogs with me and was trying to keep them from going too close before so not the best of pics.
The kids were comparing stings all day yesterday... "mine is bigger than yours" type of thing They reckoned they weren't sore anymore just swollen for an inch or two around the sting. I bet they will be itchy by tomorrow, whenever I get a wasp sting they usually get itchy a couple of days later
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
| otamot |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 12:44:06
that's what confused me it looked like it was made out of mud in the photo but sometimes you can't tell from a pic.
I hope the kids are ok ouch  |
| Gail |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 12:26:03
It is some sort of paper wasp Ota. We usually see their nests high up in trees in a round or oval shape but for some reason they have built on the pole. The biggest one have seen was about netball size. I had a photo somewhere of one that had fallen out of a tree a couple of years ago but can't find it, I'll keep looking though. The nest is a silvery grey colour and paperish not mud. The wasps themselves are only small - about 1cm, thin, black with fine yellow stripes - I had a good look at one as it was stuck inside one of the kids shirts.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
| otamot |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 11:47:19
gail I think it was because they were disturbed by the machinery but I would think they would move on because they normally dont like their nest to be exposed like that. what I would have done is rug up in some thick clothing and a mask and dug a hole near the post then knocked the nest down and buried it. A trick I learned a long time ago from an old neighbour which really works is when you're trying to get rid of a wasp nest keep a hose handy and hose them as they fly around, because they get too heavy to fly and just drop to the ground which gives you some time to deal with it. I really don't think they would have rebuilt back on that pole once the nest was gone. But it's probably been sprayed already? If the nest is still there minus the wasps I'd knock it down anyway. The reason you bury it is so that the other wasps can't detect it or return to it because there may be young wasps in there that haven't hatched out of their chambers yet.
what colour were they? It's a bit hard to tell from the photo but it looks more like a mud dauber nest? but then I only know the wasps we get here  |
| Gail |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 10:16:15
Mary-Anne, I'm sure if it was you or your kids or grandkids getting stung while you walked down to check your letterbox you would do something about it.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
| Gail |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 10:08:38
Mary-Anne, they are causing problems as we can't walk down our own driveway to check the letterbox or the kids can't ride their bikes down. Each kid came back to the house with 8 to 10 stings each... that is a problem and could have been much worse, they still have large swellings on their arms, legs, one on a back (went inside a shirt), and one just below an ear 2 days after they were stung. All the kids were doing was riding back and forward from the letterbox to the hill, didn't even know the nest was there until they started getting stung.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to use it in a fruit salad.
A ounce of common sense is worth more than a ton of intelligence.
Gail, near Gympie, Qld |
| Mary-Anne |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 10:05:41
And if he sprays it  I hope they come back and bite him..
Friends are the flowers in the garden of life
Love Your Enemies... It Will Drive Them Nuts |
| Mary-Anne |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 10:04:15
I cannot believe your neighbour suggested spraying it..I do hope you said no..
Friends are the flowers in the garden of life
Love Your Enemies... It Will Drive Them Nuts |
