Monday 3 July 2017

UNINVITED LODGERS

The other day Mrs H, whilst walking up from her studio, looked at the western eave of our cottage and noticed something strange.  

“Come outside and look at this odd looking nest ” she called.

I did and took my camera with me. 
It was large, it was fawn in colour and it buzzed.


Searching on the internet we soon identified it as a wasps’ nest, 
the first that either of us had ever seen.



Steve Butler prepares
to attack.

A quick study of the Golden Pages directory revealed a list of wasp nest removing specialists.
We rang three as I now I refuse to leave messages on answering machines, experience has taught me that very few firms ever reply, so the business went to the first real person who answered.
Mrs H spoke to Steve Butler, who lives in a nearby town, he was very friendly and quoted a reasonable price for ridding us of the threatening stinging menaces.



Steve in attack mode


He was as good as his word and arrived on time, complete with his kit to efficiently destroy the menace of these dreadful stinging insects. 
Although, I have to say this, that when I lived in Somerset, England and used to help a friend to make cider in his barn. There were times when the wasps after feeding on pressed apple juice were so drunk that they would crawl up our arms without stinging us. Never the less, the experience was not pleasant and we avoided flinching just in case their reflex to our movement evoked a sting.



The wasps where the arrows point have a 
coating of Steve's powder & will shortly be dead.


Steve told me not to destroy the nest for a couple of days and to allow the powder that he pumped time to work [kill] any wasp embryos that were in incubation process.
So tomorrow I shall, with help of a long pole and a step ladder, remove all traces of the offending empty nest which will be ceremonially burnt on a garden fire.



Have you any experiences of wasps that you would like to share ?

28 comments:

  1. We use to have a fairly nonaggression pact with the wasps around here, but about 10 years ago one stung me and I had a severe allergic reaction. I now have to keep an EPI pen around to prevent anaphylactic shock and was[s are killed on sight.
    We don't leave messages with businesses for the same reason.

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    1. My daughter carries one of those pens too.
      Thank you for your comment.

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  2. Horrid, horrid things, they smell my fear ....... I have however discovered i am not allergic to bee stings!


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    1. I knew you would say that but then I am Psychic...

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  3. We have had several experiences with the type of nest you found on your house. Horrible sight and you were so right to be so cautious. We have here in France a problem with hornets -- they love to nest under the tiles of our roof! they are big and they are very nasty. My husband had a couple of nasty stings when putting in a velux window several years ago soon after we had bought the house. The hornets had a virual apartment building of nests under our terracotta tiles!! A local shopkeeper gave us a 'bomb' to release in the area we saw them coming and going from and its effectiveness is still being proven this summer 20 years later!

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    1. That "bomb" must have been a good make then :-) hah' I nearly quoted the name a famous German arms manufacturer of WW2 and then I thought of two things
      a) it might not go down to well internationally ?
      b) it might remind you of what friend Tom Stephenson might say ?
      So ... after that my mind was made up not too.

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  4. I'm glad you got in an expert to deal with the nest. Getting stung is no joke.

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    1. One or two I can deal with but hundreds would be far too many.

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  5. Good thing you called for help real quick. I have never been that close to a nest, and hopefully it stays that way. Warm greetings to you.

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    1. Actually, when I was taking the photos one wasp flew and whizzed about two inches past my face.
      So I think that I had a lucky escape.
      Greetings to you too

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  6. Yes, wasps can be a problem, I had an experience several years ago, where I tried to remove a small wasp nest from my house, but was only partially successful. A wasp ( a day later) came straight me and stung me in the forehead, it was like slow-motion I could see its angry face. I thought to myself, 'fair enough' I tried to destroy its home..so it got me back. What to do? I walked over to the wasp nest and apologised for breaking its home...I spoke to the swirling wasps that they got me back with a fierce bite "so maybe we're even"....after that I left the wasp nest alone, and they never troubled me either. Once winter came I took out the nest..and we've never been troubled by wasps again. My lived experience as hard to believe as it may seem..it is what happened.

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    1. Well ! Good for you... is about all that I can say
      and
      I presume that you are Jack from ?

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. Hey Gwen ! Do you know Jack ?

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  7. We often get huge ones out in the fields but as they are out of harm's way we usually leave them be - I believe they do some good too but for the life of me I can't remember what it is!

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    1. I understand that their main diet is aphids, greenfly and ladybirds, personally I'd rather put up with the greenfly on my roses :-)

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  8. I remember having to go and get fire wood from the shed and being terrified of a whole lot of humming coming from somewhere close ... Never found out where exactly they were situated, friend Heron, happy to say, this never happened, but let me tell you ... with every log I lifted into my arms, I expected to be stung by an army of "hummers" ... Love, cat.

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    1. One of the many delights of living in a rural location eh ;-)

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  9. Well not wasps but a hornet when I was out riding my pony Sue in a forest as a child. Luckily I had dismounted when the insect came along and sent Sue into such a frenzy that she dashed into the middle of a great bush of thorns to get rid of it. And then there is the time I sat on a bee hive kicking gently until I found out it was not empty but that is another story ;)

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    1. Tempting fate that "kicking a bee hive" aka living dangerously !

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  10. I had a the beginning of a wasp's nest in my bedroom last year. Wasps flew in & out at dawn & dusk so I left the window opened for them. We got on fine, but we had to get rid of the nest when I got a housemate. Fantastic they way they make it.

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    1. I prefer bees myself, especially their honey... Honey!

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  11. Wasps are one of the few creatures that I'm sorry to say I deal with as you have done.

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    1. Thank you Graham. For that very agreeable comment, you are a man after mine own heart.

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  12. Hi Mel - yes ... wasps' nest in a lawn ... that needed to be cleared out. I really don't like eliminating any creature ... just sometimes it's wise to do so ... glad yours are sorted ...cheers Hilary

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    1. "wasps' nest in a lawn" No ! not in a lawn, rather on the gable end of our loft Hilary. It just had to be dealt with by a man with the right equipment.
      Thank you for commenting.

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  13. Although it had to be got rid of, you have to admit that the nest is a work of art xxx

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    1. Yes you are correct Fran and paper thin too

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