How To Build A Wasp Nest Mobile
Austin, Texas is one of my favorite places to visit. My friend and fellow creative gardener, Austin Neal (photo below), lives in Austin. Yes. Austin from Austin. Dontcha just love that craziness? The last time I dropped in he toured me around all the local farmer’s markets and we ate our way through the Whole Foods corporate store while discussing the finer points of gardening. It was a blast. Austin is super garden-creative. Next to his front door, he has this totally interesting garden craft mobile hanging from the entryway ceiling – a wasp nest mobile. Wow. What a beautiful idea to help people see nature up close and personal.
I was rather fascinated in a scared-outta-my-brain sort of way with the nests even though they no longer contain the wasps. When I was 19 years old I was swarmed by a group of wasps and stung horrendously. My hand and arm swelled up to four times their normal size and I landed in the hospital because of it. Ever since then I have been a bit paranoid about wasps, yet they can be very important to nature as predators to detrimental insects and as pollinators for wildflowers and fruits. Outside of knocking down wasp nests that might be near a window or door entrance, it is best just to leave them alone and let them do their pollinator, living life, loving the flowers thing.
How To Build A Wasp Nest Mobile
- Knock down a wasp nest that is near your door or windows that causes a danger for people. Do not knock down wasps nest in nature that do not cause a danger – we need the wasps pollinating power in our gardens. And for the love of all things holy – BE CAREFUL! Wear protective clothing because I do not want you to get hurt. Repeat: BE CAREFUL!
- The preferred way to collect a wasp nest is to collect an empty one that is already devoid of wasps. Observe the nest in warm weather to make sure there are still no active wasps inside. Please do not kill the wasps with insecticides – these sprays are poisonous for you to inhale. It is best to capture wasps that have become a dangerous problem on your property with an all natural trap.
- Collect several wasp nests over time.
- Clip the wasp nests on a “photo mobile”.
- Hang from the ceiling.
Wasp nest murals are truly a creative craft you can do to show a little bit of nature in an unusual way. I guarantee that it will be a marvelous conversation starter. They are best placed in calm areas that do not receive a lot of wind. Thanks Austin, for showing my readers how to build a really unique garden craft. A wasp nest mobile puts a fun twist on a quiet garden niche.
Well. As a Southerner who childhood was filled with these things in the Fall – I would have never thought of this! Guess I am too frighten there might be one more larva in there!
Amazing though – it’s so beautiful I think. 🙂
I think I’d prefer eating at the Whole Foods cafe with Austin from Austin than tracking down wasp nest carcasses. That said I do appreciate his creativity.
I’ve been gardening since age four and nearing 50 and never been bit by a bee or a wasp in all that time. Since becoming a quadriplegic 12 years ago, I don’t get to interact with nature as closely as I like so would probably relish a situation where I could be susceptible to a bite (preferably where I can feel things from the chest down, of course.)
Every winter, I collect the wasps nests around, so I have quite a few. I’m definitely doing this. May leave it outside the front door to ward off Jehovah’s Witnesses.