# Do Wasps Damage Wood?



## The Bear (20 Apr 2011)

Hi

I have hardwood sashes fitted. On the lower edge of the upper sash there is a small hole at either end, about 1/4 inch diameter. Not sure what this is for, drain holes prehaps?

Today I noticed in the space of an hour about 6 wasps enter one of the holes (might have been the same wasp 6 times, couldn't watch closely enough but didn't see any leave).

Are they likely to be causing damage? ( I have sprayed some "raid" up there in the meantime)


Mark


----------



## toolsntat (21 Apr 2011)

Yep could do if its this one, http://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-fi ... phyta.html

Did some repairs on some sash windows last year and there were that many larvae in there my chisel was covered in gunk :shock: 

If there is another form of natural cavity then could be ordinary wasps moving in :evil: 

Andy


----------



## The Bear (21 Apr 2011)

Thanks

They looked like "normal" wasps rather than the wood wasp you link to.

Anyone any idea what precautions I should take?


Mark


----------



## devonwoody (21 Apr 2011)

White anglo, saxon, protestants sometimes do. :wink:


----------



## myturn (21 Apr 2011)

Ordinary wasps use wood that they pulp to make their nests with so, yes, they can damage it.


----------



## Lons (21 Apr 2011)

myturn":2ndgzs7b said:


> Ordinary wasps use wood that they pulp to make their nests with so, yes, they can damage it.



*+1*

If you looked at my neighbours' gate it looks at if a very coarse rasp has been weilded in places. Several years an softwood but I've watched wasps chewing up the surface.

(Must have hard gums to tackle hardwood methinks though :lol: )

You don't want them nesting in your property as they can be very aggressive as I found in the past. Get some wasp nest destroyer (powder) and sqirt into the holes. Any that enter will carry it around and soon get rid of them.

Bob


----------



## RogerS (21 Apr 2011)

What the others have said.

At this time of year, wasps are chomping up any wood (and yes they are quite happy eating old oak) to make their nests from. The amount of wood that one wasp can consume is negligible TBH.

They usually feed on the surface though and so I think you have a nest.

I buy Nippon foam which can be squirted at the hole from quite a few metres away. To get close enough to get the powder in increase your chance of getting stung.

We had nine nests last year including one in a rotten wobbly old stump covered in that sticky grass. There was no way I could get the foam in without removing the sticky grass first. And there was no way I could remove the sticky grass without triggering the stormtroopers to attack me. Solution? Two pairs of thick trousers duck-taped to top of boots. Thick outer coat with hood, goggles and facemask - all duck tapes together so no holes. Thick gauntlets - duck taped. Check over by the wife for no holes. Then walk down with a rake, remove sticky grass from the nest opening, trying very hard to see through the misted goggles. Slow saunter back, stood outside the kitchen window while, from the safety of inside, SWMBO looked me all over or any wasps. Next night, Nippon foam.....result! Hate the bloody things.


----------



## Pvt_Ryan (21 Apr 2011)

We had a wasp nest in the ground in the garden. Petrol & Matches solved that...


----------



## RogerS (21 Apr 2011)

Pvt_Ryan":pqicxm65 said:


> We had a wasp nest in the ground in the garden. Petrol & Matches solved that...



Not a good idea when the nest is up in the eaves!


----------



## Pvt_Ryan (21 Apr 2011)

RogerS":1nof6t0w said:


> Pvt_Ryan":1nof6t0w said:
> 
> 
> > We had a wasp nest in the ground in the garden. Petrol & Matches solved that...
> ...



Depends if you like the owner or not... :roll: :roll:


----------



## misterfish (22 Apr 2011)

Our windows and doors are made from untreated oak and it is quite common to find the stripey ones chomping on the surface though they dont seem to cause any real damage. We also have a large green oak balcony/raised deck off of the bedroom and they also like chomping on the surface of that where they leave pale lines on the surface. However we had one 'attack' where a small pile of sawdust appeared overnight on one of the handrails of the balcony. We brushed it off and within half an hour there was another pile of sawdust so I flooded the area with Cuprinol 5 star and it immediately stopped. I then managed to extricate a dead sawfly from the hole which was right in the centre of a knot. I just cut an oak plug and glued it in the hole with PU glue and since then we have had no further problems.

With all these things you need to keep your eyes open - we had a decent sized nest in the loft a couple of years ago that we got an extermiator to deal with, but other small nests in the ground that are too near the house get treated with a couple of dosings of anti-waspnest spray foam and they are then no further problem. According to the bloke that did the nest in the loft the best thing is Nippon Ant Powder (permethrin).

Misterfish


----------



## studders (22 Apr 2011)

RogerS":2zmy1eiq said:


> Two pairs of thick trousers duck-taped to top of boots. Thick outer coat with hood, goggles and facemask - all duck tapes together so no holes. Thick gauntlets - duck taped.



Pah!.. Wimp.

Everybody Kno the only way to attack a Wasps Nest is Totally Naked... Mano a Waspo, armed with nothing more than a Fly Swat.


:lol: :lol: :lol:


----------



## Benchwayze (22 Apr 2011)

I hate wasps too, and seem to attract the ruddy things. 

However, if you have a nest, then provided they are doing no damage, and you don't have to cross their flight path regularly, leave them be. They prey on flies and bluebottles, carving them up and taking them to the nest to feed their own larvae. 

In the autumn the wasps will desert the nest and then you can dispose of it without problems. 

If you really have to get rid of a nest, then okay, there are various products to assist you. But in my experience it is well worth £40.00 or so, to call in the experts. 

When I am working in the shop, I put an empty jam jar, (with the scrapings of the jam therein), just outside the door. Put about three inches of water in the jar. The wasps go for the jam and drown in the water. So not too many wasps in the shop! 


FWIW!

John


----------



## Lons (23 Apr 2011)

studders":2ciwo8ih said:


> Everybody Kno the only way to attack a Wasps Nest is Totally Naked... Mano a Waspo, armed with nothing more than a Fly Swat.



:lol: :lol: :lol: 

That'll be why your avatars' face looks as if it's been stung a hundred times then Studders?


----------



## adidat (23 Apr 2011)

is this any help?


adidat


----------



## studders (23 Apr 2011)

Lons":2dwyfge5 said:


> That'll be why your avatars' face looks as if it's been stung a hundred times then Studders?


Avatar? How very dare you, I paid £5 to have that photo taken. 
And yes, one does suffer a few stings during the battle but, all part of the excitement.


----------



## Eric The Viking (23 Apr 2011)

RogerS":5qxw0r7v said:


> I buy Nippon foam which can be squirted at the hole from quite a few metres away. To get close enough to get the powder in increase your chance of getting stung.



+1 That stuff worked really well for us. 

To avoid getting stung, BTW, deal with wasps nests after dark, or if using the foaming spray, around dawn, so that it's carried into the nest. I think the lower the air temperature, the less aggressive and aerobatic they are too.

E.


----------



## Eric The Viking (23 Apr 2011)

studders":3616rjt1 said:


> Lons":3616rjt1 said:
> 
> 
> > That'll be why your avatars' face looks as if it's been stung a hundred times then Studders?
> ...



You were most definitely stung then...


... coat?

E.


----------



## studders (23 Apr 2011)

And Hat.


----------



## The Bear (24 Apr 2011)

Thanks for all the replies

I'll be buying some Nippon stuff and squirting it up the hole then

Mark


----------



## Stoday (24 Apr 2011)

Some years ago I had a wasps nest in the lawn. Wasps don't like lawnmowers and will go for anyone pushing one around.

I got a piece of plastic guttering and poured a pint of meths into their nest. Then I lit it with a taper on the end of a long bamboo rod. The result was highly satisfying. In the bright sunlight the flame from the meths was invisible. Wasps flew down to access their nest but in doing so flew into the flame. Wings zapped, they fell into a wriggling mass at the nest entrance. :mrgreen: 

Kept me entertained for half an hour but didn't eradicate the nest. In the end I stuffed a small egg sized tablet of sodium cyanide down the hole. That fixed 'em.


----------



## bosshogg (24 Apr 2011)

[All day I dream about tools]

Your sad man, very sad (homer) :lol:


----------



## Benchwayze (25 Apr 2011)

Stoday":2ylvetb7 said:


> Some years ago I had a wasps nest in the lawn. Wasps don't like lawnmowers and will go for anyone pushing one around.
> 
> I got a piece of plastic guttering and poured a pint of meths into their nest. Then I lit it with a taper on the end of a long bamboo rod. The result was highly satisfying. In the bright sunlight the flame from the meths was invisible. Wasps flew down to access their nest but in doing so flew into the flame. Wings zapped, they fell into a wriggling mass at the nest entrance. :mrgreen:
> 
> Kept me entertained for half an hour but didn't eradicate the nest. In the end I stuffed a small egg sized tablet of sodium cyanide down the hole. That fixed 'em.



Cyanide? :shock: 
My local Pharmacist wouldn't even sell me Arsenic to get rid of ants! :evil: Not even if I signed the poisons register! 

John


----------



## bosshogg (25 Apr 2011)

Wasps live in what's called bikes, you would think it would be enough to tell them to get on their bikes if they're not wanted :wink: (homer) 



> even a stupid man can be right sometimes


----------



## Stoday (25 Apr 2011)

Yes, cyanide. I bought it from Boots around 1965. Had to jump through hoops. A form had to be signed by a neighbour to say that I was a fit person, then by the police to say that both my neighbour and I were fit persons.

Turned out my neighbour had a conviction for cycling without lights when he was 16 (he was in his 30's in 1965).


----------



## toolsntat (27 Apr 2011)

Here are a couple of bits of that damaged cill that I removed :shock:
They are about 6" long and the bored holes are about 1/4"

Andy


----------



## Benchwayze (28 Apr 2011)

Andy, 
I doubt very much that the Common Wasp is responsible for that damage. They don't feed on wood like 'woodworm' does. 
Wasps chew the wood to a pulp, off the surface, and carry it back to the nest where they use it to build their paper-like structure. They breed and feed in cells like the honey-bee. 






In any case most of the wood they 'harvest' is from fallen or dead stock in the woods, another reason they build around dead tree stumps. A handy source of material that's easy to gather, near to the nest site. 

There are wood-boring beetles and a few larger moths whose larvae bore in wood, and do that kind of damage though. So that would be insect damage of some sort. But as I said, not Vespa Vulgaris!

It's possible wasps might find the rotten wood easy to gather, and thus contribute to the damage, but they wouldn't bore holes in it. 


HTH 
John


----------



## toolsntat (28 Apr 2011)

toolsntat":2egdv44w said:


> Yep could do if its this one, http://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-fi ... phyta.html
> 
> Did some repairs on some sash windows last year and there were that many larvae in there my chisel was covered in gunk :shock:
> 
> ...



Not any ordinary wasp this one :twisted: 

Still 2 in there on the bottom picture about to fly until I got on the scene (hammer) 

Andy


----------



## Benchwayze (28 Apr 2011)

Andy, 


Common wasps will use any suitable cavity to enter a sheltered site to build a nest. But the grubs are fed on dismembered insects provided by the workers. They don't eat wood-pulp. The pulp is used to build the walls of the nest and the honeycombs. Some species of wasp or bees will build nests in cavity walls, but these are usually 'solitary wasps or bees.' that rear just a few, or sometimes just one larvae into adults.

The common wasp larvae doesn't burrow into wood, nor does the adult. So whatever has mined into this wood, isn't a common wasp. 

I don't know much more about wasps, except they are fairly tolerant as long as you don't actually disturb their nest. 

In the autumn they are getting unpredictable and will sting with little provocation. Unlike the bee, they can can sting over and over, and when defending their nest they produce a more potent venom than usual! So don't disturb a nest! 

HTH

John


----------



## dickm (28 Apr 2011)

Don't want to worry you, Andy, but the wood in those photos looks horribly like it's got dry rot. Breaking up into square blocks is often a diagnostic sign of the dread disease. So the wasps are probably just going for a nice chewy, fungus enriched building material


----------



## Benchwayze (29 Apr 2011)

Andy, 

I can't see exactly what you have living in that wood. But does it look anything like this:





This is the clear-winged Hornet Moth. 
The larvae live in Poplar trees, and bore under the bark. I've never heard of them attacking timber frames, but who knows? They might well do so. 
It's a harmless insect as far as biting or stinging goes, but I know I wouldn't want to take the chance unless I was sure!" 

HTH

John


----------



## toolsntat (29 Apr 2011)

Don't think it was those John but from all the info in my previous link I think they were proper Wood Wasps ....

http://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-fi ... phyta.html

Especially the bit about symbiotic relationship with fungi as the timber was well rotten :wink: 

I feel a rotten sill and its contents autopsy coming this way soon :idea: 
( Ah so that's why I bought that digital microscope from Aldi :roll: )
Nurse.... Scalpel please and make sure it's sharp!! (it's that sort of forum :wink: :lol: )

Andy

Ps how you getting on with your predicament Mark?


----------



## bosshogg (29 Apr 2011)

Andy wrote -( Ah so that's why I bought that digital microscope from Aldi )
Nurse.... Scalpel please and make sure it's sharp!! (it's that sort of forum )
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

You are very wise "GRASSHOPPER"


----------

