What’s All the Buzz About Aullwood’s Decoy Wasp Nests? 

People are not the only ones who are pestered by wasps during the summer and fall. At Aullwood Audubon, wasps were creating a problem for some of the farms most beloved residents.  A creative concept – and an enthusiastic response from local volunteers helped provide a solution.  

How the Project Started  

One morning,  Aullwood staff noticed Butch and Sundance, two bonded gelding horses who live on the farm, had stopped using their horse shelter. Staff soon discovered the likely reason: wasps built a nest nearby. The horses, who prefer to stay together, avoided the shelter.  Wasps also frequently flew around the horses, sheep and cows, creating additional stress for the animals. Aullwood’s conservation staff began exploring whether decoy wasp nests could help discourage wasps from building nests near livestock.  The team decided to run a comparison test between a hand-made papier-mache wasp nest and a crocheted nest. After placing the decoys and monitoring  wasps behavior, it was determined that a crochet nest deterred the wasps far more successfully than the paper mache version.  

One charming observation with the crocheted nest was that the animals, especially the cows, enjoyed playing with the crochet nests providing additional enrichment for the animals.  

There was just one challenge. Between caring for Aullwood’s animals, managing the property, and connecting visitors with birds and conservation, staff did not have the capacity to crochet enough nests themselves.  That’s when the Dayton community stepped in!  

A Community-Driven Solution: Conservation Crafters  

To get the job finished in time to bring the animals peace of mind, Aullwood Audubon staff turned to the Dayton community.  

Staff created crochet kits that included the necessary color of yarn; a crochet pattern and Aullwood would utilize the farm wool to stuff the decoy nests, once they were complete. A call for support was put out on social  media asking local crocheters for help, and over 50 members of the public stepped up to lend their time and crochet hooks!  

Julia Smith, Aullwood Audubon Volunteer Coordinator, reflected on the project, “This is the kind of project that excited me because people can do in their homes to support our mission. We are meeting people where they are. This shows that you don’t have to be the stereotypical outdoorsy person to support a group like Audubon.” 

Among those who volunteered were a group of local women from Knitted Knockers—a non-profit that connects volunteer knitters and crocheters with breast cancer survivors to provide them with soft, made-with-love, handmade breast prosthetics. This time members put their crochet skills to work for Aullwood’s animals.  

Thanks to everyone who stepped up, the livestock structures on the farm now have handmade nests helping Aullwood staff provide more comfortable spaces for the farm animals. and the fact that only ten volunteers were selected from the fifty that showed interest, Aullwood staff are now now looking into future opportunities for the Conservation Crafters to put their skills to good use.  

At the end of the day, everyone benefits from the call to action.  

“Our animal ambassadors on the farm are loved by everyone, and it is great that the public is able to provide them comfort,” said Kary Tollefson, Senior Conservation Associate.” Now our animals have a safe place to use their shelters on days when the weather is too hot or too cold. Our volunteers demonstrated how much they care by making these nest by hand and we can’t thank them enough!”  

The project is a reminder that supporting conservation can take many forms. Sometimes it means restoring habitat, monitoring birds, or volunteering outdoors. And sometimes, it means picking up a crochet hook. 

Next Steps and How to Get Involved with Aullwood  

Want to learn about the next creative way to get involved? Sign up for Aullwood’s monthly newsletter to stay in the loop about upcoming volunteer opportunities and ways to get involved at Aullwood Audubon and Farm.  You can also follow us on social media to learn more about our projects, events, and the Trolls that live on the property.  

For anyone who is ready to get involved as a volunteer now, please reach out to Julia Smith at julia.smith@audubon.org for more information.