Other than flipping up the door and giving a sharp blast with the hose nozzle to dislodge the forming hive, is there a better way to deter wasps from wanting to use that nest-box? I don't feel comfortable spraying with a pesticide, I'd rather deter them and redirect them so they'll go do their thing elsewhere. It's kinda scary to flip up the lid and find the wasps inside so I would like to just keep them out of it permanently.

If I took the door off the nestbox would the wasps be less inclined to use it? I suppose a bird that likes a relatively open niche might still use the box--I think the box is too narrow for a pidgeon nest but maybe a robin might like it, who knows yet what bird will take over the box without a door, but the main hope is that the openess with discourage the wasps.

I need your best suggestions please,

Kindly,

Trudi

Happened to see your post on this forum and I see you got an answer, but wanted to let others know what to do about wasps in birdboxes. This is a common problem and what we do that seems to work besides weekly monitoring, is to rub Ivory soap on the top and upper sides of the box where the wasps like to start their nests. This does not harm birds and deters the wasps. Other soaps may contain chemicals and fragrances that could cause problems, so stick with Ivory.

Susan