I put a pile of turf to rot down to make compost. now it looks like wasps have made a home in it. I have two questions.
do wasps nest under ground?
and what is the best way to deal with them?
Most native UK wasps will use a hole in the ground , cavity wall etc or build a paper hanging nest that will house upwards of 200 new wasps.
Some nests can over winter and become massive constructs with multiple queens laying like crazy and reach four to five feet across .. these big nests are often found in roof voids in places that have a high average temp such as old folks homes and hospitals.
The last one I took out like this filled 15 black bin bags , the wasps had gnawed the roof trusses to which the ceiling was nailed so that only a few mm of timber was left supporting the plaster boards. Had to construct a massive room filling support to stop the ceiling & roof coming down on the residents. Rentokil had supposedly exterminated the nest three time that year.
There is a newish kid on the block called the European or Continental wasp they are about 35 mm long and rarely use the ground for nests much preferring to put a nest 2 to 30 feet off the ground in shrubs , bushes and hanging from trees .
So if your wasps are these monsters give them a wide berth , seven people died as a result of being multiply stung by them in France last year apparently .
One of their stings can kill a healthy small dog or make a five year old child very ill.
These European wasp invaders have taken up residence in SA18 3BZ this year 7 are very close to our home .
So do be aware that they are capable of colonising almost anywhere in the UK even if it does tend to be a wee bit wet most years.