First wasps' nest of the season

[comanche 2,799]

A bit underwhelming really.l did ask how big it was on the phone and they described it as being "At least tennis ball sized"  .

Felt a bit guilty when l saw it  ,but it was a call-out

[DIDO.1 20,804]

I've done 3 that size....always tell em to do it themselves.....if not it's full price. 

Seeing plenty of queen's about. Also had a call out to a house that was getting workers in a bedroom, I think they must of hibernated somewhere and were just waking up. 

Was a strange year last year so could go either way this time 

[comanche 2,799]

3 minutes ago, DIDO.1 said:

I've done 3 that size....always tell em to do it themselves.....if not it's full price. 

Seeing plenty of queen's about. Also had a call out to a house that was getting workers in a bedroom, I think they must of hibernated somewhere and were just waking up. 

Was a strange year last year so could go either way this time 

It was local job so l only charged the base rate ; no  mileage or travel time .   

Like you ,if l had been given a proper description on the phone  l  would've suggested they reached for a rolled-up newspaper .

Still , l feel less guilty about having to charge her as l had this text from the customer later in the day . l made someone happy !

 According to the cycle a manic wasp season was due last year in this area and   so it  happened.

Unfortunately(from a work point of view) l lost a couple of weeks of it due to a holiday that had been carried over from Covid cancellations. 

I spent a fortnight passing  callers   onto another  pest controller ,though some customers were happy to wait until l was home. 

The rest of the season was pretty much dawn to dusk with wasps.

As you say Dido ,it could go either way . A good season one year often leads to a mediocre one the next.

But like you l am noticing a lot of Queens about ...    fingers and everything else cross able are being crossed!

 

 

 

[DIDO.1 20,804]

26 minutes ago, comanche said:

It was local job so l only charged the base rate ; no  mileage or travel time .   

Like you ,if l had been given a proper description on the phone  l  would've suggested they reached for a rolled-up newspaper .

Still , l feel less guilty about having to charge her as l had this text from the customer later in the day . l made someone happy !

 According to the cycle a manic wasp season was due last year in this area and   so it  happened.

Unfortunately(from a work point of view) l lost a couple of weeks of it due to a holiday that had been carried over from Covid cancellations. 

I spent a fortnight passing  callers   onto another  pest controller ,though some customers were happy to wait until l was home. 

The rest of the season was pretty much dawn to dusk with wasps.

As you say Dido ,it could go either way . A good season one year often leads to a mediocre one the next.

But like you l am noticing a lot of Queens about ...    fingers and everything else cross able are being crossed!

 

 

 

Started off well here last year then just fell away to nothing before end of July. I saw a number of active nests just seem to die before first week in August, it was really strange. Had a terrible year in total numbers. 

Then was going to remove old dead nests in December for people, breaking them open and suddenly being covered in wasps that seemed to be hibernating in the nest. 

I wouldn't be surprised if we had no wasps this year or a massive season.....after last year's strange season anything could happen. 

I built my business with no interest in wasps, I was determined to stay away from relying on them....but like everyone else I got swept along in the good years

[DIDO.1 20,804]

Queen cells popping up everywhere here now, still only tiny but hopefully past the period where we might get a cold snap.

Getting calls for honey bees every day aswell 

[Fox dog 182]

I've had two so far,one outside bedroom window got rid one popped up on kitchen window,well hanging from the soffit

[DIDO.1 20,804]

I'm averaging 3 calls a day for honey bees. I'm not touching them but they are causing a right pain getting into people's homes. 

[gnipper 5,945]

2 hours ago, DIDO.1 said:

I'm averaging 3 calls a day for honey bees. I'm not touching them but they are causing a right pain getting into people's homes. 

No local bee keepers to you interested in getting them or are they inaccessible? 

[DIDO.1 20,804]

6 hours ago, gnipper said:

No local bee keepers to you interested in getting them or are they inaccessible? 

Yeah plenty of bee keepers but they only want swarms that they can push into a box. Once they get in somewhere then they need breaking out and it's a big job

[DIDO.1 20,804]

6 hours ago, gnipper said:

No local bee keepers to you interested in getting them or are they inaccessible?

 

[DIDO.1 20,804]

Normally get a couple of honey bee calls a week this time of year....I'm currently getting 3-4 a day. Honey bees are definitely increasing year on year

[Deker 3,450]

On 14/05/2023 at 07:46, DIDO.1 said:

Queen cells popping up everywhere here now, still only tiny but hopefully past the period where we might get a cold snap.

Getting calls for honey bees every day aswell 

Got my first call for Bees about 10 days ago!

I get very few calls for the bees generally!

[DIDO.1 20,804]

Coming in now

[comanche 2,799]

7 hours ago, DIDO.1 said:

Coming in now

Definitely ; six nests in one house yesterday .None bigger than a melon but the job before that involved  a surprisingly  big one .

[DIDO.1 20,804]

I'm getting enough in. I'm busy with other things so couldn't handle anymore but I've got the feeling if I'd gone all out on the wasps I could of done a big number this year. Doing a lot of 2-3-4's on the same properties. Probably done 100 in July so far.

Noticed a few beginning to sweet feed the other day