After noticing something flung into my van window at 50mph yesterday and
briefly thinking ... Wasp! I promptly forgot and was reminded several
minutes later when I pulled up at home, sat back in a sigh of relief at the
end of another week and was promptly stung in the small of my back. I react
badly to bites and stings and knew I would be going on a Histamine
rollercoaster for the next eleventy2 hours!

So I jumped out the cab, reached for my Rothenberger blow torch (on the
passenger seat) and incinerated the little ****er.

Today (still in pain) I spent the afternoon at a family barbecue, torch to
hand, protecting everyone from the bloody useless but pesky things... Last
count was 25 me, wasps nil.

I am now a hero

--
What else are opposable thumbs for? Get to me at
masterfix{at}btinternet{dot}com

On Sat, 3 Sep 2011 21:38:08 +0000 (UTC)
Dean Heighington wrote:

After noticing something flung into my van window at 50mph yesterday
and briefly thinking ... Wasp! I promptly forgot and was reminded
several minutes later when I pulled up at home, sat back in a sigh of
relief at the end of another week and was promptly stung in the small
of my back. I react badly to bites and stings and knew I would be
going on a Histamine rollercoaster for the next eleventy2 hours!

So I jumped out the cab, reached for my Rothenberger blow torch (on
the passenger seat) and incinerated the little ****er.

Where was he, still on your seatback? If so, what does the seatback
look like now?
--
Davey.

In message
-septemb
er.org, Dean Heighington writes
After noticing something flung into my van window at 50mph yesterday and
briefly thinking ... Wasp! I promptly forgot and was reminded several
minutes later when I pulled up at home, sat back in a sigh of relief at the
end of another week and was promptly stung in the small of my back. I react
badly to bites and stings and knew I would be going on a Histamine
rollercoaster for the next eleventy2 hours!

So I jumped out the cab, reached for my Rothenberger blow torch (on the
passenger seat) and incinerated the little ****er.

Today (still in pain) I spent the afternoon at a family barbecue, torch to
hand, protecting everyone from the bloody useless but pesky things... Last
count was 25 me, wasps nil.

I am now a hero



When I was much younger, aged about 12 yrs, I found a wasps nest in a
dry stone wall in the garden. We had a very old brass insecticide
sprayer that was basically a single push pump with a nozzle on the end.
It held about a pint of .........................petrol.
A small bit was put outside the entrance to the nest and light, the rest
was pumped into the nest under pressure. It was remarkably effective,
the wall survived, the wasps didn't. Strangely enough I survived too,
not sure how, most stupid thing, well almost, that I had done up to that
point in my life.
--
Bill

On 03/09/2011 22:38, Dean Heighington wrote:


So I jumped out the cab, reached for my Rothenberger blow torch (on the
passenger seat) and incinerated the little ****er.

Today (still in pain) I spent the afternoon at a family barbecue, torch to
hand, protecting everyone from the bloody useless but pesky things... Last
count was 25 me, wasps nil.

I am now a hero

Top man. I hate the *******s.

What is the point of wasps?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

The Medway Handyman writes:

On 03/09/2011 22:38, Dean Heighington wrote:


So I jumped out the cab, reached for my Rothenberger blow torch (on the
passenger seat) and incinerated the little ****er.

Top man. I hate the *******s.

What is the point of wasps?

Pollination and killing other insects (rather horribly).

--
Jón Fairbairn
http://www.chaos.org.uk/~jf/Stuff-I-dont-want.html (updated 2010-09-14)

On Sep 4, 8:24*am, Jon Fairbairn wrote:
The Medway Handyman writes:

On 03/09/2011 22:38, Dean Heighington wrote:

So I jumped out the cab, reached for my Rothenberger blow torch (on the
passenger seat) and incinerated the little ****er.
Top man. *I hate the *******s.

What is the point of wasps?

Pollination and killing other insects (rather horribly).

--
Jón Fairbairn * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *(updated 2010-09-14)

I have to accept the pollination and insect removal, but as a bee
keeper I dislike them pretty intensely - they are smaller than honey
bees but more aggressive and can do major damage to a weak hive at
this time of year.

in 1066025 20110904 012021 The Medway Handyman wrote:
On 03/09/2011 22:38, Dean Heighington wrote:


So I jumped out the cab, reached for my Rothenberger blow torch (on the
passenger seat) and incinerated the little ****er.

Today (still in pain) I spent the afternoon at a family barbecue, torch to
hand, protecting everyone from the bloody useless but pesky things... Last
count was 25 me, wasps nil.

I am now a hero

Top man. I hate the *******s.

What is the point of wasps?

The point? Do you believe in an Intelligent Designer? ;-)

Bob Martin wrote:

The point? Do you believe in an Intelligent Designer? ;-)

Let's assume there is and that s/he/it made wasps on a Sunday morning ...
Grumpy at having to work on the day of 'rest' and with a massive hangover
from a late & boozy Saturday night! B-)

Apparently, frogs eat wasps. I have a book called 'Does Anything Eat Wasps'
which is published by New Scientist Magazine- full of Q&As from it's Last
Word column.

My van's seatback is intact as my blowtorch is the trigger variety and can
be used for a very short burst of flame... Just right for wasps

--
What else are opposable thumbs for? Get to me at
masterfix{at}btinternet{dot}com

Jon Fairbairn wrote:
What is the point of wasps?
Pollination and killing other insects (rather horribly).

Do wasps pollinate anything? I thought they were carnivores.
Admittedly, there's the fig wasp which causes figs to reproduce,
but that's from the wasp laying larvae in them AFAICR.

JGH

jgharston writes:

Jon Fairbairn wrote:
What is the point of wasps?
Pollination and killing other insects (rather horribly).

Do wasps pollinate anything? I thought they were carnivores.
Admittedly, there's the fig wasp which causes figs to reproduce,
but that's from the wasp laying larvae in them AFAICR.

Some plants specifically (eg water figwort). Im no biologist,
but wasps that eat nectar surely pollinate.

--
Jón Fairbairn
http://www.chaos.org.uk/~jf/Stuff-I-dont-want.html (updated 2010-09-14)

In message , Jon Fairbairn
writes
jgharston writes:

Jon Fairbairn wrote:
What is the point of wasps?
Pollination and killing other insects (rather horribly).

Do wasps pollinate anything? I thought they were carnivores.
Admittedly, there's the fig wasp which causes figs to reproduce,
but that's from the wasp laying larvae in them AFAICR.

Some plants specifically (eg water figwort). Im no biologist,
but wasps that eat nectar surely pollinate.

On a slightly different tack:
When wasps come into the house, they usually make straight for a window
(presumably to try and escape).

My questions a
1. Why do they want to come in the first place?
2. Why do they resist all attempts to let them out? If you open the part
of the window where they are banging their heads, why do they still
refuse to fly out? They either continue banging their heads on the
glass, or else move to another pane which isn't open!
--
Ian

"Ian Jackson" wrote in message
...
In message , Jon Fairbairn
writes
jgharston writes:

Jon Fairbairn wrote:
What is the point of wasps?
Pollination and killing other insects (rather horribly).

Do wasps pollinate anything? I thought they were carnivores.
Admittedly, there's the fig wasp which causes figs to reproduce,
but that's from the wasp laying larvae in them AFAICR.

Some plants specifically (eg water figwort). Im no biologist,
but wasps that eat nectar surely pollinate.

On a slightly different tack:
When wasps come into the house, they usually make straight for a window
(presumably to try and escape).

My questions a
1. Why do they want to come in the first place?
2. Why do they resist all attempts to let them out? If you open the part
of the window where they are banging their heads, why do they still refuse
to fly out? They either continue banging their heads on the glass, or else
move to another pane which isn't open!

There is no glass in nature so they are confused.
They don't have a big brain to work it out and can't teach other wasps the
solution.
If it becomes a survival issue evolution will provide them with a solution,
probably a glass cutter.

On Mon, 5 Sep 2011 12:00:46 +0100
"dennis@home" wrote:



"Ian Jackson" wrote in
message ...
In message , Jon Fairbairn
writes
jgharston writes:

Jon Fairbairn wrote:
What is the point of wasps?
Pollination and killing other insects (rather horribly).


snip

My questions a
1. Why do they want to come in the first place?
2. Why do they resist all attempts to let them out? If you open the
part of the window where they are banging their heads, why do they
still refuse to fly out? They either continue banging their heads
on the glass, or else move to another pane which isn't open!

There is no glass in nature so they are confused.
They don't have a big brain to work it out and can't teach other
wasps the solution.
If it becomes a survival issue evolution will provide them with a
solution, probably a glass cutter.


Now that would be an evil insect! Successful, though.
--
Davey.

"dennis@home" wrote:
"Ian Jackson" wrote in message
...

There is no glass in nature so they are confused.
They don't have a big brain to work it out and can't teach other wasps the solution.
If it becomes a survival issue evolution will provide them with a
solution, probably a glass cutter.

So, nothing to do with being off their faces on fermented fallen apples
then...

--
What else are opposable thumbs for? Get to me at
masterfix{at}btinternet{dot}com