There seems to be a plague of wasps around this area this summer.  I’ve lost count of the number of friends who have managed to rid themselves of a nest but are still under siege from the rotten things.

What purpose exactly do these rotten insects serve for the world?  I’ve yet to find one.  I did hear one amusing suggestion – bees make honey, wasps make Marmite!  If only that were true – Marmite can be quite a handy ingredient even if you don’t like it neat on toast and I love Twiglets, can eat them until my mouth is raw and burning!

But, I digress – on to how to keep them under control.  In a word – jam.  It doesn’t need to be your good jam and it can even be marmalade or curd or Nutella or indeed anything sweet and sticky.  I use the stuff which is growing green furry bits because a certain unnamed teenager has stuck a buttery knife in the jar last time she wanted some instead of using a jam spoon.  And yes, I am old enough to have jam spoons or should that be OCD enough to have them?!

Gather some old jam jars, mix your mouldy old jam or even use new, bargain stuff if you don’t have a teenager who double dips from butter to jam, with a little water or the leftovers of fizzy drinks or squash and put about an inch in the bottom of each jar.  Cover the jar with cling film and secure with an elastic band.  Poke a hole in the top with a skewer then work the hole with your finger until it is big enough to get a finger through and dot these jars around the garden.  It’s amazing how many of the nasty little blighters this captures!