How to get Rid of Wasps Without Poison

 

Today I discovered the biggest wasp nest I've ever seen, right after I nearly stuck my face into it. Luckily, the wasps were pretty distracted and I had time to snap a photo before I sent them to the insect afterlife.

I Don't like wasps. One time, when I was a kid, my friend pissed off a wasp while we were skateboarding. She lost her balance and swung her arm out, hitting the wasp. He disappeared, but within a minute he had brought back up and they were everywhere. Although I was an innocent party to the assault on the wasp, they went after me. Probably because I was wearing a bright colored shirt, which apparently attracts wasps. Fun fact; Wasps, unlike bees, keep their stinger after using it. This allows them to sting over and over again. By the time I got away from the wasps, I had several spots that were swelling to the size of golf balls. My friend, not realizing how dangerous the situation really was, laughed the whole time and was untouched. 

Wasps aren't really all that bad though, the serve many important functions in the ecosystem. They eat pesky insects and are a food source for lots of other animals. Still, if they are close to the house it is best to remove them. Wasps are very territorial and you, kids, and pets may get stung.  If they are not close enough to bother anything, just let them live.

When removing wasps, wait until it's dark so the wasps are not active. You can spray them with a wasp spray, however these are highly toxic. With my chickens running around everywhere I worry that they would eat a poisoned wasp and get sick. A great alternative is to spray them down with soapy water. Just add dish soap into warm water, load into a squirt gun, and spray away.

For more information on wasps, including their history, this website has some interesting info.

More to come tomorrow, I have a bunch of pictures I need to put up as well as some updates on the farm. See you later ;)

A Chick Named Miracle

Hatching season is here, and our hens suck at it! So far we have had six hens go broody. Out of those six, one has been a successful mother. True, it is their first time raising babies; but their learning curve is really killing me... and the babies, unfortunately. Two hens gave up on their eggs before they were done. Another one hatched out her eggs successfully, but managed to crush half of the babies. We took the surviving chicks from her and are now raising them in a brooder. The other two crushed more eggs than they hatched. One of the crushed eggs I discovered a few days before hatching time. It was broken pretty bad and felt ice cold, but I noticed a tiny movement inside.

The egg after being cleaned up

 I thought there was no way the egg could make it, but I just couldn't manage to throw away an egg with a still-living chick inside. I took it inside, cleaned the shards of shell off, washed it with warm water on a cotton ball, and applied a tiny bit of neosporin to the tears in the membrane to keep it from drying out.

Another view of the damage, the shell was shattered.

Every time I checked on the egg I expected to find it dead, however, for nearly two days the it survived. Finally, I heard a flurry of peeping coming from the incubator and the chick was actually hatching!

Starting to push..

And out!

She was born with a crooked toe, but otherwise perfect :) I named her Miracle, because of her amazing survival. So, this hatching season could be going better, but it is the first for both us and the hens, so a few hiccups were to be expected. At least we have a whole brood of new babies, and the first generation born right here on the farm :)

Miracle and her crooked toe.