All that work gone to waste

@JudyEv (381976)

Rockingham, Australia

January 25, 2017 1:19am CST

Wasps regularly build mud nests on our brick walls and I nearly as regularly remove them. I took to one this morning with a small but hard plastic garden spade. There were about 20 spider bodies in the nest and two big wasp grubs. One had already hatched and eaten its way out. The wasps paralyse the spiders but don't kill them. The grubs feed on them as part of their life cycle. I've seen the wasps heading off down the road and I can only presume they are heading for our small dam which is the nearest source of mud. They must make thousands of trips to bring back enough mud to form their nests. I almost feel bad destroying something that has taken them so long to build. But not bad enough to leave their unsightly nests on the wall.

25 people like this

25 responses

@jstory07 (148731)

• Roseburg, Oregon

25 Jan 17

Those sure are ugly looking wasps and spiders.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

I agree completely. The grubs were gross.

1 person likes this

@louievill (28846)

• Philippines

25 Jan 17

Them insects don't know that they are building on our property, they don't care about our deeds and land titles

3 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

That is true. I should pin up out title deeds on the outside wall.

2 people like this

@louievill (28846)

• Philippines

25 Jan 17

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@Juliaacv (56199)

• Canada

25 Jan 17

What would happen if you sprayed the wall down with a garden hose? Would it make them find another location to build their nests on?

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

It might stop them until the wall dried but that's about all. I have some surface insect spray now that might be worth trying but I don't really want to spray the whole outside of the house with it.

1 person likes this

@Juliaacv (56199)

• Canada

25 Jan 17

@JudyEv What about making up a mixture of a little dawn dishsoap and water and spraying that on the wall? I make a mixture of dawn, water and a little Epson salt to spray on weeds that grow in between rocks and it kills them, it has killed bugs for me also.

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@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

@Juliaacv I could try that but they only come now and again. Mostly the nest is up and finished before I even see it. They're as sneaky as the hippeastrum. :)

@xFiacre (14805)

• Ireland

25 Jan 17

@judyev I feel the same way when I destroy stuff that tiny creatures have spent so much effort and time building and I destroy it in a second. Doesn't stop me getting rid of wasps though.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

I destroyed one before it was finished and the poor wasp came back with his mouthful of mud and couldn't work out where his new abode had gone. That was a bit sad.

1 person likes this

@DianneN (254926)

• United States

25 Jan 17

I wouldn't feel badly in the least.

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@DianneN (254926)

• United States

25 Jan 17

@JudyEv Oh, you're just a big softy at heart.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Jan 17

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@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

It's a long flight to the dam and back. I have to feel a bit sorry for them. :)

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@fishtiger58 (29819)

• Momence, Illinois

25 Jan 17

We get wasp nests sometimes too, we have to wait until winter to take them down or risk being attacked by the wasps

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

The wasps that build these don't hang around and inside is just grubs and paralysed spiders so there is no risk. Paper wasp nests are a different story.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Jan 17

@fishtiger58 I would be being very careful around them. That would be a spraying and running job.

1 person likes this

@fishtiger58 (29819)

• Momence, Illinois

26 Jan 17

@JudyEv I'm not sure what kind we have but they do build mud like nests, but they always seem to be around the nest.

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@allknowing (153544)

• India

26 Jan 17

I get the same feeling when we are forced to deal with these pests. We kill them, destroy their habitats.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Jan 17

They can build in the sheds if they like! :)

@velvet53 (24417)

• Palisade, Colorado

26 Jan 17

I would do the same thing and I have. I had a bunch of wasp nests when I moved into my apartment. They all went bye-bye.

2 people like this

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@velvet53 (24417)

• Palisade, Colorado

26 Jan 17

@JudyEv I bet they are. I don't like seeing them up under the eaves.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Jan 17

They are unsightly on the walls.

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@LadyDuck (502345)

• Italy

25 Jan 17

I always feel bad when I destroy the mud wasps nests, but I do this all the time during summer.

2 people like this

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@LadyDuck (502345)

• Italy

25 Jan 17

@JudyEv I have never found one inside the house, but under the porch they always build several.

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@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

Yes, I go round the house from time to time and knock them all down.

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@Jessicalynnt (50523)

• Centralia, Missouri

25 Jan 17

well and having it that close to things you need to use and maintain isnt safe

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

It's safe enough. New wasps eat their way out and go on their way and the nest just stays there if I don't remove it. The wasp is only around when it's being built.

1 person likes this

@Jessicalynnt (50523)

• Centralia, Missouri

27 Jan 17

@JudyEv ah well I still hate wasps, mean buggers

1 person likes this

@Freelanzer (10782)

• Canada

25 Jan 17

I would be afraid of them attacking me as happened in the past, so their nests would have to go by the safest means possible

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

Paper wasps will hang around their nests but not these guys. Once they've finished building they don't come back to it so there is little danger of being stung.

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Valerie J. Routhieaux

@just4him (323168)

• Green Bay, Wisconsin

25 Jan 17

Too bad they don't get the hint and build elsewhere.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

They do seem to like our brick walls for their nests.

1 person likes this

@Ronrybs (21499)

• London, England

25 Jan 17

I would be worried about being stung

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

I rarely see it tills the building work has finished so they are never around. If they are, I try to spray with insect killer then run!

1 person likes this

@FayeHazel (40230)

• United States

25 Jan 17

Ahhh, don't feel bad, I don't think I could go near much less move it....

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

I often don't see them for some days. The wasps don't hang around it.

changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)

• China

25 Jan 17

Those nests did offend the eye! I think the wasps never know why you made things difficult for them.The wasps seem to be the spiders 'natural enemy.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

If I left the wasps alone I might not have so many spiders. :)

1 person likes this

@41CombedaleRoad (5966)

• Greece

25 Jan 17

Is it not rather hazardous to break into a wasps nest? I would expect them to get angry and attack you.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

There is only grubs and spiders in the nest. The wasp that built it doesn't stay around. Paper wasps frequent nests too and it is hazardous to tangle with them.

@Madshadi (8840)

• Brussels, Belgium

25 Jan 17

Don't feel bad. They are hard workers. They will build another one. That's all they do. Not like you were keeping them away from doing something else. I bet you have pretty nasty insects there.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

We don't have any worse ones than anywhere else I guess. As you say, they are persistent creatures.

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@AbbyGreenhill (45490)

• United States

25 Jan 17

They have little mud huts all over inside our garage, they don't care when they start a new housing development!

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

They are quite industrious aren't they?

@Inlemay (17712)

• South Africa

27 Jan 17

wow - this is something I have never seen, nor did i know that wasps are so into spider cuisine. Very interesting facts and next time I see a muddy wasps nest I can imagine what's going on behind the muddy walls.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Jan 17

I am always amazed by how many spiders have been captured for the nest.

1 person likes this

@JohnRoberts (109841)

• Los Angeles, California

25 Jan 17

Maybe if you put an eviction notice on the nests.....

2 people like this

@JudyEv (381976)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Jan 17

I'll tack an eviction notice next to the title deeds. That'll learn 'em..

1 person likes this