[angel.eyes]

Hi guys.


Not sure if this is the right place to post about this (mods please move if not!)

Basically, last Sunday I noticed a single wasp sat in the upper corner of the window in our bathroom. It was facing the wall and looked to be cleaning itself - it was rubbing the lower section of its body. By Tuesday, there were 5 there, behaving in the same way, facing toward the corner. Now, the number is varying between two and 6 each day. We have never seen them move or do anything other than huddle in that corner facing the wall.

Any ideas what is going on and what we should do??

Thanks!!

 

[PeterUK]

What are they doing ?

Bathroom = Washing :whistling2:

What to do . . . Squish 'em : victory:

 

[Xx-lilith-xX]

Nahh, it sounds like they are having little meetings, plotting against you or something, wasps are mean :whistling2:. Get some bug spray on em. X

 

[bulkupman]

inside or out? nest somewhere? im not an expert on this but only time ive seen anything like this is when a nest is involved.

probably wrong but worth a guess, cant be much help..

 

[spinnin_tom]

What are they doing ?

Bathroom = Washing :whistling2:

What to do . . . Squish 'em : victory:

why would you kill them?
they're doing nothing bad, just get a window/door open and they should go out.
i mean yeah if there's a nest, get rid of it, but if not you might have something sweet on your wall

 

[Timor]

I am not an expert about wasps and I do not know that much about them, although I would say to look if one of them is a queen as then she will most likely be trying to make a nest (she will be considerably larger). However, I do not think this is the case as a queen will be by herself and not have workers although her old nest could have been destroyed or something. I think if you just close the window and catch the remaining ones with a cup or something and release them, then they shouldn't be back.

Hope I've helped.

Timor

 

[angel.eyes]

Well, I'm still not sure what's going on. There's no queen as far as I can tell. I tried opening the window but they are still there... I have no idea where they're coming from!

 

[xboa]

i had the same sort of thing happen in my bedroom window, after a few days they started building some sort of nest hanging from the ceiling so i gave up and chucked them all out
amazing to watch though

 

[VespulaVulgaris]

It could be queens looking for a place to hibernate. Ignore all of the idiots saying they are looking to build a nest. They certainly aren't. Also, ignore the idiot who said wasps are mean. Just leave them be.

 

[VespulaVulgaris]

Nahh, it sounds like they are having little meetings, plotting against you or something, wasps are mean :whistling2:. Get some bug spray on em. X

No, wasps are not mean. They only sting if you squish them, or if you get too close to their nest. They will defend themselves, just like we would. Although, I have observed many nests up close without any problems.

 

[mtyrrell]

No, wasps are not mean. They only sting if you squish them, or if you get too close to their nest. They will defend themselves, just like we would. Although, I have observed many nests up close without any problems.

and i have had many wasps flying round my face trying to sting me they aint exactly friendly lil buggers

 

[spidersnake]

I've been scared of wasps since I got stung in the throat & was left gasping for breath - I didnt provoke it, I was just fishing.
Anyway, I agree with the hibernation theory. Wait until after the sun has gone down so their cold & cant move to fast & have a can of wasp spray at the ready.

 

[VespulaVulgaris]

I've been scared of wasps since I got stung in the throat & was left gasping for breath - I didnt provoke it, I was just fishing.
Anyway, I agree with the hibernation theory. Wait until after the sun has gone down so their cold & cant move to fast & have a can of wasp spray at the ready.

No, do not use wasp spray on them. These will most likely be new queens, please do not kill them. It will have a huge impact on the enviroment. Just catch them with a glass and release them.

 

[VespulaVulgaris]

and i have had many wasps flying round my face trying to sting me they aint exactly friendly lil buggers

No, they are not trying to sting you. They will fly around an object to investigate it. If you start flailing or waving your arms trying to swat them, they may sting and defend themselves. I keep them in captivity, so I know about their behaviour.

 

[VespulaVulgaris]

Just thought I would add a little fact. Despite people telling you that wasps don't do anything, the fact is, they do. Over the course of 6 months, one wasp nest will kill and consume 5 metric tons of flies, caterpillars and other inverts. So next time you see a Wasp, instead of killing it, leave it alone.

 

[TEENY]

They might just be looking for somewhere warm to bed down for winter, if you can leave them there then do if not then put them outside safely so they can find another warm place for winter.
I actually like wasps, they are pretty cool and they eat anything, i had one ( at a very funny pub meet) recently sharing my chicken, it was grabbing the biggest bits it could carry, was so funny as it made it fly wonky....i did try to give it a bit of my cider but it was more interested in food lol

 

[Rosiemum]

My best guess would be they're trying to find somewhere to hibernate, too. If they're not in the way, I'd leave 'em be - I certainly wouldn't kill them.

When I was a kid we had a washing line on tall unseasoned wooden poles. It was fascinating watching wasps peeling strips off the surface of the wood, rolling them up and carrying them away - would I be right in thinking they were going to chew them into "paper" to build a nest with??

 

[VespulaVulgaris]

My best guess would be they're trying to find somewhere to hibernate, too. If they're not in the way, I'd leave 'em be - I certainly wouldn't kill them.

When I was a kid we had a washing line on tall unseasoned wooden poles. It was fascinating watching wasps peeling strips off the surface of the wood, rolling them up and carrying them away - would I be right in thinking they were going to chew them into "paper" to build a nest with??

Yep, thet chew off bits of wood and then mix it with their saliva or water to form a pulp. They then construct a nest.

 

[Hedgewitch]

I'm also going with the overwintering queens idea. Just catch them with a glass and chuck them outside, if you've got a wood-pile you might want to throw them there. Wasps are important pest control

 

[garlicpickle]

I saw a queen wasp yesterday while I was out, unfortunately I didn't have anything to catch her in. I quite like the idea of having a wasp nest to observe next summer