Wasps and natural gourds

[Guest]

How do I control wasp nest building in natural gourds? I don't think I can put soap on the inside (like you can for houses), and short of that I have no idea what to do. Any advice would be great.





Thanks


Lanell

[eah415]

I was just wondering if you could some how attach a small part of a glue board up at the top of a gourd where the Martins wouldn"t get to it but the wasp would. When I say glue board I mean the ones shown. Just wondering out loud.

[Louise Chambers]

Lanell,

Have you had trouble with wasps in your gourds? I have not had any trouble with them here in TX, but in PA they were a major pain, they'd be in every gourd, in my bluebird boxes, up inside pole guards, etc. Once a gourd or nestbox is occupied by birds, wasps are not likely to choose it, which helps a lot.

You sure don't want to use any insect sprays inside nextboxes or gourds, that's for sure.

I used to remove nests early in the day when it was cool and wasps were sluggish. I had no martins so had to kick wasps out often, so IF a martin showed up the wasps wouldn't run it off. I even had honeybees swarm and move into one gourd

What I did to help discourage wasps was use a paper towel to swipe up a fair amount of vaseline, then apply it to the upper interior of the gourd with the towel. That way I could get even coverage pretty easily. I wouldn't do anything, though, unless you have had trouble with wasps in previous years. Vaseline would be awful to get on the martins' feathers, so keep it high, or apply it just where you've noticed the wasps tend to attach their nests. For me this was often above the access port, up at base of neck, and (especially with supergourds) above the canopy or entrance hole.

good luck -

Louise

[klcretired]

You might try spraying Pam it's a light cooking oil and i think it would deter them (the Wasp)from trying to build in your naturals.

[Louise Chambers]

Hi Kenny & Harp -

I found PAM spray useful for covering up inside pole guards that were out of reach. I also think it would work for up high inside the neck of a gourd, especially plastic gourd, but as with vaseline, be very careful that nothing sticky or oily is down where martins will get it on their feathers. Just a very light coating of vaseline (or pam) is all that's needed. And I'd check with clear, bare hands afterwards to make sure walls of gourd are absolutely free of goo, & wipe them down thoroughly with paper towel if necessary. Ha, I wonder if we could fake the wasps out of building by putting a martin decoy in empty gourds?

I think glue traps would be overkill for wasps, though some landlords use them for catching stubborn sparrows. Glue traps need to be used with extreme caution, if & when landlords choose to use them.

I'm curious, how many TX or southern landlords have wasp problems? In PA, we had native paper wasps, the introduced European paper wasp, plus other types of wasps/hornets/yellowjackets in martin gourds & houses on occasion. What's the norm in the south?

Louise

[Guest]

Hi everyone. This is my first year to try the natural gourds so I don't even know if they like them. Last year the wasps loved the aluminum housing, so I just assumed they would build in anything. We have tons of wasps.

Louise - the vaseline sounds like a good idea and certainly would prevent the wasps from building, but I am so afraid the martins might get it on their wings. No, I would never use any kind of pesticide.

klcretired - the Pam sounds like a great idea. I don't think the martins would get that on their wings, or at least it is not as heavy as vaseline.


If I have a wasp problem, I want to make sure I am doing the right thing.


Thanks so much for your help...

Lanell

[klcretired]

Hi Louise ,
Mostly at my location i get Wasp , i have seen some Yellow Jackets but they never did build or try to build in my Gourd's or houseing

[klcretired]

eah415,
The glue traps are a wonderful tool if you can be home to watch your houseing every minute of every day (this is a must) so that no martins will be harmed.Personally I only use the glue traps when the martins are in south america/Brazil and not here in the states but if you must use them please use them with Caution around Martins.Please Don't be mad at me this is just my opinion and i just care so much for the martins I don't want to see not even one get hurt or killed.

[Guest]

Ditto KLC on the glue boards. I'd be very carefull with them... very careful. I don't know if anyone has tried them, but maybe try some moth balls. We use them for ants in irrigation controllers. I suppose you could hot glue one in the very top of the gourd, take it out when the PMs arrive.
Thats the best thing that I can think of right off the top of my head. There fairly non toxic.

Chuck C
Arlington

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

Lanell, why are you worried about wasps? You must be a real worrier! I live about 15 miles south of you, I have 200 gourds up for about 15 years, and I never saw a wasp in my gourds...no worry whatsoever on my part....

Settle down, relax

[Guest]

I know, am I for real? Actually these are naturals that are going up to the lake house. We have sooooooooooooo many wasps up there; I have this eerie feeling they will build like crazy if I'm not there to scare them away, or squirt them with that wasp chemical. However, Emil, you are right. I definitely need to relax




Lanell