"Tim Challenger" wrote in message
news:1100620641.qX3F1qHRt0AmHlVqNTpT9Q@teranews...

Wasps.
They scrape off bits of wood to make pulp for their nests.

*DING*

Well guessed. Yes, one day I was sitting on the bench a couple of metres
from the shed, fixing a bicycle puncture I think. I could hear this
persistent little scratching noise, and at first I thought it was a small
rodent or a bird. Eventually, I found it was a wasp scratching away at the
'decorative' barge board on the front of the shed - it acted like a sounding
board. I've seen quite a few of the blighters at my shed, as it was a real
bumper year for wasps. I knew that wasps needed wood to make their nests,
but I had supposed they used decaying wood as a source, not my blinking
shed!

The shed is only 2 years old, and when it was delivered it was saturated in
wood preservative, but I guess it's no longer smelly enough to put the wasps
off. I'm wondering if I will have to use some Cuprinol on it, and if that
will discourage them for a year or two. Ideas?

Rick