Greatbluehopefuls nest box 2019 & 2020 - Kildare,Ireland
Apr 22, 2020 8:37:06 GMT
WildlifePaul and YorksherLass like this
Post by greatbluehopeful on Apr 22, 2020 8:37:06 GMT
Also, just an update of day 3 in the Great Tits Aldi box nest.
Actually, there is alot more material brought in... it just doesn't seem like it when she flinging it all over the place.
Edited to add:
My decoy brown paper wasp nest is actually working - I have not seen one wasp in the vicinity of the back garden since I put it up yesterday evening. The queen has not returned to the nest box since yesterday afternoon - Complete success!!!
I didn't understand that the decoy needs to be up for a good while before the wasps re-act to it, and they need to be able see it properly and in full view from a distance.
Most importantly, there must NOT be an already established nest in the area, or it simply won't work.
So as its the Springtime, there wouldn't be an established nest yet, I added more bulk to the homemade nest and its much bigger and rounder now. I attached it to the corner of my conservatory so it can be seen from all sides. So far so good! My garden deck area is wasp-less! Quite noticeably.
Apparently, the decoy works when the wasps see it in the distance, they don't bother coming any closer to investigate, in case they are attacked and so go off a different direction. They don't like confrontation so when they see there is a rival nest in the area, they will go elsewhere.
I have read reviews of people who say the decoy doesn't work - but this is usually because they have put it up too late in the season. By then, there is already a mature wasps nest nearby, and so this established nest will view it as an unwelcome intruder and will want to attack it. The Queen will send out her drones to investigate, ready for battle....which of course on inspection of the decoy nest, they soon realise its a fake. Rendering it useless.
So putting them up early in the season is the key. The trick is to keep them from investigating the decoy in the first place. I have purchased two "Waspinator" decoys now online to hang up in other areas as they won't disintegrate in the first shower of rain like my current brown paper one will.
Actually, there is alot more material brought in... it just doesn't seem like it when she flinging it all over the place.
Edited to add:
My decoy brown paper wasp nest is actually working - I have not seen one wasp in the vicinity of the back garden since I put it up yesterday evening. The queen has not returned to the nest box since yesterday afternoon - Complete success!!!
I didn't understand that the decoy needs to be up for a good while before the wasps re-act to it, and they need to be able see it properly and in full view from a distance.
Most importantly, there must NOT be an already established nest in the area, or it simply won't work.
So as its the Springtime, there wouldn't be an established nest yet, I added more bulk to the homemade nest and its much bigger and rounder now. I attached it to the corner of my conservatory so it can be seen from all sides. So far so good! My garden deck area is wasp-less! Quite noticeably.
Apparently, the decoy works when the wasps see it in the distance, they don't bother coming any closer to investigate, in case they are attacked and so go off a different direction. They don't like confrontation so when they see there is a rival nest in the area, they will go elsewhere.
I have read reviews of people who say the decoy doesn't work - but this is usually because they have put it up too late in the season. By then, there is already a mature wasps nest nearby, and so this established nest will view it as an unwelcome intruder and will want to attack it. The Queen will send out her drones to investigate, ready for battle....which of course on inspection of the decoy nest, they soon realise its a fake. Rendering it useless.
So putting them up early in the season is the key. The trick is to keep them from investigating the decoy in the first place. I have purchased two "Waspinator" decoys now online to hang up in other areas as they won't disintegrate in the first shower of rain like my current brown paper one will.