We’ve got a few fish tanks in which we raise メダカ・*medaka・*Japanese Rice Fish outside our place. They’re pretty, and they keep the mosquitos down. We’ve also got water hyacinths・ホテイアオイ , so the tops of the tanks are open.
A problem that started happening recently is that wasps (usually アシナガバチ・paper wasps, but sometimes オオスズメバチ・Asian giant wasps) continually come to the water to drink. I don’t begrudge their drinking, but it now sometimes takes 15 minutes or so to feed the fish because we have to wait for the wasps to leave. When the paper wasps leave, they always fly north over our house, so I presume the nest is somewhere off our property.
Does anyone have any ideas about how to deal with the wasps?
8 comments
Get a poison suction first aid kit, its an absolute life saver and should be present in all homes in japan imo, saved me from even any swelling or discomfort many times (live in rural area and have been stung a dozen times by ashinaga & kiiro suzume bachi) https://amzn.asia/d/8zk0JoF
I, for one, welcome our new wasp overlords.
Seriously, though, wasps hate smells like mint, thyme or lemon grass. I would get some peppermint oil ハッカ油 or other essential oil and wipe a few drops on the outside of the medaka bowls. Beware, this can be harmful to cats and dogs so if you have outdoor pets try something else.
You got a heck of an ecosystem for observing these wasps. Not sure how many come there, but when they are drinking water they should be very chill.
You could try hanging a fake wasp nest somewhere in vicinity, I heard that could work.
If the tanks with medaka are not too big, you could put some netting temporarily that doesn’t let the wasps through, and see what happens.
No idea if they work, but these fake dragonflies are all the rage in the camping community for warding off nasties
https://amzn.asia/d/golu0m5
I had this issue at my old house and we would make diy traps with 2 liter bottles, honey, fruit, beer, and dish soap. There’s probably better instructions somewhere now. Look up DIY wasp traps, it’s easy to do.
On Amazon I see some fancier ones that have solar and LEDs for night attraction. I’m not sure if those actually work better though
Enjoy them while they last, they will, due to global warming and loss of biodiversity, disappear for good sooner than later.
Unless the wasps have their nests right next to where they’re drinking it’s improbable they will attack you just because you’re doing stuff near them. I’ve spent hours a day for years working in greenhouses with wasps, bees and even trapped, agitated giant hornets in very close proximity and have never been attacked by any of them. The horseflies, on the other hand…
I thought you meant WASP for a sec