Pests

[tracy]

New information on the grey squirrel. Thanks to the RFS weekly newsletter for this:

More evidence of grey squirrels and their prey

A study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology says that grey squirrels and common avian predators such as Sparrowhawks are not linked to declining numbers of songbirds. This is further evidence that songbird numbers are more likely to be falling because of changes to farming and woodland management.

The study, led by Stuart Newson of the British Trust for Ornithology, looked at 22 out of 29 potential prey species.

Details are in ‘Population change of avian predators and grey squirrels in England:

is there evidence for an impact on avian prey populations?’, Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol 47, no. 2 at www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123314383/issue.

See also ‘Grey squirrels: no long-term harm to birds’ in RFS E-news no. 176 (13 February 2010).

More information:

* Grey Squirrel Control - The FC’s useful and detailed guide on controlling damage by grey squirrels is available to download at www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/fcpn004.pdf/$file/fcpn004.pdf.

* European Squirrel Initiative - The latest newsletter (April 2010) is now out and depicts a grey squirrel with a spotted flycatcher’s egg in its mouth. Log on to www.europeansquirrelinitiative.org

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[carlight]

suppose some human sypathy with squirrels is apt - both species happily destroy their own habitats .

ahem ,sorry .

tis coming up to their season ,though .

and i don't like the noises they make (somewhere between magpie and mistle thrush ,withy a hint of hammer horror), or is that just the devon ones ?

[Exeldama]

Nature will untimatley find a balance its more an issue of what damage and loss we are willing to stomach whilst this occurs. The Face of our land and wildlife wil change as it always has. Personally i have no time for the things......thats mainly due to a sentimental wish to se our Reds kick their a***..patriotism, how irrational. Plus eating my trees....

Did anyone know that rats are adapting fast to human junk food... they have apparently evolved an additional gene that alows for the more rapid digestion of protein (burgers).

[Henrietta]

I am concerned that wasps are regarded as pests. We have had problems in the loft with wasp nests, due to the house being tile hung and they got in under the eaves. We have since plugged up all the holes although we did miss one and they got in and made a nest in the wall which happened to be right behind the bed. Sometimes, when it had been very hot in the day, I could hear a noise which sounded something like a cat purring. It took me ages to realise it was the sound of the wasps fanning the nest. I did worry about using the lawn mower near them, but they didn't seem to care. They forage in gardens and eat a lot of pests like aphids. They only become a problem in late summer or autumn when looking for sugary food. All summer they go out and bring food back to the grubs, which secrete a sweet sticky substance which the wasps feed on. When this food dries up, the wasps then go looking for rotting fruit or sugary foods like fizzy drinks, but they are already dying. I think they are fascinating creatures and I certainly wouldn't kill them.

[Kentish Man]

You could try what the bee-keepers do and make some syrupy fondant for the wasps to help them at the end of autumn - you might need quite a bit though if there's hordes! Also, make sure they are not Asian hornets - another invasive species to watch out for - they are killing off our already struggling bees: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/beekeeping/7585774/Asian-hornet-threatens-British-bees.html

[Henrietta]

I think it is only the queen wasp that overwinters, so it would be pointless anyway to feed the workers. Bad news about the hornets. British bees don't know how to defend themselves. Apparently, bees that have always lived in areas where hornets are have a different method of dealing with them. When the hornet scout comes across a bee hive, the bees all retreat inside the hive. The scout enters the hive and they still retreat further in. The bees slowly surround the hornet and at a given command they all pounce and cover the hornet. They then heat it up. the bees can survive two degrees more than the hornet and he is cooked. As he never gets back to the other hornets, their position is saved. Unfortunately, the British bees go out to meet the hornet and are picked off. The hornet then goes back and bring the rest on a raiding party, where the rest of the bees are killed. This usually happens when the hornet grubs are growing and they need more food. The hornets take the bee grubs back to their own nest.

[Kentish Man]

Its such a different world to ours isn't it? Although there are some comparisons to the Viking raids of old! I have a great bee-keeping book by Ted Hooper that is endlessly fascinating. We have so much to learn about these precious ecosystems and their interactions and its vital we take steps to protect them as much as possible. I wish we had a biosecurity system more like New Zealand's - they even washed the dirt off my boots when I got off the plane!

[Henrietta]

We went to NZ in 1982 and before we got off the plane we were all sprayed with insecticide. I don't think they do that now.