paper wasp hive

[diehard]

what is the best way to preserve a paper wasp nest to be displayed on a limb in a living room.

[AndyB]

put it in a garbage bag and spray "SEVEN" in the bag its an insecticides.(i think thats how its spelled )

[KevinH]

sevin, Ive always just used hairspray though

[diehard]

I have a can of military issue permitherine (insecticide) but am mainly concerned with the actual paper material. hairspray sounds like a good idea. what else??

[Lone Wolf Taxidermy]

Diehard.....I will tell you what I had happen with a hornet nest I captured once. It was hanging low and over a stream. I initially, at the edge of dark when all hornets were in and inactive, I tried to put a canvas sack over it, tie it off and cut the limb . Well I slipped and bumped the nest and the race was on....lol. By the way...this wasn't my first bee rodeo...had done it before. Got one sting but soldiered on.

I got a couple cans of wasp/hornet spray and just totally douced the nest. Killed out all the hornets and got the nest. It is now soaked with bug killer and very wet on the outside so I handled it with care to not tear the wet shell. Remember it does ran on these and doesn't destroy them. The are quite durable.

Now I hang it in the shop to dry. Sounds like the end of the adventure ..right...wrong. About 7 to 10 days later the eggs that were laid inside the nest were changing to larve...and then on into hornets thru thier natural process. I come in the shop one morning and there are newly born hornets on the floor under the nest.

Therefore....if your nest was an active one you would want to take precautions this doesn't happen in ones living room. If it has been inactive for a while .... no worries...just spray it with the hairspray as mentioned to strengthen it.

True story!  Good luck with your project.

[Charles]

You could also put into the freezer for several days I would think................................always wanted one, now I know some tips.thanks Billy for the laugh

[diehard]

thanx ya'll im gonna press on with the hairspray, get it mounted and hang for a little while before returning to customer to just see what falls out. By the way, the life of a taxidermist, im allergic. I can deal with that, but I refuse to mount poisenous snakes. Thanx again

[Lone Wolf Taxidermy]

You could also put into the freezer for several days I would think................................always wanted one, now I know some tips.thanks Billy for the laugh

Hey Charles.... the freezer will indeed work on the nests in killing out any unwelcome visitors in the near future. However , and I don't know this ... only speculating, there could be an odor from any eggs and larve frozen ...killed...and then thawed, as they are drying.

Happy to give you a laugh,
Billy

[Terry Prouty]

I hope that I am not too late in answering this question.  If I am, then you can use this information for the next time you have a nest in your possession.

Anyway...

You do NOT need to do anything special to preserve a nest.  In fact, it would be best not to spray anything on it especially if you want to show the true natural colors.  I've noticed that preserving nests with various things tends to darken the colors.  You want the nest as natural as possible.  So, it is best to freeze the nest overnight to kill any unwanted pests and then just leave the nest "as is".  Here is an interesting link for you to check out regarding preserving & displaying nests:

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2006/10-4/hornetnest.html

 

what is the best way to preserve a paper wasp nest to be displayed on a limb in a living room.

[Ihntdeer]

Thanks Terry!

[Terry Prouty]

No problem!  I am glad that I could help. 

Most people think they need to preserve nests with something, but they DON'T need to at all!  I prefer to leave my nests natural because the true colors are displayed this way.  Preserving nests with something only darkens the colors and makes the nests seem unnatural. 

Thanks Terry!