Paper wasps love cats. While looking at Queen Anne's Lace today for BST cats, I had to deal with a paper wasp that was doing the same. Paper wasps seem to be always trolling my stinging nettles for caterpillars. When the wasp finds the closed leaf of a RA or QM, the wasp lands and checks for an easy meal. I deal with the wasps by using those bug zapper tennis rackets. I just hold the racket under the wasps and the wasps usually land on the racket. I also get rid of any paper wasp nests I find on my property.

Paper wasps are important predators and we do need them, JUST NOT ANYWHERE NEAR MY CATERPILLARS!!! ;)

KC

What you can do is bring your cats in.

I value my wasps highly, since they really help control my rose slug problem. When I found monarch cats on my milkweed I promptly relocated some and brought the rest in. I am currently babysitting five cats and two chrysalides. But my problem is not just the wasps but not having enough feed in my garden. My swamp milkweed is all really young yet, hardly enough to support the twelve cats I have removed.

I take leaves from roadside milkweed plants, washing them carefully and storing themm in the fridge.

I wait til they are off the plant (thanks to Randy for this tip), spray them with a weak solution of soapy water, then stomp to my heart's content.

They can go elsewhere to feed, but not in my yard!

Greenhaven - you are doing a great thing and going out of your way to raise some Monarchs! Hurrah for you!

Susan

Thanks, susan...I'll see how I feel about it when I have to take the darn things on vacation with me, lol!

I haven't seen or noticed that problem with me, but if it does happen, I have container-planted host plants and will put them in the screened-in castles that I bought from livemonarch.com (http://www.livemonarch.com/store_enclosures.php). This is where I put full-grown cats ready to pupate so that they can do so safely. So far I only have 1 BST pupa and about 6 eggs that were laid on Sunday. I have to watch out more for spiders right now.

I've seen it many times, Larry. One flew up a caterpillar sleeve that I had my own hand in to kill a monarch cat in it, and I've seen them roll up sulphur cats and carry them off. Wasps are the #1 predator on caterpillars, at least in my garden.
Sherry

Thanks for the answers. My plants are in containers so I am going to look into the enclosures mentioned earlier.

Ugh....MissSherry.....scary thought having a wasp up your sleeve (literally). When I'm collecting babies, I'm always afraid they are going to fly right up and try to grab one, so I kind of hold my hand over the fennel flowers to protect them. I don't know if that does any good but it makes ME feel better.

Susan

Yes, it was terrible, Susan! I got so mad I wanted to kill that wasp right away, but I didn't have anything handy, so I grabbed a can of WD40 that happened to be in my garden - I'm sure it looked like a comedy act, me chasing wasps and spraying WD40 around! Unfortunately, I kept missing it!
Sherry

Drat - I bet that WD40 would have gotten that Wasp, too - it works for just about anything! Whoo - I bet that was a hoot - I can see it now in me mind's eye! Careful, though, don't want you slipping and sliding on that well-oiled grass now.

Susan

I was looking through the oldest posts before they disappear and saw this one which reminded me ....

Last year, I did not have as much trouble with paper wasps as in previous years. Last year was also the first year I've not found a yellow jacket nest in my yard (got this house early 2005). I didn't really wonder why. I was just thankful. Well, last fall, when the leaves were falling off the neighbor's sweetgum two doors down, the reason became clear: a big hornets' nest. Hornets love hunting paper wasps and yellow jackets. They probably hunt caterpillars too but I never seen them trolling around my plants so I'm currently a big believer in having bald faced hornets in my neighborhood.

KC