Wasp nest

[SteveD]

We have a wasps' nest in a willow tree in the garden. It is not really causing a problem at the moment - just a lot of wasps flying around the tree and a continual buzzing.

Will they swarm at some stage and go elsewhere or will we be stuck with them until we have the nest removed? (Where we live, the fire brigade will deal with wasps' nests and charge �59).

Thanks for any advice.

[Ethel]

The nest will die in a few weeks - it will compost on its own and not be reused.

There should not be any 'swarming' - just the worker wasps hunting for food. Unless they are causing a nuisance to you I would leave well alone. However, here is some good advice about killing the nest:

http://www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/homepest/Wasp.h tm

I particularly like the idea of trapping it in a big plastic bag and drowning them.

[bensmum]

If they are not bothering you then leave them alone. Wasps are not vindictive and don't seek out trouble -they get irritated when disturbed like most of us!
Unless they are close to the house or you have someone who has an allergic reaction when stung they will probably be fine - live and let live!

[Rabelais]

They don't become a real nuisance until they have raised their grubs. The life cycle of the wasp means the workers feed chopped up insect parts to the grubs and they in return secrete a sugar substance which sustains the workers. Once all the grubs in a nest are raised then the workers will seek out sugary substances to sustain them. This is the time that they then begin to interact annoyingly with people and it would be wise to rid yourself of them before this.

[Robinia]

If you can live with it, don't have a dog that could jump up at it (depending how high it is) or children then you could leave it.

However I had one quite low down in a flimsy shrub & I have a dog who was very interested in it & so sadly I had it removed. The man who came said that it could have become much, much bigger....apparently the wasps go on adding to it all of the time....& the sheer weight can bring them down from weak branches. If they burst open you've got big trouble!

I'm sure that's probably rare, but just giving you the 'worst case scenario' so you can make up your mind.

[SteveD]

We had the willow tree severely (and I mean severely) cut back last year leaving only the trunk and two or three stubby branches.

Since the appearance of a few sprouts in Spring, it has produced an enormous amount of growth and now has the appearance of a "normal" tree.

The growth is so dense that it is not possible to see the wasps' nest - you can just hear the continuous buzzing and can see the wasps arriving and departing. So far they have caused no trouble so I think we'll just leave things as they are. There is no way that I'm going to try to get the nest into a plastic bag and freeze or drown the wasps - what a bizarre suggestion on that web site!