No wasps for ages in Mayo - then angry mob arrives!

COUNTRYFILE

I HAD spent hours, even days, wondering what had happened to all our wasps.

Over the last few years they have built nests in the shed, where they are not welcome, and under the eaves of the house, where they are unwanted.

One summer they took up residence in a hollow tree – that was fine by me, if only they would mind their manners. And apart from the occasional altercation, we were able to co-exist quite happily.

This year has been the one of no wasp nest. In fact, it has been the year of no wasp, for these important pollinators have been missing altogether.

We were only in the process of bemoaning this very fact when the first of them put in an appearance. It was no more than a cameo – a cursory glance midway through a fly-past before it vanished once more.

“Great!” I exclaimed. “There are some left, after all.”

Indeed there are. Wasp must have caught the aroma of the treacle and beer mix intended for attracting moths to the boughs of my apple tree, for he did an about turn and zipped smartly into the kitchen through an open window.

Once inside, he set about deep-diving into my magic moth potion and covering himself with the sticky mix, an act which somehow made him very angry.

Remembering well the sharp side of his character, I did my best to shoo him out the way he had come in, but he was having none of this and went immediately on the offensive.

He was pretty smart, too, and concentrated his attacks on the back of my head where I couldn't see him, let alone connect with one of the wild swipes that were elicited.

Eventually he tried to escape through the window glass and I was able to grab him in a fold of towel. Out he went.

I thought no more of the encounter until I returned from fishing to find a score or more of his friends feasting at the treacle.

Perhaps it had further fermented and it was no more than drunkenness that made them so belligerent. Or perhaps they were just looking for a fight, as wasps are prone to do.

So now I have a problem. Each time I open the window to encourage them to leave, more fly in. When I open the door, there they are, lying in wait and angry. Before I know it the house will be filled with the vicious brutes.

I don't even know why they want to move in. There is nothing here for them. I talked the problem over with friends, who are full of good-humoured and mostly useless advice.

“Spray soap in their eyes,” says one.

“Vinegar,” says another.

“Find where they live,” chimes a third, “and get rid of the whole family at once.”

It feels more than a little hypocritical. There I was, telling folks what an important position wasps hold in the food web, and the next moment I'm plotting the downfall of the only nest that has come to my attention this year.

There must be something that would stop them from entering the house while leaving them free to do their job, and maybe I have found it. One old book addresses the problem well.

“Take a lemon,” it says. “Squeeze out the juice for later use, then take the pulp and rub it around the window frame.”

Wasps are averse to citrus and will make no attempt to enter a house steeped in lemon juice. While I'm not entirely convinced, I shall certainly give this a try. Any other suggestions would be welcome.