Evil wasps in the park!!! >:(

tk123

Last year loads of dogs got stung by wasps in a nest in the park. The entrance is in the ground at the riverbank which would have a lot of doggy traffic - unfortunatly it's high enough to escape being flooded when the river rises after heavy rain. Our friends dog freaked out when he got stung acting kind of disorientated and had loads of swollen bumps on his nose and ears and had to be taken to the vets...another dog had to be carried home when it seemed to go into shock. My guy had a load of them come out at him when he passed the entrance to the nest and tried to bite at them and rub them off his face with his paws :eek: but managed to escape unscathed save for barking at loads of dogs that evening when we were back in the park - maybe to warn them lol?! :pac:

Anyhoos sure enough they're active again and it's only January!! When my guy got stung I told one of the gardeners and they put a sign up which lasted all of a couple of weeks. When I raised it with the gardener he apologised and said they weren't allowed do anything because they're part of the Ecosystem. Last week 2 families with kids were feeding the ducks standing rights above the nest. Does anyone have any experience of this? Can something be done about it if we raise it further...or do we need to do something ourselves under cover of darkness?!

SillyMangoX

I could be wrong but as far as I know wasps can be removed, they aren't completely protected like bees. We've gotten rid of hives twice in our garden but they always come back to one of them. A queen wasp got into the house before, the size of her!!! Yuck. Evilness wrapped up with a stinger

fiounnalbe

What exactly would you be planning to do in them dark at night OP? If there was a nest in your yard its one thing, maybe yes remove it, if its causing a lot of problems...but a nest in a park? It's their natural habitat.

tk123

fiounnalbe wrote: »

What exactly would you be planning to do in them dark at night OP? If there was a nest in your yard its one thing, maybe yes remove it, if its causing a lot of problems...but a nest in a park? It's their natural habitat.

Well tbh I wouldn't be brave enough to do anything lol because the nest must be huge if they're active already! But if they're a flying in and out stinging anyone and anything in their path they're a danger imo and shouldn't be left there.

fiounnalbe

tk123 wrote: »

Well tbh I wouldn't be brave enough to do anything lol because the nest must be huge if they're active already! But if they're a flying in and out stinging anyone and anything in their path they're a danger imo and shouldn't be left there.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on this one! I think they should be left alone, its their natural habitat and we can't start destroying them merely because they are an inconvenience. And I definitely don't think they pose that much of a danger in fairness, less then 2% of people are allergic to wasps stings...to all else (including dogs) they cause mild irritation and sometimes some swelling which an antihistamine would bring down in no time at all.

Knine

I agree that unless they are nesting at someones house they should be left alone. 2012 was a very bad year for wasps. There were not many around due to the damp weather we got in spring. As they do prey on flies, there was as a result a great deal of horrible bluebottle flies about.

Most people once they realise where there is a nest will give it a wide berth.

tk123

I've been stung by them before - we've had nests in our kitchen roof a few times, neighbours had them coming out of the floorboards so they're a pest imo and I think anyone who's had to deal with a nest will agree. They've picked a a busy area of the park to set up home so an accident waiting to happen considering it's so close to the river - possibly getting some parents involved/worked up is all that needs to be done. When the dogs were stung they were covered in them in seconds - it's not just one sting. They must have misread their little wasp maps and landed too soon because the botanic gardens is around the corner!

Knine

tk123 wrote: »

I've been stung by them before - we've had nests in our kitchen roof a few times, neighbours had them coming out of the floorboards so they're a pest imo and I think anyone who's had to deal with a nest will agree!

But they are not in your kitchen or roof! I've had to deal with them in my roof too so I know how troublesome they can be however the ones bothering you live in a park! If I come across a nest out and about with dogs or kids I swiftly move on and its never a problem. Its only at the end of the wasp season that they tend to get narky.

IrishAm

tk123 wrote: »

Last year loads of dogs got stung by wasps in a nest in the park. The entrance is in the ground at the riverbank which would have a lot of doggy traffic - unfortunatly it's high enough to escape being flooded when the river rises after heavy rain. Our friends dog freaked out when he got stung acting kind of disorientated and had loads of swollen bumps on his nose and ears and had to be taken to the vets...another dog had to be carried home when it seemed to go into shock. My guy had a load of them come out at him when he passed the entrance to the nest and tried to bite at them and rub them off his face with his paws :eek: but managed to escape unscathed save for barking at loads of dogs that evening when we were back in the park - maybe to warn them lol?! :pac:

Anyhoos sure enough they're active again and it's only January!! When my guy got stung I told one of the gardeners and they put a sign up which lasted all of a couple of weeks. When I raised it with the gardener he apologised and said they weren't allowed do anything because they're part of the Ecosystem. Last week 2 families with kids were feeding the ducks standing rights above the nest. Does anyone have any experience of this? Can something be done about it if we raise it further...or do we need to do something ourselves under cover of darkness?!

From reading the thread I gather that you are in Glasnevin and I know the park that you are talking about. Grease the paws of some local 'yoofs' with a note or two- they like crisp 50 bills - and hand them a container full of petrol.

Wasps gone.:pac:

tk123

IrishAm wrote: »

From reading the thread I gather that you are in Glasnevin and I know the park that you are talking about. Grease the paws of some local 'yoofs' with a note or two- they like crisp 50 bills - and hand them a container full of petrol.

Wasps gone.:pac:

Do you know the spot? I reckon their nest goes back to that tree stump behind it! We'll sit back until a kid gets stung - it'll probably be gone the next day!

IrishAm

tk123 wrote: »

Do you know the spot? I reckon their nest goes back to that tree stump behind it! We'll sit back until a kid gets stung - it'll probably be gone the next day!

Yup.

200 metres from the church, right?:)

Shelli2

I've stopped going to that park because of the wasps. It's a nightmare.