http://www.csiro.au/resources/Common-Paper-Wasps.html

Try here Bon008, for further info on native and non-native Paper Wasps…

And here…

http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_wasps/PaperWasps.htm

>I’m wondering if they mean the paper wasps are not native to WA? They’ve been in my life since I was a yonker (mid 50’s)

We get wasps here, I assume they are paper wasps.

Some once set up camp in my letter box, which is chin height. Went out after rain and they must have been having a family reunion (must have been 10 or 12 in there), and were not happy at my hand reaching in for MY mail..

Didn’t get stung (very close) that time, but Mr Baygon and I had a chat shortly afterwards..

http://www.gwrdc.com.au/downloads/ResearchTopics/DAV%2099-1.pdf

This one has quite good pics of the European wasp, if you page through the doc…

Thanks Dinetta :)

In the days of old when Knights were bold etc etc, Dad had some asbestos wrapped around a very long piece of fencing wire…if the paperwasps were in an awkward spot, they would get burnt – annihilated – during the night when they were drowsy…no nut would take them on during daylight hours. This was how we kept the spiders under control (just before Christmas btw) in the days before pest control became a business…If I want to get rid of a nest (e.g. under the gutter where I want to remove leaves) I knock it down of a night and if the wasps don’t sit on it, I’ll move it halfway down the paddock…

No worries Bon, this browser won’t let the Forum refresh automatically…only the Forum for some reason…

Do whatever you need to do to paper wasps early in the morning while they are cold. Use the hose on high pressure wash them down. This usually does the job.
If that seems to hard..
They don’t like any of the pyrethrum derivitives, a squirt from a can of mortein is good enough.
Singing their wings may help with the ones you singe but don’t forget that it only takes one wasp to get through you ring of fire and it can sting you numerous times.
Paper wasps (southern) are fairly innoccuous and play a useful role in your garden. I spent all my nights and a lot of my days working on thousands of trees in tubes right next to a huge colony of paper wasps. They lived there all year, I was throwing pots and weeds and dirt around. There was only one day where they became upset with me over a period of a decade of such activity and that was when a stray shovel full of potting mix went into their nest. I walked away and they settled down. I came back and went to work again, they left me alone.

roughbarked said:

Do whatever you need to do to paper wasps early in the morning while they are cold. Use the hose on high pressure wash them down. This usually does the job.
If that seems to hard..
They don’t like any of the pyrethrum derivitives, a squirt from a can of mortein is good enough.
Singing their wings may help with the ones you singe but don’t forget that it only takes one wasp to get through you ring of fire and it can sting you numerous times.
Paper wasps (southern) are fairly innoccuous and play a useful role in your garden. I spent all my nights and a lot of my days working on thousands of trees in tubes right next to a huge colony of paper wasps. They lived there all year, I was throwing pots and weeds and dirt around. There was only one day where they became upset with me over a period of a decade of such activity and that was when a stray shovel full of potting mix went into their nest. I walked away and they settled down. I came back and went to work again, they left me alone.

I’m inclined to work respectfully alongside them too. They are quite peaceful and tolerant little creatures and try to give you warning if you are acting too threatening. Once when I was shaping a shrub and removing the dead stuff I sawed off a whole bunch of branches all around the branch their nest was hanging from. When they came out and had a look to see what all the vibration was I simply moved to the other side of the shrub for a while and they settled down again. Eventually that backfired on me because I came back around and started sawing the ONE branch I’d earlier decided not to touch, LOL! Three stings in a split second and I’ve never moved so fast! That was that, threat removed, back to the nest, no grudges on either side, LOL!