Wild About Wild Life

I recently had a question from a reader that caught my attention and I had trouble getting back with her because of a bad email address. However, the questions were good and this seems to be a good time to share them as we get our bird houses and wildlife feeders prepared for business soon. I hope this will be a help to others that may have simular questions as did this reader.

I was just looking for advice online and found your information on the Wild About Wildlife website and wanted to ask you something.
 I have a lot of birdhouses in my backyard and last year they all had wasp nests in them.  I didn’t know what to do (obviously, can’t spray pesticide at them), so I thought I would try and get them out when it was cold.  Well, winter came quickly and I never got around to it, and it’s already starting to warm up here (Idaho) and I’m afraid I’m out of my very cold days (it’s getting into the 40’s now – I was going to do it during a snowday or single digits).  And since I’m a big chicken (as well as allergic to stings), I’m nervous about pulling them down and trying to clean them out now.  Do the nests get vacated in the fall/winter or do they hibernate in there? If they are in there, is there anything I can do to get them out?  I was thinking of flooding them.  Will that work?  Also, some of the houses only have the little round hole, if I knock it down in there with a stick, will they come back to rebuild?  I need to do this soon since we will be moving soon and I want to take my lovely birdhouses with me.  Can you give me some advice as to how to get these things out??Thanks to the annonymous reader who asked some really great questions. Here are some answers to help you out.

Q:  Do the  (Wasps) nests get vacated in the fall/winter or do they hibernate in there?   I’m nervous about pulling them down and trying to clean them out now. I didn’t know what to do (obviously, can’t spray pesticide at them), so I thought I would try and get them out when it was cold.

A:  At the end of the autumnal months the wasps’ nest dies off, leaving only the young mated queens alive. These Queens fly away and find a safe place to hibernate for the winter. They tend to choose warm, sheltered sites, such as sheds or lofts. It is not uncommon to find a queen wasp hibernating in the folds of household curtains, or other undisturbed fabrics in the home.
So the wasp nest should be dormant and ready for removal….
However, if you are still a bit uncomfortable , you may take a water power sprayer, and soak the inside of the hole.

Q:  How to clean them out?

A:  Cleaning out your birdhouses isn’t a hard task either.
The best way to approach this is once you have scraped out the nestbox and made sure all of the drain and vent holes are open, you can disinfect birdhouses by spraying them with a 10% bleach solution (one part bleach, nine parts water). If you decide to disinfect your birdhouses, leave them open for 24 hours to allow them to dry before closing them back up. I recommend disinfecting your nestboxes if you have evidence of parasites in any specific boxes.

Q:  Also, some of the houses only have the little round hole, if I knock it down in there with a stick, will they come back to rebuild?

A:  You can prevent wasps and bees from establishing themselves by applying a thin layer of soap (use bar soap) onto the inside surface of the roof. This will create a slippery surface between the insects and the roof of the box. For more information about keeping wasps and bees from building in your nest box go to:  http://nestbirds1.com/?cat=48

Hope this helps you reader as well as the rest of you. Thanks for making Wild About Wildlife one of your favorite sites.

Yours Truely,

~ The Birdhouse Guy ~

 

Have you been out to your nest box or edible birdhouse and have been suprised by a live wasps hornets nest? Maybe you have wondered what you ought to do about it. This is not an uncommon event in the wild. Paper wasps, bees and hornets all may want to inhabit your bird box when it is unoccupied by that which it is set up for…..BIRDS!!! I hope this information will be a comfort and help to you as you face this natural problem.  

Keep in mind that Wasps and bees seldom usurp boxes from nesting birds. They are mostly found in empty boxes. If these insects are found in a box, it is best to let them be and not take any active measures to exterminate them. Instead, wait to clean them out in the fall when the weather is cooler and their activity has halted.

You can prevent wasps and bees from establishing themselves by applying a thin layer of soap (use bar soap) onto the inside surface of the roof. This will create a slippery surface between the insects and the roof of the box. For more information about maintaining nest boxes, visit Nestwatch. 

***If you have any question concerning nestbox and birdhouse preservation, feel free to contact me at:  freedomenterprises@bresnan.net