Wasps!

[+minstrelcat]

Someone has logged one of our caches saying there is a wasps' nest there. We'll check it out as soon as we can, but I'm not sure what to do if there are wasps there. I don't think there is going to be an alternative hiding place close by - should I leave the cache active with a warning on the cache page, or disable/archive it until the wasps leave (if they do leave) .

 

What does everyone think?

Cheers

Lisa

[+Naefearjustbeer]

After removing a wasps nest from my dads shed I would recomend a temporary archive until you can go and have a look too see how close the nest is to the cache. Wasps can be angry vindictive little blighters with the capabillity to sting multiple times, someone who inadvertantly bangs or knocks the nest could be in for a shock and a nasty sting or 10

[+Firth of Forth]

Had never seen a wasp's bike (as they are apparently called) before, but recently found one in my garden shed. Have been advised to get some spray from B&Q to kill them before removing it. Not sure if this is OK to do out in the open countryside though!

 

However, the nest is a beautiful work of art

Just look:

 

[Deego]

You could always add a tin or two of wasp-eze as trade items

 

I would email the last finder and see how close or how much of a problem it is. Then if its close temp archive till you get chance to check it out.

 

Wasp stings can be painfull and if people have kids with them I am sure they would like to know before allowing them to root around looking for a cache.

 

Brian

[Leoness]

Wasp stings can be painfull and if people have kids with them I am sure they would like to know before allowing them to root around looking for a cache.

 

Not only painful but in rare cases, life threatening. Some people can die from anaphylactic shock caused by bee and wasp stings.

[crr003]

Had never seen a wasp's bike (as they are apparently called) before, but recently found one in my garden shed.  ........

Now that's a clean garden shed!

[+pieces_of_8]

IT WAS ME. Found the cache hidden in standard gecaching style, recoved it, as you do, filled in the log book, no problems so far, then when to hide it again. As i moved the various bits of wood about i was aware of a very sharp pain in my arm....oh i said (well not quite!!) thought i'd got seriously snagged on a bramble...what bramble! That when i saw them, hundreds of them....i legged it out of the woods grabbing my lads arm so hard i nearly pulled out of its socket! (well not that hard).

I've put it down to an experience but i only got stung once and luckily i'm not allergic to them. There was no sign of the nest to give away the threat, it must have been under or in some of the logs i moved.

I dont know how bad the damage was to there humble abode so i dont know if they would re-build or move on.

 

I'd just put a warning on the cache sheet, then people can make their own minds up.....i'd still go looking but i would excersise more caution.

 

Mart

[+Pharisee]

My Wimpole Folly cache is also currently the home to a nest full of wasps. I've not pulled the cache off-line but I have put a bold warning at the bottom of the cache page. That didn't stop the last finder getting stung a couple of days ago. I did consider doing something a bit more 'positive' about it but figured that they'd got probably more right to be there than an old ammo can so I've left them to it.

Do wasps survive in the nest over winter or do they all die off?

[+The Hole-in-the-wall Gang]

This is a good reason to carry a topical antihistamine cream / spray when out caching ( good for nettle stings as well ) .

 

I would agree that you should place a warning on the cache sheet.

 

It would seem an unfortunate course of action to destroy an inhabited wasp nest that was not in a human inhabited area. Partly because they do some useful work in preying on other insects that cause more widespread damage and partly because there might be 4000 wasps in a nest come summer time and it would be unwise to agravate them without protective clothing . In any event the wasps will abandon the nest at the end of Autumn.

 

I know that no-one had mentioned destroying this particular nest so I was just commenting in general

[+The Hole-in-the-wall Gang]

Do wasps survive in the nest over winter or do they all die off?

I believe that the males and the workers die off when the temperature drops in winter leaving the Queen who goes elsewhere to hibernate ( behind tree bark etc ). The nest is never re-inhabited.

Edited August 2, 2004 by The Hole-in-the-wall Gang

[+Pharisee]

Do wasps survive in the nest over winter or do they all die off?

I believe that the males and the workers die off when the temperature drops in winter leaving the Queen who goes elsewhere to hibernate ( behind tree bark etc ). The nest is never re-inhabited.

That's good news.... it'll be alright next year then, folks

[+minstrelcat]

Hmmm... we'll try and check it out ASAP. I think I'll play safe and disable the cache if there is a problem.

 

There are a couple of TBs in the cache so we'll have to try and rescue them *gulp*

 

Oh, and thanks Pieces of 8 for letting us know.

 

Lisa

[choccymandm]

Had never seen a wasp's bike (as they are apparently called) before, but recently found one in my garden shed.  Have been advised to get some spray from B&Q to kill them before removing it.

have you heard the "old lady and the wasp nest" story before?? not sure if it's true or just a myth but an old lady finds a big ol' wasp nest in her shed, she phones the council who tell her it'll be £200 to have it removed. Old lady can't afford £200 so she goes off and buys two tins of wasp killer spray and a roll of sellotape. She tapes the tins together then tapes the nozzles down, opens the shed door, throws in the tins and shuts the door .... a few hours later the tins are completely empty and all the wasps are dead!!! .... now that's inginuity!!

[Leoness]

have you heard the "old lady and the wasp nest" story before?? not sure if it's true or just a myth but an old lady finds a big ol' wasp nest in her shed, she phones the council who tell her it'll be £200 to have it removed. Old lady can't afford £200 so she goes off and buys two tins of wasp killer spray and a roll of sellotape. She tapes the tins together then tapes the nozzles down, opens the shed door, throws in the tins and shuts the door .... a few hours later the tins are completely empty and all the wasps are dead!!! .... now that's inginuity!!

 

Necessity is the mother of invention!!!

[+The Hokesters]

have you heard the "old lady and the wasp nest" story before?? not sure if it's true or just a myth but an old lady finds a big ol' wasp nest in her shed, she phones the council who tell her it'll be £200 to have it removed. Old lady can't afford £200 so she goes off and buys two tins of wasp killer spray and a roll of sellotape. She tapes the tins together then tapes the nozzles down, opens the shed door, throws in the tins and shuts the door .... a few hours later the tins are completely empty and all the wasps are dead!!! .... now that's inginuity!!

Lol - nice story! Sounds like the old lady had been watching too much A-Team although those boys would have made a tank with 30 foot gun out of two cans of wasp spray and a roll of sticky tape!

 

The Hokesters...

[+Pharisee]

An engineer would have spent all day in his neighbours shed building a super device with lots of levers that would automatically operate the aerosol can button when the shed doors was closed.

 

[+Teuchters]

An engineer would have spent all day in his neighbours shed building a super device with lots of levers that would automatically operate the aerosol can button when the shed doors was closed.

But what would you have done Pharisee?????

[SlytherinAlex]

But what would you have done Pharisee?????

He would have drowned them in Tetley's Smoothflow.

[+yorkstan]

I am now about to give away the cache hiding place!!

 

Actually, I came across a cache in Memphis that was camoflaged as a wasps nest. The owner had taken a small part of an old wasps nest and stuck it onto a film canister to make a micro. He then hung it on the back of a notice on the edge of the woods. You had to look very closely to see that this was really a cache and not the beginnings of a new nest - but you could tell without touching it. Very ingenious disguise.

 

Perhaps when the wasps leave, you can do something similar.

 

Yorkstan

[+Haggis Hunter]

Not only painful but in rare cases, life threatening. Some people can die from anaphylactic shock caused by bee and wasp stings.

I would just like to re-highlight how dangerous wasps can be.

I had a wasps nest in the cavity of my house wall, when the exterminator (no he didn't look like Arnie, and at the time, 8 years ago only cost £25) came and went about his work several thousand wasps attacked him, I have never seen anything like it in my life.

 

The programme 999 also featured 2 different incidents on wasps.

 

1. A police officer with his dog where searching in a loft when the dog disturbed a nest. The wasps attacked and the dog nearly had to be put down and the officer spent a spell in hospital with multiple stings.

 

2. A jogger was running along a canal when he was stung by a wasp, anaphylactic shock set in immediately. Which by the way can in some cases kill as quick as suffocation. He would have died if the ambulance helicopter pilot hadn't dangerously hovered above the canal without much room and the loaded him into the helicopter.

 

People don't always take notice of the warnings put on caches.

I know people may be thinking that it is all too far fetched and it won't happen to them, but i'm sure you won't forgive yourself if someone gets injured or even dies due to the fact you never archived your cache for a few months.

[+dogastus]

This log came in yesterday which I think emphasises how real the possibility of being stung is.

[+leecee]

I've been on the receiving end of a multiple wasp attack as a kid.. disturbed a nest while out walking on a canal path. Not pleasant, I can tell you..

[+Haggis Hunter]

It's good to see that you have archived the cache until you can at least check it out.

[+wildtrekker]

I have had the same report on one of my caches, so have archived the cache for now until at least I can investigate. Even if it's offline for a couple of months, that's better than what could happen

[+MarcB]

I'd keep well away from any caches with wasps myself! I hate the things!

MarcB