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huge-wasp-nest-in-the-hedge
Having been stung by a wasp as I tried to reduce the height of a laurel hedge, I discovered a huge wasp nest inide, about two feet off the ground.
As my grandchildren play hide and seek all over the garden I would like to get rid of the nest, but am afraid of being stung badly, and that even if I manage to lose it tghis year, the wasops wilkl return and build again next year.
Any advice.please?
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Best thing is to get an expert in to remove the nest, most councils have a list .
Sadly wasps are being a bit of a nuisence at the moment as the wasps forage for sweet things. Wasps do not build in the same place from year to year so I doubt they will be there next year.
They really are the gardeners' friends. Try to tell the children to stay stock still when they are about and certainly not to flap at them.
If the children can do as Welshonion says they're likely to be fine. I know that some people are very allergic to wasp stings, but they are the rare exception not the rule. The majority of us have a few wasp stings during the course of our lives - I certainly remember having a few as a child. It helps to have a can of Wasp eze in the house, and if the children are over 6 they should be able to take Piriton (following the instructions). If they know to come to you if they get stung and you have the magic medicine to fix it then they'll be fine - at least, my children were
When the frosts come the wasps will die and you'll be left with the most wondrous thing -and the children can take it to school for science lessons - it may be this that switches them on to science!
Wasps do not swarm, and they do not return to the same nest the following year. If you want to keep them away from most of the garden, give them some sweet ripe fruit or maybe a dish of jam in a corner near the nest and they'll keep going to that and keep away from the rest of the garden.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thank you all for lots of helpful advice.
I will do what Dove advises and next winter donate the nest via a grandchild for school investigations. That should enable me to finish reducing the hedge to a sensible height before the birds move in to nest in the spring. Hopefully the wasps will not return next year as the hedge will be rather more sparse by then.
Because one of the children is terrified of getting stung I have hung one of those glass wasp-catching jars near the french windows and that has kept any wasps from coming in the house.
Also, another snippet of information - wasps nesting in hedges are likely to be the European variety - our native ones prefer hollow tree trunks. roof spaces etc.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
GGranny- Dove's right- if you can retrieve the nest at a later date the children will be fascinated. They are the most astonishing pieces of architecture - better than any human can create. If you can involve children the fear lessens. I have a work colleague with a 3yr old son who was frightened of spiders. One day at work there was a spider in the workshop and he was quite wary of it. I gathered it up and took him outside as well just saying 'come on and we'll put him somewhere safe where he'd rather be ' and we put the spider in the ivy on the wall. Result - little boy now wants to see where the spider is and no longer scared - just interested. Looked for the spider in the ivy whenever he came in to see if it was there. When mine were little a child along the road from us was frightened of butterflies. I just thought it was so sad.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
When you do get it out of the hedge, can you show us a photo please?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I use to believe the stereotype that wasps are more aggressive and more likely to sting than bees, but I think they are just more likely to go after your food - I had one crawl on me for about 5mins while I was eating my lunch in the park, stayed calm and it didn't sting.
Also they are eating a huge amount of catapillers off my brassicas.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
In the Spring you may hear them chewing at dry hogweed stalks to get the material to construct their nests. Every wasp except the queen is killed by the frost, and you may see her when she comes out of hibernation in the spring. She is much the biggest wasp you will see.
Amazing Nature!!