Bees And Wasps And Oliver Field View

[unclepesta 101]

just had a phone call with oliver field (author of honey by the ton) he is a year old bee keeper in new forest. he rang me about wasps and his concern about wasp populations. i listened to him for a good while and he feels wasps should be left alone and that wasps are becoming more rare. also bombus pratorum ect. i tried to explain that we as professional pest controllers do not go around treating nests in woods and forests ect and that most nests were only treated for public safety.. i assured him that i dont treat any nest unless there is a justified reason.. also i explained that many pest controllers care very much about the future of bees and wasps in natural enviroments.. i explained that the problem with wasp nests is that unexperienced people treat them with ficam bought from ebay and over counter bendiocarbs ect.. i assured him that all nest are treated in safe manner by pro's.. anyway the arguement was ongoing i explained that im pro enviroment protection and pro animal and rare insect protection and that i would share his thoughts with you guys..

 

he didnt seem to be worried about the gm modification plans for pollinators.. i asked him if he thought about the monsanto conspiracy and gm and such things in the news.. i asked him if he thought it was all being killed on purpose just to usher in the global control of enviroments through technology such as genetic modification..basically let em kill our enviroment so they can through genetics have a brave new world aldous huxley type stuff..bit deep for the average pesty yes i know.. i obviously asked him that as he is did he realise this! no real interest..he didnt seem interested in a solution for people at risk basically no answer just stop killing wasps.. what do you guys think? i must admit i agreed on most he had to say but i think his energy is mis directed cos if i dont treat the nest carefully some idiot will without any care purley because they can get products like bendiocarbs over the counter and pro stuff via ebay without licence training or knowledge.

 

oliver said bees were protected by this time he had already told me i didnt know about things??? like deforestation ect ect.. he had seemed to pass judgement quickly on the fact that im a pest controller..

 

he said MAFF took him to court cos his bees were a enviromental hazard??? he won the case against them so he said he got a 8 grand pay out.

 

he said the enviroment will turn to desert without wasps ect.. but i said monsanto ect know this and they have the solution in hand for the future.. gm pollinators is the future not god stuff anymore.

 

the whole thing was a pointless rant really.. but i gave him my time and he ended the call after about half hour..

 

anyone else had a call from oliver field?

 

to make the day better i just had a suspect call from a pestie about nest prices...he is probably not getting any work and looking for the reason why..probably thinking the work is going elsewhere.

 

 

[stealthy1 3,964]

Yeah!

[Deker 3,478]

I have had a goodly few Wasp jobs over the years that I have talked the caller out of, lord knows why, I don't see any much overall reduction in them, certainly goes up and down a fair bit from season to season though!

 

"oliver said bees were protected"

 

Perhaps he would like to elaborate on that!

[unclepesta 101]

he didnt really have much to say.. i told him that bees were not protected as such and that was that.. i think he is very experienced with bees ect but he does not know so much about pest control.

 

he went over around 24 species and that we now only find about 6 types... he had a good point about enviroment loss ect saying that all the old woods ect and hedgrows have greatly reduced and that wasps are using domestic situations due to this loss.. mmm. i suppose that is a view point.. i think houses are just so suitable as well for wasps...eaves ect nice warm lofts.. i must admit if i do see wasp nests its more likey in or on some building or shelter.. he said the forestry had cut most good stuff out.. i can agree on that.. but i still see them in the oak and hedges.. wasps get everywhere ive had em in cars rolled up carpets allsorts of places.. he asked about fenitrothions and the connected types. i said fenitrothion i have not use for about 15 years...lindane is gone.. i use to have the straight dusting powders and wettables.. i explained pest controllers dont genrally walk hedgrows ect killing off nests.. i think his fight is the same as everyones.. nobody wants to live in a broken down world well maybe some..

[unclepesta 101]

yes he did slip in bees were protected i think he was prompting more towards bumbles.. but again i explain genrally bees are not.. its misuse of pesticides ect that bring prosecutions by accessing food chains or harming non targets ect ect.

 

ive talk my way out of treating nests a few times and all was well the following years

[PFS 12]

The only law and legislation on bees, is regarding honey bees, IF a nest must be treated (this must be last resort), all possible entrances and exits need to be sealed, to stop other foraging honey bees from other hives transferring any chemicals. Ridiculously bumbles aren't protected.

They make me laugh bee keepers because as soon as you say bumble nest they don't want to know but they will tear apart your house to get to a honey bee nest.

They will tell everyone bees are protected, the only protected insect in the UK is the stag beetle.

[J Darcy 5,871]

The only law and legislation on bees, is regarding honey bees, IF a nest must be treated (this must be last resort), all possible entrances and exits need to be sealed, to stop other foraging honey bees from other hives transferring any chemicals. Ridiculously bumbles aren't protected.

They make me laugh bee keepers because as soon as you say bumble nest they don't want to know but they will tear apart your house to get to a honey bee nest.

They will tell everyone bees are protected, the only protected insect in the UK is the stag beetle.

You are incorrect, what about the New Forest Burnett, the Large Blue butterfly, Essex Emerald, Swallowtail, Violet Click Beetle,Southern Damselfly and many many more that I cannot list.

As an aside , you are correct about the Stag beetle, but they are only legally protected partially. You may not offer them for sale, that is their only protection. You can go out and harvest as many stags as you like without breaking the law as long as you do not offer them for sale.

[PFS 12]

I stand corrected, yes I forgot about butterfly's but I'm not wrong about bees!

Insects aren't really my thing. Thank you for correcting me mr. Darcy and making look a dickhead at the same time lol.

[PFS 12]

Before anyone says it, I probally done that by myself

[Mr Muddy 141]

I’m inclined to agree with the beekeeper – I think wasps are probably being killed-off. Every summer there seems to be a wasp nest gold rush, with gardeners, window cleaners, odd-job men all having a crack at them.

 

Perhaps wasp dust should only be used in or around buildings; same as has been suggested for rodentacide.

[theshypaddy 1]

Weird wasp year this,, started brilliantly but dried up dramatically ,anyone I have spoken with says it's the same for them.

 

Certainly not the weather to blame like 2 years back, I suppose it's a possible knock on effect from that where not as many queens survived then to overwinter.

[Mr Muddy 141]

Apologies to the snaring / trapping purists for bumping another pest control thread up the forum, but I’ve just seen on another website a bloke boasting that he’s killed more hornets than wasps recently.

 

As a general rule; if someone calls me about hornets I tell them hornets aren’t really that aggressive, they eat a lot of flies and other nuisance bugs, and, unless they are stopping you getting to your house or doing your work, they’re not doing any harm and I’d rather not come and get them.

 

It seems to me that some pesties are now thinking ‘there ain’t enough wasps about – let’s start on the hornets instead’.

 

IMO, if you aren’t getting enough legitimate pest control jobs to make a living then do something else as well or instead. Don’t just go around poisoning up the countryside and killing all the wildlife that aren’t even real pests.

 

Hope I’m not the only one who thinks like this about hornets.

[Matt 160]

Window cleaners and all the others have been at it for decades.

 

To suggest that wasps are dying out because so many people are at it is just silly.

 

Some years are better than others. It's always been the same.

 

As for hornets; I don't think that pest controllers specifically target them in bad wasp years... the phone rings, and you try and solve pest problems... I don't know about them not being aggressive either; I've found them to be nearly as bad as Germans.

 

Oh, and before I forget, don't worry about upsetting the couple of miserable buggers on here either; this forum has always included general pest control discussion as well as trapping and snaring, and I see no problem with that

[unclepesta 101]

i think the old hornets seem a bit more savvy once they know they act... when ive stumbled on getting the tip in a hole or something they are much quicker to follow the sticks down.. by that time im moving lol as i dont wear ppe most times. i dont get many hornets but i do a few.. one of the forest keepers down here moves them he actually handles the queen if he can access the nest he see's them as docile and handles them well.

he relocates em to woods and i think its been a success but its one thing ive never tried doing.. anyone moved a wasp nest to relocate?? better not give people ideas.. before you know it we will be planting nests everywhere lol.. im with you on the wasps matt i think its hard to tell when a good year is coming.. i have not found any real pattern over the years... i get some places that always seem troubled but overall it differs year to year

 

im waiting for them asian hornets to turn up here in the south.. they look big

[unclepesta 101]

just check these out..invader alert.. you might have to scroll down a bit.. new forest keepers are on it and are waiting so am i.. cant wait to get my first call lol

 

 

http://www.newforestvrs.org.uk/volunteer-news/page/3/