Wasps nest in loft - getting in up'n'under eaves
Jethro
consider getting myself trapped up there). They are getting in through
a slight gap in the eaves just above our back patio door. I was going
to leave it, but sitting outside last night, they appeared to be
getting a little more interested in us ...
Having trawled uk.d-i-y I notice the most common advice is a powder to
puff around the entrance, in the late evening. However, given I will
have to puff *up* , is this going to work in this case ?
Is there some sort of nozzle/pipe I can get or make to puff the powder
into the hole itself ? Would a few cans of RAID[1] do the trick
instead ? Should I consider a foam instead ?
[1]In Africa, I noticed they called this "DOOM" which seemed more
appropriate !
stuart noble
> have a wasps nest in the loft (*very* inaccessible, so I won't
> consider getting myself trapped up there). They are getting in through
> a slight gap in the eaves just above our back patio door. I was going
> to leave it, but sitting outside last night, they appeared to be
> getting a little more interested in us ...
>
bother to anyone. Ideal tenants in fact.
Ian Jackson
<969a00f2-98d0-45fc...@p13g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>,
Jethro <krazy...@googlemail.com> writes
Wasps also like to build nest in - and around - my house. This year's
was in the garden shed, but they were also trying the garage roof (under
the tiles) and similarly in my neighbour's garage. In the past they've
nested in the loft, in a clematis and in a rhododendron bush - and
scariest of all, under the bedroom floorboards (and they all came out,
and partially blocked out the light from the windows).
I would initially give the wasp entrance a really good hosing with Raid
(or similar), and then use the puffer. There's a technique that needs to
be learned for effective puffing. With one motion, swing the bottle so
that you get some (not too much) powder is at the nozzle end, and as the
nozzle reaches the entrance hole, puff! Hopefully, the wasps will carry
the powder into the nest, and that will see off those inside.
If you have (even limited) access to the loft (say through a trapdoor),
go armed with a can of Raid and some sheets of newspaper. Stick your
head inside, and give the loft area a good spraying. Then spray loads of
Raid onto some of the sheets of newspaper (soak them), crumple up the
paper, and throw it into the corners of the loft (especially where the
wasps are coming in). That should provide a reservoir of 'slow release'
Raid. [At one time, every year, I used to put two or three 'sachets' of
Vapona in my loft - to deter the wasps and the woodworm - but you can't
get them now (EC rules, of course!]
With luck, you will have successfully killed off your wasps. However,
keep an eye on things, and it might be wise to repeat the treatment -
just to be sure.
--
Ian
Andy Champ
>>
> Friends had hornets above their back door last year, and they were no
> bother to anyone. Ideal tenants in fact.
Hornets might be different.
We left the wasps nest under our eaves until a neighbour asked. It
seems they were flying from the next into the local woods to go hunting,
and a significant number were taking a wrong turning and ending up in
their kids bedroom in the hot weather.
Andy
Jethro
Despite the entrance being 6" from the patio door, which is left open
most days, I haven't seen a wasp in the house yet. It is quite
amazing, watching the entrance ... they zoom in apparently from
nowhere, and land perfectly.
Another John
Ian Jackson <ianREMOVET...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk> wrote:
..
> Wasps also like to build nests in - and around - my house... etc.
Excellent advice from Ian there, Jethro!
We sometimes get them: I always spray the nest (if it's anywhere where
there would be a conflict between us and them). If you make life
uncomfortable and kill a few dozen, the gang will go live somewhere else.
Do NOT "just leave it", as I once did: if they don't get harassed, then
the nest will just grow .... faster and faster.
You can get various sorts of spray: one I use has quite a trajectory on
it.
John
![george [dicegeorge]'s profile photo](http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a-/ALV-UjVy3egmWxdo6kgdNwXDn-6EE54MDMuR9kO5wF-DhVhewlzxjNY=s40-c)
george [dicegeorge]
most kids' rooms.
[g]
Scott M
> Do NOT "just leave it", as I once did: if they don't get harassed, then
> the nest will just grow .... faster and faster.
And then, in the autumn, they abandon it and never come back. Perfect
arguemnt for "just leave it" really.
--
Scott
Where are we going and why am I in this handbasket?
Nick Leverton
Scott M <no_one@no_where.net> wrote:
>Another John wrote:
>
>> Do NOT "just leave it", as I once did: if they don't get harassed, then
>> the nest will just grow .... faster and faster.
>
>And then, in the autumn, they abandon it and never come back. Perfect
>arguemnt for "just leave it" really.
As long as you remember it's there, and don't end up peering into dark
corners of the attic going "OMG it looks like we've got terrible rot" ...
Nick
--
Serendipity: http://www.leverton.org/blosxom (last update 29th March 2010)
"The Internet, a sort of ersatz counterfeit of real life"
-- Janet Street-Porter, BBC2, 19th March 1996
Dave Liquorice
>>> Do NOT "just leave it", as I once did: if they don't get
harassed,
>>> then the nest will just grow .... faster and faster.
>>
>> And then, in the autumn, they abandon it and never come back.
Perfect
>> arguemnt for "just leave it" really.
If they have a good source of food it will get *very* big. I had one
in a loft once, didn't discover it until late summer. It was about 3'
wide and filled the gap between underside of roof and ceiling of
about 18"...
> As long as you remember it's there, and don't end up peering into dark
> corners of the attic going "OMG it looks like we've got terrible rot"
Ah but once they have abandoned it you carefully remove it and donate
it to the local primary school for their "nature table". Maybe even
do a bit of research and a short talk about wasps, the benefits they
provide and marvel at the construction of the nest.
I'd leave a wasps nest alone unless the occupants became a serious
problem, like too many getting into the house or the nest was too
close to an area that needed to be used.
--
Cheers
Dave.
damdu...@yahoo.co.uk
<ianREMOVET...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>Wasps also like to build nest in - and around - my house. This year's
>was in the garden shed, but they were also trying the garage roof (under
>the tiles) and similarly in my neighbour's garage.
Have had to remove two in recent years,one in a garden shed and one in
a loft . The loft one was right in an awkward place where it was too
difficultly to get close to.
Both nests were caught early and had were not much bigger than a large
egg.
I used a wet and dry vacuum cleaner latish in the evening when most
wasps were home. . The cleaner was first emptied and then a small
quantity of diluted washing up liquid was put in the tank,this quickly
foams up an ensures the wasps get wet and cannot fly out again or fly
quickly when you empty it.
For the loft one I made a hose extension from a length of plastic
waste pipe which reached into the corner where the nest was.
Technique was to gently push the tube till it was about a foot from
the nest then turn on the cleaner,then push it up against the nest
entrance where any emerging wasps were sucked in immediately. You can
hear them bouncing along the tube,when most had stopped emerging the
tube was pushed into the nest which was sucked up with any remaining
wasps.
I emptied the cleaner at the end of the garden where any surviving
wasps could dry off and fly away though I don't know if they can
actually reestablish themselves or just become bird food.
Rather not kill them unless I have to as they control other pests like
flies, it's in late summer they can get awkward as insect larvae
supplies get short and they start foraging on things like beer and
sugar.
G.Harman
robgraham
> On Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:55:29 +0100, Ian Jackson
>
Yes it's the late summer when they are their greatest nuisance. The
other negative thing to bear in mind is that wasps are physically
stronger than honey bees and can sting with impunity, so they can be
the bain of the beekeepers life, particularly if the hive isn't all
that strong and has food in it. They will kill out a hive quite
easily.
I've got a home made puffer thing that I load with the powder and
stuff up the eaves so that they carry the powder into the nest. Never
failed.
Rob
Martin Bonner
>
> >Wasps also like to build nest in - and around - my house. This year's
> >was in the garden shed, but they were also trying the garage roof (under
> >the tiles) and similarly in my neighbour's garage.
>
> Have had to remove two in recent years,one in a garden shed and one in
> a loft . The loft one was right in an awkward place where it was too
> difficultly to get close to.
> Both nests were caught early and had were not much bigger than a large
> egg.
If we have wandered into general wasp nest stories:
My father's preferred technique for dealing with wasps' nests built in
the soil in the garden was to tip a pint of liquid nitrogen in during
the evening.
Do not use SMBO's technique: Dig it out with a fork at about 3pm on a
hot sunny day.
Advise for a long and peaceful life: If your SMBO uses the above
technique, do not say "Well what did you expect?" when they get stung.
Martin Pentreath
We had a wasps' nest in a very inaccessible corner of the loft. I got
some liquid aerosol wasp killer stuff which was designed to squirt in
a long jet, I would guess around five metres or so. If you can stick
your head though a trap door and see the nest with a torch you could
use it. You need to wait until night time when they've all calmed down
and gone to bed. It saturates the nest and for me worked perfectly.
Jethro
wrote:
Going in the loft is a no-no. Our bunglow is "L" shaped, with the
hatch in the other leg of the "L" to the nest. The only way to get to
that leg is to squeeze through a point where the corner of the "L" is
formed, on your belly, being careful to hit the joists ...it's a very
careful maneuver, not to be hurried.
IMO it would be madness to get myself trapped in a loft with a wasps
nest, with no means of escape.
Scott M
> On Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:00:02 +0000 (UTC), Nick Leverton wrote:
>> As long as you remember it's there, and don't end up peering into dark
>> corners of the attic going "OMG it looks like we've got terrible rot"
:-)
> A
h but once they have abandoned it you carefully remove it and donate
> it to the local primary school for their "nature table".
With my aunt's, I cut it in half with a breadknife, took half to
photograph and left half for her various grandchildren to peer at!
Fascinating structures inside.
Nick Odell
<martin...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>On Jun 24, 12:16�pm, damduck-...@yahoo.co.uk wrote:
>> On Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:55:29 +0100, Ian Jackson
>>
>> <ianREMOVETHISjack...@g3ohx.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>> >Wasps also like to build nest in - and around - my house. This year's
>> >was in the garden shed, but they were also trying the garage roof (under
>> >the tiles) and similarly in my neighbour's garage.
>>
>> Have had to remove two in recent years,one in a garden shed and one in
>> a loft . The loft one was right in an awkward place where it was too
>> difficultly to get close to.
>> Both nests were caught early and had were not much bigger than a large
>> egg.
>
>If we have wandered into general wasp nest stories:
>
>My father's preferred technique for dealing with wasps' nests built in
>the soil in the garden was to tip a pint of liquid nitrogen in during
>the evening.
>
>Do not use SMBO's technique: Dig it out with a fork at about 3pm on a
>hot sunny day.
>
Hmmm. Sounds similar to the technique I used under similar weather
conditions when I was a nine-year-old boy. Running through the
wilderness area of a neighbour's garden, I saw what I thought was an
old football in the long grass..
...and kicked it.
Nick
The Other Mike
<robkg...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>Yes it's the late summer when they are their greatest nuisance. The
>other negative thing to bear in mind is that wasps are physically
>stronger than honey bees and can sting with impunity, so they can be
>the bain of the beekeepers life, particularly if the hive isn't all
>that strong and has food in it. They will kill out a hive quite
>easily.
Ditto, but I'm not sure if they always do sting as I've seen them bite
the abdomen (entire back end) off a returning forager that is resting
on a hive roof or body, leaving the bee almost fully functional with
all its legs and a head but about 1/3 the normal length. The bee
seems to be unaware of the missing body parts. If it had been stung
then I'd have expected some degree of paralysis.
Sometimes I've spent half an hour squishing the little bastards as
soon as they appear near the hives.
--
Reentrant
We leave wasp-traps near our hives once they start robbing in late summer.
A large plastic bottle with a flap cut about half way down, and a
beer/jam mix catches hundreds of wasps but never bees.
But for much of spring and early summer wasps feed their young on garden
pests so don't destroy them unless they are a nuisance.
--
Reentrant
robgraham
> On 25/06/2011 00:10, The Other Mike wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Fri, 24 Jun 2011 05:17:43 -0700 (PDT), robgraham
Good to find some other beeks here. Hadn't thought of wasp traps near
the hives - thanks.
Rob
robgraham
If you can get liquid nitrogen all and good, but petrol and a match is
much more preferable as the little blighters try to fly through the
flames - zap. " Another bites the dust ....."
Rob
Dave Liquorice
> ... petrol and a match is much more preferable as the little blighters
> try to fly through the flames - zap. " Another bites the dust ....."
Have you played with petrol amd matches? Not really recomended
petrol is far too volatile, the vapours build up quickly and go with
quite whomph when ignited. BTDTGTTS when I was a lad, campfire
"assisted" by about tablespoon of petrol visibly leapt 6" into the
air...
Paraffin is far safer and you don't even need to set fire to it, it
kills pretty quickly on contact.
--
Cheers
Dave.
Jethro
(the active ingredient in wasps nest removers I noticed). So on Saturday
night, when all was quiet, I managed to shake some into the top of the
bottle, and puff a good amount into the gap twice. Sunday morning found 4
dead wasps on the step. Since then I haven't seen any wasps at all. So a
result I guess.
I'll seal up the eaves now ... the reason there was a gap was a screw
holding the security light bracket in place had pulled the T&G wood down
too much. It needs a spacer.
So thanks to all for the advice.