Wasps in compost bin

katyk_2

nodwah wrote: »

If you sneak the hose in there and leave it running for a good while they won't like it and your compost will get better!

Hi nodwah

Could see this working to put off a few stragglers but would this work with a nest? Convinced I have a nest in mine - the bin is slightly askew so the lid does not quite close properly and the gap of 1/2 an inch or so has a constant stream of them. Unsure with the ant powder though - surely it would simply blow or wash off a plastic lid. Also concerned about chemicals in my compost for next years plants

Regards
KAtyk

hungrynurse_2

Id say live & let live, remember wasps kill off all the nasties too. The only problem is people using the 'gardeners toilet', they really do need to be carefull! Wet newspaper over the top might help to take away their food source if you wanted though

Lotus-eater

katyk wrote: »

Could see this working to put off a few stragglers but would this work with a nest? Convinced I have a nest in mine - the bin is slightly askew so the lid does not quite close properly and the gap of 1/2 an inch or so has a constant stream of them. Unsure with the ant powder though - surely it would simply blow or wash off a plastic lid. Also concerned about chemicals in my compost for next years plants

From what you say about a constant stream, it does sound like a nest. Can you not just leave it until October till they all die out?

katyk_2

Lotus-eater wrote: »

From what you say about a constant stream, it does sound like a nest. Can you not just leave it until October till they all die out?

Compost bin is right below my dining room window which in turn is below my bedroom. As weather remains warm (ish) I like to sleep with the window open but am less keen with so many wasps below it - thats all.
Also not happy going to compost bin with garden or kitchen green waste whilst they are there

Katyk

wallbash

So you want to sleep on comfort and use your compost bin .... for the next six weeks ??

Seems like a justifiable reason to get someone in to kill the little monsters.

Lotus-eater

katyk wrote: »

Compost bin is right below my dining room window which in turn is below my bedroom. As weather remains warm (ish) I like to sleep with the window open but am less keen with so many wasps below it - thats all.
Also not happy going to compost bin with garden or kitchen green waste whilst they are there

Katyk

You can put a piece of material across the windows for a month or so, but even if you don't I wouldn't imagine you would get many wasps in, they will go to where the food supplies are, mind you, some will get lost and I can see it would worry you about them coming in to your bedroom.
I would use a separate compost heap to dump stuff on till I could move it into the other bin. If you do have a nest in there, don't put anything in there, just stay away and if you do go close, don't stand in a flight path.
Either that or just get rid of it, if you can't stand it being there.

katyk_2

Someone I know suggested covering the whole compost bin with a wheelie bin sized bin liner then weighting it down with stones to prevent them getting out. Obviously would mean I could not use the compost bin meantime (don't have a second one and garden not really large enough to invest - would it work just having an upturned large plastic flowerpot then transferring all 'compost' to proper bin in October??), but could presumably help stop wasps from flying in and out all the time.

Any views anyone?

Thanks for continuing to humour me - I know it would be easier to just zap them but still hoping to find another way safely.

Katyk

wallbash

Any views anyone?

Yes ! wasp stings hurt :mad: people actually die .
Stop wasting time and get them removed ( killed )

but still hoping to find another way safely.

Cant see your problem or your reluctance to just pick up the phone and get someone in.


Or does £35 ( what I was charged) seem to much for weeks of using your garden and sleeping at night

Lotus-eater

katyk wrote: »

Someone I know suggested covering the whole compost bin with a wheelie bin sized bin liner then weighting it down with stones to prevent them getting out. Obviously would mean I could not use the compost bin meantime (don't have a second one and garden not really large enough to invest - would it work just having an upturned large plastic flowerpot then transferring all 'compost' to proper bin in October??), but could presumably help stop wasps from flying in and out all the time.

Any views anyone?

Thanks for continuing to humour me - I know it would be easier to just zap them but still hoping to find another way safely.

Katyk

You could have a heap in the garden, just choose a place and throw all your compostable stuff on it and wait for the wasps to go, then put it all in your plastic compost bin. If you could live with them... it really depends if you think you can live with them or not, if you can, then just ignore them and use another corner for your composting pile for the moment.
If you can't, then deal with the nest.

Don't !!!!!! cover the nest and try to trap them all in there, it won't work and you are on the way to getting hurt.

You want to work in environmental studies, this is not a bad way to make a start to study the environment.

Davesnave

As I reported on another thread, I've had wasps nesting by my front door for some time and never had one in the house. Last week, the removal men spent an entire day with the door wide open, loading their lorry, carrying my stuff out about a metre away from the nest, and they never noticed a thing!

Maybe those wasps will get frisky when they start to drink fermenting fruit juice later in the season, but having lived alongside them, and another lot at the other end of the garden, I can't say they've given me any problems. It would certainly not be very MSE to spend £70 having them exterminated at the moment.;)

If I had a nest in my compost bin now, I'd probably leave it so long as the insects behaved. Admittedly, mine were in the ground, so one dose of Postcrete and a drop or two of water at around midnight would have sorted them cheaply, had it been necessary. I haven't such an cheap & easy solution for a bin lid, though I once killed an entire ant colony with a thick, sticky mix of ant powder, sugar and (cheap) whisky! :eek:Anyway, 8 weeks worth of garden/kitchen waste can be stored elsewhere without too much fuss.

If you have to get the pest control people in, it won't be just your money you'll lose, you won't want your compost either after they've sprayed it!