Asian wasps

[SueDonim]

I've just done my annual walk around with fly spray. The Asian wasp queens are coming out of hibernation and are on the north facing walls and fences right now. Every wasp sprayed now is a whole nest that never happens. We leave the ones near the vege garden to help control the pests there, but deal to all the rest to reduce their impact on all the good insects in the rest of the garden. There will always be a few that get missed but doing this now does seem to keep a good overall balance.

[C_T_Russell]

Yeah I do mine at this time of year too, you always miss the damn things though, its amazing how i find some large nests months later!
You can make your own wasp bait using cat flea treatment (frontline I think) mixed with meat such as sardines or cat food.

[Olive]

Thanks for the reminder. Does the same apply to paper wasps, which are what we get stung by here ?

[Zurdo]

German or common wasps are my problem. A few years ago they built a nest in my cavity wall - I'd have to pull the walls off my bathroom to get at it. I tried to block their way in, but they chewed the wood. Every autumn I have to make sure they aren't going to make another nest...when I see them getting in somewhere I'm out with the wasp spray. And in spring the big queens are coming out from the old nest...into the toilet. Paper wasps are a doodle compared to those big German jobs.

[harm_less]

Thanks for the reminder.  Does the same apply to paper wasps, which are what we get stung by here ?

I think there is some confusion going on here. The thread title refers to 'Asian' wasps


which are more correctly Asian Paper wasps.

The other wasps of real concern in NZ are German or common wasps.

[Olive]

Thank you! There's such a lot of confusing information around. Asian Paper Wasps are what we have and I will do a nest hunt as soon as the rain stops.

They do help by eating up the caterpillars in the brassicas, but on balance I'd rather not be stung, and I certainly don't want our bees to be attacked.

[SueDonim]

Sorry about the confusion. Yes, the wasps I meant are Asian paper wasps. I just think of them as Asian wasps because those in our garden are not other kinds of paper wasp (eg European or Tasmanian). They are easy and safe to kill with fly spray and now is the time to do it to reduce nests. We do leave one or two next to the vege garden to help keep the white butterfly numbers down. Which means remembering where they are, but I don't have much problem if I get stung occasionally. I just say "ouch" and forget about it.

On the other hand, common and German wasps are a different story entirely. A problem like Zurdo mentions is serious. And if you get stung that feels pretty serious too. Last time I had a sting it took a couple of weeks for the swelling to go down (they were feeding on the grapes above where I was weeding and I put my knee on one). The best remedy for them is carbaryl if you can get it, but inside a wall like that you really need professional pest control if they get out of hand.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

If you can spot the entrance, and the position allows, going out just after dark with a pack of supermarket flea powder and dowsing the entrance in the stuff works a treat, as they drag it inside with their comings and goings, and kill the nest out in doing so.

[harm_less]

...... The best remedy for them is carbaryl if you can get it, but inside a wall like that you really need professional pest control if they get out of hand.

Carbaryl is extremely toxic and potentially carcinogenic. Effective PPE and care in handling is required to prevent causing as much harm to yourself (and your environment) as to the target insects. As you suggest, best left to the professionals.

[SueDonim]

Yes, carbaryl is pretty potent stuff and needs to be respected, like any poison. One controlled, effective and well targeted dose of something can be a lot safer that all the willy-nilly spraying of hazardous substances we tend to see happening everywhere. And when it comes to German or common wasps, the old idea of using petrol was very dangerous. A small accessible nest can be controlled, a large one definitely needs professionals.

For the Asian paper wasps - most of my half dozen or so stings have been from washing fresh off the line (or in one case still on it - the wasp got caught up in a sheet). The clothesline is near the vege garden, and the wasps seem to be attracted to the clothes on the line for some reason.

[Admin]

...... The best remedy for them is carbaryl if you can get it, but inside a wall like that you really need professional pest control if they get out of hand.

Carbaryl is extremely toxic and potentially carcinogenic. Effective PPE and care in handling is required to prevent causing as much harm to yourself (and your environment) as to the target insects. As you suggest, best left to the professionals.

Yes its hard to find carbaryl these days.
I had an old container that had broken down and been knocked over in my garden shed.
I swept it all up, but concerns me how dangerous this stuff is, ive used a little of it in the past but was not aware of its dangers.