Wasps....Friend or Foe of Your Swing Seat?

Wasp Dear

Seldom do we think about you,

Wasp, dear, though you're God's creature too;

Might be owing to your severe sting,

And, then, your flash-like sudden fling;

We add to our aversion, strong,

Who does, hence, dare to hear your song...?

Copyright © Christuraj Alex 

At this time of year one question in particular pops up from our customers, here are some examples:

“We've been enjoying our bench over the past year. however, this week I have noticed that wasps appear to be eating it! They are stripping off the top silvery layer and revealing the previous more golden colour it was when it first arrived. Can you suggest what we can do to prevent this?”

Late last year we took delivery of a lovely three seater Kyokusen Oak Swing Seat. We've left it in the garden to weather and it's starting to look even more lovely. We do seem to have an issue, the wasps are finding the seat as lovely as we are, but they're nibbling the wood and taking it off somewhere for their nest. We've tried some citronella candles, but they keep coming back.  Have you or any of your customers had a similar experience? And can you offer any advice? 

“I bought a double swing for the children a few years ago and they love it! It has been a wonderful addition to our garden.  We are just having one small problem: the wasps keep stripping the wood from it to make their nests every year. I was wondering if you could recommend a product that you use to coat the wood so as to prevent the wasps from stripping any more?  If there is anything that you use I would be very grateful for any recommendations. “

Wasps are probably best known for disrupting summer picnics, but they are actually very important in keeping the ecosystem balanced. Without wasps, the world could be overrun with spiders and insects.

It is worth remembering that until the Queens leave the nest they are actually really good garden predators and won’t really do any damage to your garden furniture other than cosmetic,  but.. here’s some ideas to keep them away if you really want to….

Hang an artificial wasp nest nearby

Put a piece of fresh sawn oak near by   

Buy an Anti wasp oil

OR, and this is very much our preferred advice:

The life-cycle of a wasp is doing more good than harm in our gardens,  so we prefer to live and let live, and if you want further proof of this, please do read this excellent article below from Country Life Magazine as we really couldn't put it better ourselves and hope that this encourages you to let the little creatures see out their life cycle and then leave you to enjoy your swing seat in the beauty of the garden they have helped flourish

Click Here to Read Country Life's Article

If you would like to contribute a guest blog, please contact Siobhan at siobhan@sittingspiritually.co.uk