Wasp Nest in Hedgehog House (1 Viewer)

[Kiscokid]

I have a dilemma ... I noticed yesterday wasps flying into my hedgehog house - which was inhabited by a prickly friend over winter. I lifted the lid carefully today and found a football sized nest in there.
Very attractive - but I have a small garden and my wife is about to give birth and will no doubt be outside with the little one. To make things worse she wears a medic alert bracelet and one of the things she is allergic to is a wasp sting.
So I have to get rid of it - but want to do it in as peaceful a way as possible. I live opposite woods - could I move the box into there and leave them to it? I guess I will have to foresake my hedgehog box if I do this - but it seems to be the most natural way to go. I certainly dont want to use pesticides in my garden which - although small - has been turned a haven for wildlife these last couple of years.
Any suggestions folks??

 

[harry eales]

I have a dilemma ... I noticed yesterday wasps flying into my hedgehog house - which was inhabited by a prickly friend over winter. I lifted the lid carefully today and found a football sized nest in there.
Very attractive - but I have a small garden and my wife is about to give birth and will no doubt be outside with the little one. To make things worse she wears a medic alert bracelet and one of the things she is allergic to is a wasp sting.
So I have to get rid of it - but want to do it in as peaceful a way as possible. I live opposite woods - could I move the box into there and leave them to it? I guess I will have to foresake my hedgehog box if I do this - but it seems to be the most natural way to go. I certainly dont want to use pesticides in my garden which - although small - has been turned a haven for wildlife these last couple of years.
Any suggestions folks??

Yes.

Oh, all right then,

Wait until it is an hour or two after dark, the great majority of the wasps will be in the nest. Block or cover the entrance hole so that none can escape and remove the box to a location away from your house and place it in an area of wasteland, or under a hedgerow where is is not obvious to passers bye. Uncover the door/entrance and go home. Forget about it until late September or early October, then go and retreive it. The nest is only used once and should be empty of all wasps. Take it home, give it a good cleanout, place bedding material in it and put it out for your spiney friends. Next spring bring it inside after any overwintering occupant has vacated it.

Any wasp not removed with the nest will hang around for a day or so and then most likely disperse. Within a week or two they will be dead from natural causes anyway.

Do all I have said, and you will be happy, your wife will be happy and the Hedgehogs will be happy, there may be a very few brassed off wasps, but the colony is likely to survive, and even my friend Gill will be happy (see another thread on Wasps). lol. See:-

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=62854

Harry

 

[Kiscokid]

Yes.

Oh, all right then,

Wait until it is an hour or two after dark, the great majority of the wasps will be in the nest. Block or cover the entrance hole so that none can escape and remove the box to a location away from your house and place it in an area of wasteland, or under a hedgerow where is is not obvious to passers bye. Uncover the door/entrance and go home. Forget about it until late September or early October, then go and retreive it. The nest is only used once and should be empty of all wasps. Take it home, give it a good cleanout, place bedding material in it and put it out for your spiney friends. Next spring bring it inside after any overwintering occupant has vacated it.

Any wasp not removed with the nest will hang around for a day or so and then most likely disperse. Within a week or two they will be dead from natural causes anyway.

Do all I have said, and you will be happy, your wife will be happy and the Hedgehogs will be happy, there may be a very few brassed off wasps, but the colony is likely to survive, and even my friend Gill will be happy (see another thread on Wasps). lol. See:-

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=62854

Harry

Harry - Thanks for your advice. I went out on Friday night and stuffed the hole with a towel and moved the wasps 200 yards over the road into a very quiet wooded area....a few reprobates were flying around in the garden yesterday looking a bit p'd off - but today they seem to have all dispersed.

I always thought that the hedgehog house might be used all year round by the prickly friends- but you seem to hint that come spring it is not neccessary to leave out. Or perhaps you were just thinking along the line of the wasps returning. I'd be interested to know your views on the hedgehog house being used throughout the year.

thanks again!

 

[harry eales]

Harry - Thanks for your advice. I went out on Friday night and stuffed the hole with a towel and moved the wasps 200 yards over the road into a very quiet wooded area....a few reprobates were flying around in the garden yesterday looking a bit p'd off - but today they seem to have all dispersed.

I always thought that the hedgehog house might be used all year round by the prickly friends- but you seem to hint that come spring it is not neccessary to leave out. Or perhaps you were just thinking along the line of the wasps returning. I'd be interested to know your views on the hedgehog house being used throughout the year.

thanks again!

No problem offering help Kiscokid,

Hedgehogs are great wanderers and can cover some distance during a nighttimes forray after food. It's far more likely they will bed down in the area where they end up in the early morning. It is highly unlikely, they would use the box as an everyday residence. A passing hedgehog may spend the day resting there, but that would be accidental.

If I were in your situation I would put it out in the autumn, leave it out over winter and in the spring check to see if anything has taken up residence for the purposes of hibernation. When it's empty bring in inside and store it, until it is needed again.

Harry