scuwp: My beef is with the fly/insect sprays being so ineffective.  I wonder if that's because we have gone so super-sensitive and eco-friendly with toxins that they are almost a waste of time.  In years past one puff of spray use to down most flying insects including wasps in seconds.  Nowadays you can empty a couple of cans it seems and they still keep on going.  

We have noticed this summer that wasps numbers are massively increased (Mt Roskill, Auckland). I called a Wasp Disposal place, but they can't help unless you know where the nest is and if it's on your property. They can apparently travel upto 1KM, so not really sure what to do. One PM I counted 22 flying around.
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Fred99: You can apparently catch one, carefully tie some cotton thread on between it's thorax and abdomen - without killing it or damaging it's wings.  Leave about 100mm hanging and let it go.  That will slow it down and make it easier to spot as it heads back to the nest.
I've tried this - but failed.  I put the captured wasps in the fridge in a jar to slow them down, but must have overdone it as they never recovered enough when they warmed up to fly.  I'm not game to try tying the thread when they're fully active.

Dratsab: I just had a chap round the other day to deal with a nest on the neighbours property. He said he's been in the business over 25 years and the noise about there being more wasps than usual is just that - noise. He said there's a population explosion about every 7 years but the winters in between will cull the numbers. In other words largely media fud. 

Fred99: You can apparently catch one, carefully tie some cotton thread on between it's thorax and abdomen - without killing it or damaging it's wings.  Leave about 100mm hanging and let it go.  That will slow it down and make it easier to spot as it heads back to the nest.
I've tried this - but failed.  I put the captured wasps in the fridge in a jar to slow them down, but must have overdone it as they never recovered enough when they warmed up to fly.  I'm not game to try tying the thread when they're fully active.

bazzer: 
Why leave 100mm hanging? Just leave the spool to unravel and follow it back to the nest!

networkn:

Fred99: You can apparently catch one, carefully tie some cotton thread on between it's thorax and abdomen - without killing it or damaging it's wings.  Leave about 100mm hanging and let it go.  That will slow it down and make it easier to spot as it heads back to the nest.
I've tried this - but failed.  I put the captured wasps in the fridge in a jar to slow them down, but must have overdone it as they never recovered enough when they warmed up to fly.  I'm not game to try tying the thread when they're fully active.

Officially the strangest thing I've read in 2014. 

Technofreak: They don't like Black Flag.

We found one on the upper story of our place today after seeing a greater than usual number of wasps about.



The Nest (after I'd sprayed with Black Flag)





The dead wasps