atwifa wrote:

They have not started yet on my peaches. How do commercial growers cope?
Is there anything that can be done to protect fruit from the blighters?

just a general point (and likely a contentious one at that): but i've never
come across a good reason for destroying wasps' nests. it's always seemed
to me like killing all the lions on the plain. they're important predators,
and you need to be somewhat witless to come to any harm around them.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

You reckon so? You're lucky. I've been stung without deliberate
provocation on a couple of occasions. Once when our dog was stung,
jumped sideways, and knocked me over near the nest (talk about bad
luck). Most recently when a wasp that crawled under my shirt collar
without my noticing took offence at the constriction when I moved.
Within ten minutes I was white and shaking so badly I had to sit down.
I'm not allergic to many things, but if I'm ever stung again I'm heading
straight for A&E. I tolerate -- just -- individual wasps in the garden,
but show no mercy to queens hunting for nest sites. A wasp in the house
is a dead wasp.

regards
sarah


--
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'amitiel.demon.do.uk' will soon cease to function.
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Think of it as evolution in action :-)