At long last those pesky buggers seem to have gone for this year. With the opening of our new tea room last month and the abundance of wasps it didn’t make for a great combination.
Fairly calm until they come near my ears and then the common sense approach goes out the window and the arms start flapping a sure way to attract their attention. Amazingly I managed a summer without being stung pretty impressive given the number of them this year.
We do have wasp traps with cider dregs in place and at least they dine happy and in an environmental perspective I am not doing any harm. However they still deserve not to swatted squashed or even worse be subject to chemical control.
Well know it appears there is an alternative solution…
So what exactly does this grey bag like contraption do, well in the words of an expert
“Wasps are very “visual” insects. They depend on a keen sense of sight to catch moving prey. Predatory Insects, like many wasps and all yellowjackets, have large, prominent compound eyes. Other insects that hunt live prey also have very large compound eyes (for example, praying mantids, syrphid flies and horse flies). Highly visual insects tend to respond to their environment based on visual stimuli. Thus an artificial nest like The Original Waspinator may be perceived as a competitor and be avoided.”
—Jack DeAngelis, PhDAssociate Professor of Entomology, Emeritus
So literally the wasp thinks it is the nest of another group of wasps and scoots out of harms way allowing you to enjoy the peace in the great outdoors.
I will be trialing it next year and if it does what it says on the tin I will be supplying them as well.