Hi Valerie,

I don't have any special information about the effects of the wasps on the birds.

However, let me take this opportunity to let you know about something you may have missed. If my memory serves me, wasps can smell the location of the previous nest and will tend to build their nests there. The solution is to treat the spot where the nest was removed with some bleach.

Ron McCluskey
Cheney
----- Original Message -----
From: Valerie Anderson
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 3:40 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] wasps in bird houses


Hello Tweets,
I have a question about wasps (the kind that make the papery honey-comb like nests) in bird houses. On of my bird houses, which is currently being seriously considered if not already nested in by black-capped chickadees, is also being occupied by the wasps. It is a house that has successfully produced fledglings in the past. When I cleaned it out this winter, there was a wasp nest in it, which I removed. Yesterday, I noticed wasps flying in and out of it again, and today a chickadee appears to be building a nest or at least visiting it frequently. My concern is if the wasps pose a threat to the birds, the eggs or the chicks? At this stage in the game, is there anything I can do to get rid of the wasps without jeopardizing the nest?
Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks.
Valerie Anderson
Olympia, Washington
valerie62266 at earthlink.net


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