Wasps and Jack Jumpers

[Singe]

Admin edit: This topic has been split off from the Leeches topic (from whence the quote in this post comes)

All creatures great and small deserve their place ,Snakes frighten me Leeches make me itch for days if they get to suck but the only thing I will go out of my way to destroy would the European Wasp and our Mossies nothing else worries me.
corvus

Oh my god - European Wasps!! They hate me. I swear it. Everytime one sees me it wants to kill me lol...
But no, leeches definately freak me out, spiders too. Problem is, my usual bushwalking friend is so petrified of leeches that I have to be the brave one otherwise she gets totally hysterical and runs away!

Apologies for the backtrack... but this made me think of my last walk at the Tasman Peninsula a month or so ago; just a wander to Cape Huay but I saw more wasps than I've ever seen in a single day anywhere in the state. There were dozens along Fortescue beach and around the carpark, and at least two nests alongside the track including one out on Cape Huay itself. I guess the climate out that way must suit them...

I hate the aggro little blighters... I'm told to ignore them and they'll go away, but when I tried that one almost flew into my mouth trying to steal the sandwich I was eating!

[olblackbilly]

i have poured petrol down their nests, generally at dusk, it seemed to do the trick, whatever you do dont light it...

[Ent]

Contents removed by poster

Last edited by Ent on Fri 12 Nov, 2010 9:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Son of a Beach]

i have poured petrol down their nests, generally at dusk, it seemed to do the trick, whatever you do dont light it...

Sounds something that Mythbusters could test, that being the effectiveness of not lighting versus lighting

I've tried it both ways with Jack Jumpers. Both ways seem to kill them, so long as you use enough petrol. However, the lighting method has multiple dangers. Firstly, there's the obvious danger of a highly volatile liquid exploding. But I have heard of somebody else who suffered the consequences of a cloud of angry jack jumpers falling from the sky after their next exploded from petrol being ignited.

I use a pyrethrum-based ant killer dust these days. Just sprinkle a little around the entrance to the nest - especially in the afternoon, when they're returning for the night and will take it in with them. Works well for both jack jumpers and European wasps. Occasionally a second dose is needed.

There is also another dust (can't recall it's name) which looks similar, but which is exceedingly toxic and difficult to obtain. I've used it a couple of times too, and the results are outstanding.

[BarryJ]

i have poured petrol down their nests, generally at dusk, it seemed to do the trick, whatever you do dont light it...

Sounds something that Mythbusters could test, that being the effectiveness of not lighting versus lighting

I've tried it both ways with Jack Jumpers. Both ways seem to kill them, so long as you use enough petrol. However, the lighting method has multiple dangers. Firstly, there's the obvious danger of a highly volatile liquid exploding. But I have heard of somebody else who suffered the consequences of a cloud of angry jack jumpers falling from the sky after their next exploded from petrol being ignited.
..............................................

It can be very spectacular if you leave the petrol can open while you ignite what you have poured into the nest

[walkinTas]

I use a pyrethrum-based ant killer dust these days. Just sprinkle a little around the entrance to the nest - especially in the afternoon, when they're returning for the night and will take it in with them. Works well for both jack jumpers and European wasps. Occasionally a second dose is needed.

There is also another dust (can't recall it's name) which looks similar, but which is exceedingly toxic and difficult to obtain. I've used it a couple of times too, and the results are outstanding.

You may be thinking of Derris Dust, which was once widely used to control cabbage moth and other insects. It effectively kills ants and European wasps if sprinkled around the entrance to their nest - (as well as aquatic life if it washes into water ways). The active ingredient rotenone has been linked to Parkinson's disease, so this is probably one to avoid.

As a general rule I would suggest you don't kill jack-jumpers - unless their nest is in your domain and a real hazard. There are relatively harmless (unless you are one of the minority of people who have a severe allergic reactions). The easiest way to avoid be bitten by a jack-jumper is to walk away. You can walk a lot faster than they can.

[Son of a Beach]

I agree, I would certainly not worry about killing jack jumpers when they're not near my home (or some other similarly frequented or built up place).

However, I find 2 or 3 jack jumper nests per year in my yard at home, and I like to walk around bare foot. I also find European wasp nests occasionally (only two in the last several years). I've only used the really toxic dust a couple of times many years ago (at my old house). The pyrethrum based one seems to work quite well, and I think it's fairly safe to use (unless you're an insect).

I walk around the yard bare foot most of the time, and I also have two little kids who love to play in the dirt (who I hypocritically tell to wear shoes when they're outside). I had jack jumpers on the deck all this summer where the kids play barefoot (they were most likely from the nest I just found a few days ago - at last).

I'm won't let nests live in my own yard (if I can find them). I know they're native critters, but they're not endangered, and are very nasty. Their stings are particularly painful for quite a long time, even if not allergic. And unlike some other nasty critters, they are really aggressive. Some animals (eg most Tasmanian snakes) will usually run away rather than attack when possible. But jack jumpers seem to chase you down and sting you if you get close enough.

I did tread right on a nest barefoot once while lost in the bush near Bakers Beach (yes, dopey me). I wouldn't go back to find them and kill them, but in my own yard I will kill them whenever I see their nests.

[walkinTas]

...won't let nests live in my own yard (if I can find them).

And perfectly understandable too when they invade your domain. European wasps on the other hand (my personal phobia - the source of nightmares) should be hunted down and destroyed no matter where they take up residence. In your yard, in the neighbours yard, in the bush, at the beach or wherever. At this point I should probably not confess that I used to recommend Derris Dust for this purpose - before I researched it. Now I recommend Ant & Wasp dust - its active ingredient is a synthetic pyrethrum.

[Son of a Beach]

European wasps on the other hand (my personal phobia - the source of nightmares) should be hunted down and destroyed no matter where they take up residence. In your yard, in the neighbours yard, in the bush, at the beach or wherever.

Yeah, they have no fear, a nasty sting, and can ruin all sorts of outdoor pursuits from bushwalking to picnics (especially any activity involving food). I'd hunt them down all the way to Europe if I thought I could wipe them out!

[Macca81]

interestingly, jackjumpers can actualy see quite a fair way, well over a metre. and they WILL chase you down. there venom is one of the most powerfull in the insect world, and they cause more deaths in tasmania than spiders, snakes, wasps, and sharks combined! so agressive are they that the often fight amongst ants from there own colony, and then eat the loser. they also happily kill wasps(possibly the only positive thing about these things)

[corvus]

As an aside we had an "inchmans" nest at the bottom of our lawn and the Wasps I gave the clap to (get them within target and clap your hands on them) were dispatched to the ants nest opening whereupon the soldier of the nest would drag it down.
Tried this with blow flies dropping them down the hole and within seconds said soldier would appear with the fly and deposit same at least 500mm from the nest.
Still have "inchmen" cannot find their nest opening but I welcome native insects to my front yard especially those that eat European Wasps.
c

[ashlee]

European wasps on the other hand (my personal phobia - the source of nightmares) should be hunted down and destroyed no matter where they take up residence. In your yard, in the neighbours yard, in the bush, at the beach or wherever.

Yeah, they have no fear, a nasty sting, and can ruin all sorts of outdoor pursuits from bushwalking to picnics (especially any activity involving food). I'd hunt them down all the way to Europe if I thought I could wipe them out!

They are probably the scariest creatures on the planet (bit of an exaggeration there lol)
But they hunt you down! I'm so afraid of them my ears are actually fine tuned to their sound and can gear one coming like a km away! Is is just me or do european wasps seem to be spreading further and further into deep bush? Years ago you would never see one in say, a remote rainforest... But now you can't escape them! And they seem to multiply by the hundreds too!

[tas-man]

<SNIP> But they hunt you down! I'm so afraid of them my ears are actually fine tuned to their sound and can gear one coming like a km away! Is is just me or do european wasps seem to be spreading further and further into deep bush? Years ago you would never see one in say, a remote rainforest... But now you can't escape them! And they seem to multiply by the hundreds too!

There is a story about a very agressive hive in Mt Field NP in this thread viewtopic.php?f=5&t=552&p=3709&hilit=wasps#p3709

[Purple]

I have had a jumping jack ant nest in my garden for about 8 years. I've tried multiple ways of killing them but they always return but in a diffent area of the garden.. I've tried the ant wasp pesticide a few times.. boiling water worked well initially but found them again today in a different area more of them and lots of entrance holes! They need to go as we've all been bitten by them and we all have allergic reactions..
Thinking after reading this post I'll try the petrol now.. would diesel be better fo you think?
I'll let you know if it finally gets rid if them! !

[Son of a Beach]

You will never be "finally" rid of them, unfortunately. I kill about 3 nests a year, but there are always new nests to replace them the following year. It's an ongoing battle that never ends.

[Purple]

Really??.. have you tried the petrol??

[headwerkn]

We had quite a scary incident back in early March walking back from Mountains of Jupiter to camp at Chapter Lake, when my partner managed to somehow step on a European wasp nest on the ground (unsure whether it had fallen or was built there)... I didn't see the actual nest or attack, but I did hear the cacophony of screams and profanity as she stumbled across Mayfield Flats trying to get away. Back at camp after limping 7km we counted at least nine stings in her left knee and lower leg. Ouch.

Thankfully she didn't have a reaction beyond swelling and a heap of pain, but an Epipen has since been added to our First Aid kit.

[neilmny]

Wow that's bad....the buggers nest in the ground it's a real trap. She was "lucky" she didn't have a bad reaction.
When a mate was moving cattle on horseback many years ago, the horse stepped on and busted through a Euro wasp nest.
It was not pretty. Unlike a bee the rotten things can just keep stinging you. Got one up my shirt sleeve in the garden.
It stung me 4 time before I could get the shirt off.