Caroline wrote: ↑06 Jul 2019, 09:54
At my old apiary site I was plagued by wasps every year, as it was a wasp nest hot spot. My new apiary is only half a mile away, but I'm hoping that with no 'nice, wasp suitable' bank directly opposite the hives it may not be such a problem. Time will tell.......
Cure for wasp trouble is big fat strong hives....they will not gain entrance.
I know this isn't always possible, a friend of mine has designed a tunnel entrance that slips inside the gap into the hive that seems to do the job. Essentially it's a 6 inch deep piece of wood cut to the length of the entrance, that you slide all the way inside the hive....You then (with chisel/router/husband etc) gouge out an entrance about 1-2inches wide over the 6 inches. Means any wasps have a 6 inch journey to get into a beehive and weaker colonies of bees find this much easier to defend.
Some recommend=underfloor entrances but I've not seen this to work with weak hives..