unwanted nesters !

[Elzidor]

Anyone got any ideas on how (or if) it is possible to stop wasps from nesting in my bird box ?!

I know that wasps are good for the garden because they eat aphids etc. but my dog attacks them and gets stung for her trouble !

I know how to get rid of a wasps nest but, apart from removing the box altogether, how can I stop wasps nesting there again this year and give the birds a go? :)

Any advice gratefully received.
Thanks

[Elzidor]

Found the following suggestion whilst googling ...

If wasps repeatedly build in your nest box, coat the inside of the roof with a non-toxic substance like Vaseline or Ivory soap: this will prevent them from building.

Will give it a try.

[WoodyAcres]

I have had a problem with wasp nests in my boxes this year - 5 out of 9 boxes were used by Wasps.

I am going to try this suggestion....

[barn owl]

i get around this by installing a glass bottle on a tree in the garden, its see through and has a hole in the bottom, but the bottom rim is inverted and so a liquid of a mix of water and sugar can be held inside, the wasps fly in underneath and for some reason cant find their way out again, they eventually drown in the mixture and, last year there were about 80 to a hundred in there. my nest boxes were wasp free.

[magnuspullus]

To make a wasp trap, you will need:

An old 2 litre plastic drink bottle
A knife or sharp implement
Something sugary and attractive to wasps.Start by cutting the top off the bottle at the point where it becomes as wide as the body of the bottle. The bottom part of the bottle should now look a bit like a jar with a lumpy base. Put the wasp attracting stuff into the bottom of the bottle. Put the top of the bottle back upside down so it forms a funnel leading down into the bottle. Seal the edges if there is not a good contact all the way round, using tape, gum, leaves, whatever is most appropriate. The wasps smell the sugary food and fly down the funnel into the bottle. Having eaten they try and leave but here they encounter a problem Wasp logic dictates that when escaping from inside something you fly to the highest point. The wasps buzz round and round the top, but very rarely notice the exit further down.

[thud]

My wife uses jars with lids - jam jars, even Dolmio jars. She puts about a dessert spoonful of raspberry or strawberry jam into the bottom of the jar, then about one third fills it with hot water. Then she punches a hole through the lid and puts it on. I once tried to rationalize this last operation - I drilled a 1/4 or 5/16 inch hole (say 6mm) - it seemed to work.

The traps start off slow, but the more wasps that get caught in it, the more seem to try to get in! The more 'fragrant' the jam the better it seems to work too.