I don’t know why it’s taken me so long but I just looked up what the point of having wasps is. Apparently they’re very good crop pollinators and also eat aphids which can be very bad for crops.
That’s gnome way to treat a garden ornament.
They seem to be very fond of caterpillars.
I am not a natural born killer of wildlife. Anything but However this year we have exceptional numbers By the way tried coffee grounds burning. V successful. Nice relaxing meal out there tonight. Thanks for all the tips.
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As Vero says, place a plate with beer, or water and jam in full sunlight at least 5m from where you’re enjoying your beer. If you place the set up the wasp table half an hour before your partying begins, they will go there instead of pestering you. If you use a flat plate, put some pebbles in the plate so the wasps can rest on to drink.
It’s that easy.
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I have one bought from Amazon a few years back and bought another from Noz that was stupidly cheap a few months back to supplement it (under €2 I seem to recall). They work reasonably well, for flies at least, but fall down on the job if there is more than a slight breeze as the blades are very flimsy and need fairly still air to function. OTOH there are not so many flies around if it is breezy.
For reasons I don’t understand we’ve not been bothered with wasps much, even though we have a few nests in the garden but we leave them be and they leave us alone (the nearest is about 7m from where we eat). I have some traps if they become a problem but otherwise I would prefer not to kill them (I did knock down a new nest they were building under our parasol, mind, and sprayed the canvas before they could rebuild it).
Coffee grounds burning the way to go. Works brilliantly
A little wasp, just one, came yesterday to tax our roast chicken, it very industriously cut off a bit, really working at it, and then flew off with a chunk bigger than its head, quite an effort I’d have thought. It did it once more and then didn’t return. Hungry larvae at home no doubt, didn’t I read here that the adults are vegetarian and the larvae are carnivorous?
Edited because of officious autocorrect.
The “tennis racket” with batteries is a great device, we have one at home in Luxembourg and another at our holiday home in France 83.
Works a dream and can be fun.
In fact in a couple of restaurants they have them ready for use by clients.
I wasn’t trying to have a go 
, and we’ve had loads this year as well. Had to kill some myself a few weeks ago as they nested inside the pump housing for my off-roof water storage. They swarmed and I got stung several times when I turned the pump on, and I did need to water the plants.
Seldom get through a day without putting another dozen notches in the handle of the e-tennis raquet. But only flies and bluebottles -very satisfying if you catch one of the latter while flying - under arm return with a lot of top spin.
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Old post I know but relevant…
We have quite a few mostly Paper Wasps and the normal yellow jackets.
I respect them and when working outside restoring the masonry (using loads of water from our well), they come join me for a snack of water and mud and chalk and whatever….
They are marvellous creatures, and if you are calm, they are calm…especially paper wasps.
But…..by our converted hot tub to cold tub…they are not so welcome and yes, a shallow plate of water an beer well away always works and I’m happy and they are happy!
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Being calm and speaking gently to them works for me, too.
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We have many paper wasps and I do speak gently to them. I like to watch them land on the surface of the pool, drink and then take off again, quite happy to share as long as I’m not sploshing about. They have delicate long legs.
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When are you moving @Susannah ? And where to, if it’s not too nosy? Bon déménagement in any case.
I’ve had a fair few stings from those little wasps “with the dangly bits”. It’s all right if you know where the nest is as you can steer clear but if you come across a nest unwittingly you’ve been stung before you even see the buggers.
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Agreed - inside post box, frame of car door, lid of waste container, behind pictures, inside wardrobes. 
Their nests are wonderful, like beautifully rolled tiny cigars.
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Not nosy at all 
.
We (I) decided to downsize to a town with all conveniences and plenty of social and cultural stimulation before health and age prevent great undertakings. We will be n the centre of Aix en Provence. I have already bought a wheelie bag and a panier to blend in. Hope the doggos will like all the new sniffs they are 14 now, so very short walks.
Excuse if you only wanted to know the time and I’m waxing lyrical on how a watch works 
Thank you for your kind wishes.
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Yup…they are so quick to defend their little nests and I find that the initial sting does not really bother me but can be a bit itchy for quite a few days! 
I was wondering too! I’d not heard anything until comments yesterday! Sounds like a good plan. How long have you been at current place? What is the new place like?