Potential wasp nest problm

Buddhist ethical conduct including the Five Precepts (Pañcasikkhāpada), and Eightfold Ethical Conduct (Aṭṭhasīla).
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Polar Bear
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Polar Bear »

tiltbillings wrote:
polarbuddha101 wrote: I would go out to smoke a cigarette
Self inflicted disease. I wonder how that fits into the 1st rule of training.
Generally speaking I don't think smoking cigarettes breaks the first precept, but certainly it's a nasty habit that I need to quit. The tanha for smoking is just rather strong so renouncing the habit once and for all is pretty hard. But anyway, this is a red herring, my smoking has nothing to do with killing wasps or not.

If you really want to get rid of the wasps Digity, then I suggest spraying some deterrent like Corrine wound up doing that will get them to leave and prevent them from coming back.

:anjali:
"I don't envision a single thing that, when developed & cultivated, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed & cultivated, leads to great benefit."

"I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about such suffering & stress as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about suffering & stress."
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marc108
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by marc108 »

Just get a hose with a strong spray attachment and blast out the nest. This isn't going to kill them, just destroy the nest. Wasps like to start to build nests under my siding most summers... I blast them out and they never come back. I've never found a dead wasp from the blasts of water either.

Just make sure you are close enough to the indoors to get inside quickly before they swarm.
"It's easy for us to connect with what's wrong with us... and not so easy to feel into, or to allow us, to connect with what's right and what's good in us."
Bakmoon
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Bakmoon »

marc108 wrote:Just get a hose with a strong spray attachment and blast out the nest. This isn't going to kill them, just destroy the nest. Wasps like to start to build nests under my siding most summers... I blast them out and they never come back. I've never found a dead wasp from the blasts of water either.

Just make sure you are close enough to the indoors to get inside quickly before they swarm.
:goodpost:

I agree with this method. And even if a few die, there is no intention to kill, so no bad kamma.
The non-doing of any evil,
The performance of what's skillful,
The cleansing of one's own mind:
This is the Buddhas' teaching.
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Kim OHara
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Kim OHara »

I don't want to sound grumpy or holier-than-thou but two very basic points bother me about this whole thread:
(1) We have been through it all before - endlessly. This - http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=16026 - is just one of many.
(2) If we are this concerned about a few wasps - which outnumber people by dozens or hundreds to one and are replaced by others every year - why aren't we showing more concern (or even as much concern) for children dying of starvation or poor hygiene right across the third world, innocent civilians dying in civil wars across Africa and the Middle East, whole eco-systems ruined by pollution, deforestation and (I don't want to start another thread on this topic but I've got to say it) climate change?

:namaste:
Kim
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Lazy_eye
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Lazy_eye »

Kim O'Hara wrote:I don't want to sound grumpy or holier-than-thou but two very basic points bother me about this whole thread:
(1) We have been through it all before - endlessly. This - http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=16026 - is just one of many.
(2) If we are this concerned about a few wasps - which outnumber people by dozens or hundreds to one and are replaced by others every year - why aren't we showing more concern (or even as much concern) for children dying of starvation or poor hygiene right across the third world, innocent civilians dying in civil wars across Africa and the Middle East, whole eco-systems ruined by pollution, deforestation and (I don't want to start another thread on this topic but I've got to say it) climate change?

:namaste:
Kim
I see your point, Kim, but I'm not sure the two issues are entirely comparable. The reason for this thread is that wasps present an problem for those trying to observe the first precept.

Having difficulties/concern over this problem doesn't preclude being concerned about the wider issues you raise. They are very important. But they are not related to precept observance per se.
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Kim OHara
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Kim OHara »

Lazy_eye wrote:Having difficulties/concern over this problem doesn't preclude being concerned about the wider issues you raise.
I know it doesn't. But I do think our practice is really unbalanced if we spend so much time trying to look out for ants and wasps and (to all appearances) so little time trying to look out for people.

:meditate:
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Digity
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Digity »

The wasps have in fact built a nest inside a hole in the cement part of my porch. I see tons of them coming in and out of the hole. It's very tempting to just spray the damn hole with wasp spray, but I'll try to deal with it some other way. Right now I'm kind of just ignoring the issue. It's the last week of August. By October/November I'm guessing the nest will due off since winter will be just around the corner. I'm wondering if I should just ignore it for the time being. I have no idea how big the nest is or anything. It's not visible at all. All I see is a lot of wasps coming in and out of the hole.
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Kim OHara
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Kim OHara »

Digity wrote:The wasps have in fact built a nest inside a hole in the cement part of my porch. I see tons of them coming in and out of the hole. It's very tempting to just spray the damn hole with wasp spray, but I'll try to deal with it some other way. Right now I'm kind of just ignoring the issue. It's the last week of August. By October/November I'm guessing the nest will due off since winter will be just around the corner. I'm wondering if I should just ignore it for the time being. I have no idea how big the nest is or anything. It's not visible at all. All I see is a lot of wasps coming in and out of the hole.
If you haven't been stung in six months, you're probably not going to be stung. :thumbsup:
If they do die off in winter, then you won't have a problem. :thumbsup:
If they don't die off over winter, but just get less active, you will know that they are a species which maintains long-term colonies. Such species can make huge colonies over time - e.g. filling a whole hollow tree trunk in nature - and you will need to think again about consequences for your house. I don't think that calls for a :thumbsup:
Locating the nest within the structure, and identifying the species, would be priorities.

:namaste:
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Digity
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Digity »

Before winter comes I plan to fill the hole with wasp spray and then cover the hole with foam and cement so nothing can get in/out. However, this should be long after the wasps are gone. I live in Canada so we get cold winters. Spraying the hole with wasp spray will just be a precautionary measure. In theory, hole should be empty when I seal it off.
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Kim OHara
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Kim OHara »

Digity wrote:Before winter comes I plan to fill the hole with wasp spray and then cover the hole with foam and cement so nothing can get in/out. However, this should be long after the wasps are gone. I live in Canada so we get cold winters. Spraying the hole with wasp spray will just be a precautionary measure. In theory, hole should be empty when I seal it off.
Sounds good!

:thumbsup:
Kim
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manas
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by manas »

Sekha wrote:
Mojo wrote:I'd go for extermination
and what about the first precept?
True followers of the Buddha's teaching are supposed to be ready to die for their moral values.
Hi sekha,

here's the problem. Aiui it's extremely hard to get born as a human being. To get born as an insect, it's easy as falling off a log. So weighing things up, I think that if there is a real risk to human life, that sometimes we need to make a difficult choice - with a heavy heart yes, but still, I would not risk my life or the lives of my nearest and dearest, for the sake of not killing a bunch of wasps, sorry. Human life is too precious. Consider also this scenario: the op does nothing, and then one day the ceiling gives way and dumps an entire colony of startled, angry wasps into his living room. (Ceilings can sometimes give way, it does happen.) Seriously, we have to be practical here.

:anjali:
To the Buddha-refuge i go; to the Dhamma-refuge i go; to the Sangha-refuge i go.
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Schaublin
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Schaublin »

Kim OHara wrote:I don't want to sound grumpy or holier-than-thou but two very basic points bother me about this whole thread:
(1) We have been through it all before - endlessly. This - http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=16026 - is just one of many.
(2) If we are this concerned about a few wasps - which outnumber people by dozens or hundreds to one and are replaced by others every year - why aren't we showing more concern (or even as much concern) for children dying of starvation or poor hygiene right across the third world, innocent civilians dying in civil wars across Africa and the Middle East, whole eco-systems ruined by pollution, deforestation and (I don't want to start another thread on this topic but I've got to say it) climate change?

:namaste:
Kim
The wasps are before him and a practical solution to encouraging them to live elsewhere can be accomplished. That is the best anyone can do.
Digity
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by Digity »

This nest is driving me nuts. My plan is to just let it die off until the winter and then sealing up the crack where they got in. Is that safe or will wasps still be in the wall in the winter hibernating? If I see that it's not active (i.e. none are coming out of the crack) can I just seal it up and not worry? I know some people sealed up a crack and then the wasps got into the house, because they didn't have a way out. However, I think these people did this when the nest was still very active. I'm frustrated, because there was so many swarming around in front of my house and I found a dead one inside my house. It's tempting to just call an exterminator, but I'm trying to do the compassionate thing.
santa100
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by santa100 »

You might want to try one of those natural repellants and see if it works..

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sour ... 3di45DFyRA
beeblebrox
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Re: Potential wasp nest problm

Post by beeblebrox »

Digity wrote:This nest is driving me nuts. My plan is to just let it die off until the winter and then sealing up the crack where they got in. Is that safe or will wasps still be in the wall in the winter hibernating? If I see that it's not active (i.e. none are coming out of the crack) can I just seal it up and not worry? I know some people sealed up a crack and then the wasps got into the house, because they didn't have a way out. However, I think these people did this when the nest was still very active. I'm frustrated, because there was so many swarming around in front of my house and I found a dead one inside my house. It's tempting to just call an exterminator, but I'm trying to do the compassionate thing.
Hi Digity,

That sounds like a good plan... just make sure that the colony's actually died out, and that their new queens are gone before you seal in the crack.

I did some googling and found the following:
At a certain time of the year (often around autumn), the bulk of the wasp colony dies away, leaving only the young mated queens alive. During this time they leave the nest and find a suitable area to hibernate for the winter.
After emerging from hibernation during early summer, the young queens search for a suitable nesting site. Upon finding an area for their colony, the queen constructs a basic wood fiber nest roughly the size of a walnut into which she will begin to lay eggs.
The sperm that was stored earlier and kept dormant over winter is used to fertilize the eggs being laid. The storage of sperm inside the queen allows her to lay a considerable number of fertilized eggs without the need for repeated mating with a male wasp. For this reason a single queen is capable of building an entire colony by herself.
Wasp queens generally (but not always) create new nests each year, probably because the weak construction of most nests render them uninhabitable after the winter.
and:
When hibernating, the Queen wasp leaves the nest for a warmer place where it may wrap itself in a cocoon to keep itself warm. The Queen wasps mainly protect their wings and antennae under their bodies as these are vital to them. Most of them die during winter as a result of falling prey to insects such as spiders.
:anjali:
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