wasps, wasps everywhere!

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crumpy

crumpy

daniel
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Soo whats everyone do about the wasps, ive neved had to deal with them before i started prospecting and read if they sting they all attack likewise if you harm them. Ive had no problems so far me and the wasps have gott along :) however went to slaty (creswick) today and its rather intimidating having 5 or so around your body just hanging around it very difficult to just ignore them . So has anyone had problems with them or no anyone that has? Are they harmless if left alone is it ok to dig near a nest? (nests seem to be in the best digging spots!). Im guessing they are just part of the prospecting culture in general and maybe i should harden up or are wasps something to keep an eye out for and stay away from?...Especially with kids around? Its a rather newbie question however everywhere ive been theres been wasps so its a question that i need to ask having no experience in dealing with them before especially in relation to prospecting and actually having to work in close proximity to them. Thanks in advance
 
Yes the wasps are bad this year.
I've already killed 34 nests.

If you are in a spot with a nest. Mark it where it is.
Go back of a night time. Get a 2L coke bottle, fill with petrol. Duct tape a small lenth of hose to it.
But hose on the entrance of the nest and squeeze the bottle. Flooding the nest with fuel.
It will kill them strate away.
DO NOT LIGHT THE FUEL.
The blow back will blow half dead very angry wasps back at you.
I laughed so hard when I wached my mate do it.
And got stung on the face, and lost his eyebrows from the flame.
I find one nearly everytime I get out along the creek.
 
XIV said:
Yes the wasps are bad this year.
I've already killed 34 nests.

If you are in a spot with a nest. Mark it where it is.
Go back of a night time. Get a 2L coke bottle, fill with petrol. Duct tape a small lenth of hose to it.
But hose on the entrance of the nest and squeeze the bottle. Flooding the nest with fuel.
It will kill them strate away.
DO NOT LIGHT THE FUEL.
The blow back will blow half dead very angry wasps back at you.
I laughed so hard when I wached my mate do it.
And got stung on the face, and lost his eyebrows from the flame.
I find one nearly everytime I get out along the creek.
Click to expand...
Been there and done that myself XIV. My eyebrows have never fully recovered :lol: :lol: :lol: I got the little bastards though ;) Blew them to a squillion pieces :lol:
 
This time of the year can be very bad for wasps, i recall been out at a GT gully and they were everywhere!
I think the detector can aggravate them if your close to a nest so keep an eye out and avoid wasps nests as you don,t want to be swarmed by them.

The cooler weather knocks them off a bit, so once the first few frosts arrive they vanish. :D
 
Swinging & digging said:
This time of the year can be very bad for wasps, i recall been out at a GT gully and they were everywhere!
I think the detector can aggravate them if your close to a nest so keep an eye out and avoid wasps nests as you don,t want to be swarmed by them.

The cooler weather knocks them off a bit, so once the first few frosts arrive they vanish. :D
Click to expand...

Cheers for that and funny you mention the detector i notice more of them come to see whats going on the more i hammer with the pick and dig, must be something to do with the noise or vibrations..or they could be protecting some serious gold deposits ;) but also good to know they they will be going away soon for winter! :D

Billy that looks like good stuff and thank you for the link, cant put a price on safety i guess. Would be great to have in the backpack as a last resort i rekon especially when out in remote areas. You said you've used this so this stuff actually worked well? Have you tried any other sprays or is this the best? Did it make them swarm? Last thing i want to do is attract more.
 
There has not been as many this year compared to 2 years ago here, I did not even know we had them around the eastern suburbs of Melbourne until then. They seem to hang around my compost but I don't mind so much as they attack other pests that I don't want around the garden such as bloody cabagge moth larvae. Not sure if they can, but they seem to help with polination as well as I've seen them pottering about the cucumbers earlier in the year, flying from flower to flower. Seen one attack an earwig as well, the wasp was bloody ruthless holding onto it while the earwig squirmed.
 
I prefer the wasp powders. I have used them many times around homes, but they are a but pricey as well. Better to have them gone than getting stung as it is very nasty experince. Also and I don't like the idea of pouring petrol down a wall cavity - LOL, as I have had to do with the powder.

I have used this one from Bunnings, but others as well. http://www.bunnings.com.au/bayer-350g-ant-and-wasp-dust_p2961175

Same principle as for the petrol, wait until dark and they are all in their hole, them let rip with the powder through their access point(s).

Not something that you would carry around with you on a prospecting trip though, so may use the ULP approach if find them in the bush.

Rob.
 
my old fashioned way is to wait until dark... :| they all come back and sit on the outside of the nest.. :p get a piece of rolled up newspaper, light it and place it under the nest.. this burns the wings off the buggers and the nest dies.. ;)
 
You've just gotta light the petrol just make sure you do it with a trail. Could never pour petrol on a wasp nest without lighting it, it's sacrilege .
 
I remember one year i was doing a canoeing and camping trip along the Lower Ovens River with my wife. I paddled away from the camp and went for a crap a bit inland away from the river. Trouble is i selected a spot under a tree and when i dropped me dacks the native wasps struck, bloody hilarious for the missus as i was screaming and waving my arms like a madman and trying to run with my duds down around my ankles and jumping into the canoe and paddling like buggery as the wasps kept hitting me over and over again. Funny now but geez i was in pain, thankfully none of them got me in the nether regions :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Good old Aussie luck SCROUNGER ,.... Irish luck woulda had you rip out that nest by your buttocks unaware and at full speed as you stood and ran ! :eek: :lol: :D
 
last year ws bad this year seems to be worse, its a sign of how dry it is. They spend most of the dry warm part of the year collecting food and taking it to the queen, when a nest is full they will commandeer another and another untill the wet comes around, no rain no respite from wasps i'm affraid. if you are using a small water source they can get a bit nasty.

I've found running a pump will cause them to bite.

Ive got a trick for you if you have a problem at home.

Get a plastic bottle fill it with enough icing sugar to fill the bottom of the bottle then ad just enough water to make it a thick syrup, add citrus peel to make it more enticing, add surface spray of your choice and shake the crap out of it.

now cut little triangle shapes out of the bottle half way up and fold the flap down so they have something to land on and walk in, hang these off your gutters and they will do the rest. dumb little buggers will go in and drove then get pissed off that their mates have drowned and start attacking the bottle and so on.... its quite rewarding pouring out hundreds of carcases every few days.

My neighbour used to run cattle she said they use flea lice powder add it to dry dog food and leave it on the roof, they carry it back to the nest and the nest dies.

as for prospecting i wear a silly looking hunting hat this time of year with a mesh screen so they cant bit my head...
 
The Americans have problems with Yellow Jacket Wasp's.
I have seen some quite innovative ways of dealing with them.
Every thing from explosives to spinning a piece of wire at high speed in front of the nest.
Then there are vacuum cleaners. :lol:
 
Thanks G0lddigg@, giving it a go by the veggie patch

1459725229_14597251959580.jpg
 
I was wondering about the bees, nice! Yeah its not bad but a bit too wet for me. Buried creek down the back ( 1/4 acre block ) so lots of water flow just below ( it put a stop to my shaft digging through the compact clay ). Was a back corner of a farm originally with pine trees everywhere all been removed, most plants in the garden are natives, full of wildlife like blue tongues, frogs, finch, possums.... currently clearing a lot back as it got abandoned for a while. Ill see how the victim jar goes :D
 

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