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Moya_999

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1 of my liveries found a wasp nest in a tree trunk which could have been serious for the horses who graze near it and stand near it looking over the fields.


Pest control guy said, this year is really bad for wasps and if you do not remove or exterminate the nest, you are allowing 35.000 wasp to go free.!!!:eek::eek:.

I thought, NEVER!!!! he said yes so now horses are banned from the field till its safe. Think one when you spot one get someone in or you could have a dangerous situation or a fatality in the horses. This really surprised me the amount, this nest was the size of a football he said.

Were you aware that is how many who would go free to breed next year????
 
There may be many wasps in a nest (average 3-6 thousand ) but most wasps die off in autumn from cold. A few specialised queen wasps will be produced by the colony which mate and then hibernate to emerge next year, build a new next and breed.
 
hoggedmane said:
There may be many wasps in a nest (average 3-6 thousand ) but most wasps die off in autumn from cold. A few specialised queen wasps will be produced by the colony which mate and then hibernate to emerge next year, build a new next and breed.
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This.
 
My friends mare got quite badly stung when we put her in her stable and didn't realise the wasps had nested there. Luckily we were just outside and heard her kicking and thumping about and we managed to get her out quickly. Dread to think what would have happened if we'd not been stood outside. She'd had a few stings and was very distressed. All the wasps I've seen this year have been quite tiny. I did however see a huge hornet yesterday :O I moved away very quickly. They are seriously scary things!
 
jemima*askin said:
I think you might find he said three to five thousand.
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No I think I might find he said 35.000, he wrote it down and told me and my liveries this amount.

During the time of this nest built May to when they leave this is how many.:rolleyes: as he repeated it to the rest of the yard. This total includes all the lava that hatch during the course of the breeding season.
 
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We have a wasp nest out back. Keeps the feral teens away from our garden, so I don't mind :) Different with livestock, but if at all possible I prefer to let them be.
 
Remember that wasps have an important place in the environment, we destory nests by the house but leave them be further away. I see them flying round my horses in the field (we have a huge nest in the woods adjacent) but I think they are after the flies on the horses themselves.
 
The wasps have been very bad here this year. They are actually chewing through our apples on the trees never seen it before. I opened a bale of haylage a couple of days ago and they were swarming around it. I don't mind a few but it has been unusual. I'd love to know why conditions have been so ripe for them.
 
How many wasps in a average nest ? Each nest varies in size, but some larger wasp nests can hold up to 15,000 individuals at the peak of summer. This does not include all the lava and young wasps produce which total OVER 25.000 thousands before the season is over.
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I think you need to speak to a pest controller to get your unrealistic total revoked. The guy that came here said on average the nest he has been called out to are of a similar size to ours and similar amounts produced and not including the drones drones the nest.
 
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The guy said to us some of his customers like to leave well alone. He said pt us, if everyone does this, then 10's of 1000 will come back next year and so on.

So when I know of a nest - its gone.

They have been on my new field shelter, chewing away at my wood. So I spent the weekend creosoting it, now they have left it alone.
 
ozpoz said:
He sounds as if he's just drumming up business for himself.
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I don't think so. When I called him I told him where the nest was and the risk to horses, he told me about the increase next year. So he was telling someone who was already using his services. So then the 3 other companies I called to get a quote, I asked them this question and they said more or less the same thing. as heard similar from 3 other companies.

ATEOTD he only goes to people who call him out like I did. Telling me earnt him no brownie points or increased his service as I call him anyway. People who like to leave them just don't call.
 
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They really love Jean paul Gautier perfume! I avoid wearing mine during wasp season as so many people panic when they see a wasp flying about - I got clocked in the face with a handbag once, lol! Ironically the wasp involved flew away without harming anyone...
 
As a gardener I leave them well alone unless they're too close to human/horse habitation. Like most insects, they've had 2 dreadful years so if they're catching up a bit they need to.
 
Really curious. I'm in Leicestershire and we had lots of flooding in the area last year. All the wasps I've seen are tiny and I've noticed very few about. Sounds like they're doing ok in some parts of the country ?
 
Be careful here guys, some breeds of wasps are protected by the law and there can be huge £££ fines for destroying their nests!
 
Unless they are nesting too close to our homes for comfort, isn't it best to just leave them alone?

They are just part of nature, and of the natural balance. If this chap had told me I was letting 35,000 go free, I'd have asked him what his point is. :)

Wasps aren't usually a serious threat to health or life. I think your chap was scare mongering and enjoying the drama. ;)


I have to admit I'm terrified of the little blighters by the way, having been stung badly as a child and suffered an allergic reaction. I still don't want them all exterminated though. :(
 
FionaM12 said:
Unless they are nesting too close to our homes for comfort, isn't it best to just leave them alone?

They are just part of nature, and of the natural balance. If this chap had told me I was letting 35,000 go free, I'd have asked him what his point is. :)

Wasps aren't usually a serious threat to health or life. I think your chap was scare mongering and enjoying the drama. ;)


I have to admit I'm terrified of the little blighters by the way, having been stung badly as a child and suffered an allergic reaction. I still don't want them all exterminated though. :(
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The tree they were in is a divider between our field and the footpath. You could here people screaming as they went past it. MY horses love standing in this particular spot looking over across the field, so in this case the nest was removed. For every one that is destroyed there are millions who are left alone.
 
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