Wasps gobble garden furniture
Photo by Paul Albertella

Wasps always gatecrash our barbecues and garden gatherings during the summer months. It’s common to find them swarming around our drinks and attempting to steal jam from the sandwiches of children. But they do have another sting in their tail. They want your wood!

Many people have been complaining that this black and yellow army are eating their way through their precious wooden garden furniture, sheds, trellis and fencing. In their trail they can leave unsightly lines and chunks missing from your wooden tables, chairs and benches.

Wasps, unlike bees, do not produce wax and so need material to make their nests with. They use any wood they can find in the region, be it trees, logs or your garden furniture. Once wood fibers are gathered they mix it with saliva and soften it to produce a paper-like substance.

After hibernating through the winter, the queen will start chewing little bits of your garden furniture in early summer and use it to make a small golf ball size nest. Then once workers have eventually hatched, the nest is developed into a bigger nest, about the size of a football. Each of these nests requires a good amount of wood, and you could end up with furniture that looks old before its time.

So how can you stop this from happening?

There are numerous products available that can deter the wasps, or if necessary destroy the nest once and for all.

To eradicate a wasp nest in it’s entirety and drive out the wasps there are sprays that you can buy such as a Wasp Nest Destroyer Foam. These are reasonably priced and easy to implemented – they can be used up to 3 metres away from the nest to avoid getting stung.

If you don’t like the idea of harming the wasps or the wasp nest then there is another option. There is a new product that has been scientifically tested and has only been on the market for a few years. The Waspinator has been designed to mimic a wasps nest and can be hung wherever needed. An artificial wasp nest like this will be perceived as a competitor and threat, and will be avoided by all wasps within a 12 metre diameter.

If you can’t find a wasps nest externally but believe you have a nest in or around your house, look carefully for wasps going in and out of any small holes in the structure of your property. If you can see wasp activity every few seconds, you probably have a wasp nest inside the cavity.

Always be extremely careful if a wasps nest is found, and if unsure, contact your local council or a specialist for advice.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada have been studying the insecticidal properties of some of your favourite herbs (and mine!) including rosemary, thyme, clove and mint.

At Dobbies.com, we’re a big fan of all things natural, but not at the cost of pragmatism or people’s budgets. Natural pesticides are an emerging trend, but we think that the debate is still open on the cost vs benefit as an alternative to modern, or people-made, pesticides.

The UK government has written a piece on modern vs natural pesticides which attempts to add somewhat to the debate. Meanwhile, we’re frequently dumbfounded by companies that refer to their products as “all natural” as if having something natural is somehow better than having something commercially-made. There are so many thousands of elements in nature designed to cause injury by way of defence that the mere claim of “all natural” is enough to leave yours truly cowering in fear inside the wardrobe, lest there be stingy-things in my honeypot.

Speaking of stingy-things, Bees for Development is a UK-based charity that does what it says on the tin. It has found that there are natural pesticides in modern use which may be harmful to the foraging ability of bumblebees.

So while natural pesticides have some exciting discoveries to offer, we’d always offer you a healthy pinch of salt and declare that just because something is “all natural” doesn’t necessarily make it better for you.

Download this free Easy Guide to Pests & Diseases and learn the techniques that will keep your garden healthy and under control.

When plants are properly looked after they develop natural enzymes which can control pests and diseases. This guide gives you tips on planting, feeding, pruning and much more to ensure your plants are strong enough to stand up to any kind of attack.

Click here to download The Easy Guide to Pests & Diseases (PDF)