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We've had wasps nests before, a couple of years ago in our dormer and in a partly filled green waste bin (!) both of which I've left to do their things. Avoided the bin that year and the other next I just closed the window closer to autumn and there wasn't much of another from them.
Last couple of years we have been wasp free, I'm normally pretty vigilant in my bike/tool shed and get rid of nests when they're just being started (normally by liberal spray of GT85 on the nest and any gaps/knot holes in the wood)
This year seems to be a bit bonkers.
My workplace has a small shed which is accessed daily, where we found 6 nests of varying sizes earlier this year. These were all removed, but we've never had anything in there before.
Home is the same. our neighbour had a couple of nests, one in her bathroom vent which were got rid of and I thought we’d got away with it, but alas, no.
So our cottage is basically single story, with a box dormer occupying most of the loft/roof space.
We have a wasp nest in the flat roof of the dormer again, that I wasn't that bothered about, but I noticed we also have wasps entering the roofspace between the guttering and the dormer wall (there's about 10 tiles width of the original roof front and back) at both the front and the back of the house, entering at the guttering/tiles.
these areas are not accessible. the ceiling would need to come down to access the dormer roof and parts of the dormer wall would need removed to access the 'under tile' space.
The final straw though was when I went to put my bike back in the shed (small 6x3), was greeted by a wasp, pulled down a small nest and thought nothing of it. turned around and was greeted with another wasp. closer look under one of the shelves and there's a next about the size of a football, they're accessing via a knot hole in the back of the shed.
the entry exit is away from access, but I am a bit concerned, and it's got me thinking a bit more about what to do.
firstly, the dormer and roofspace. will wasps cause structural damage? I thought they made nests from chewed wood. there's plenty of fences I see them munching on, but online searches seem to suggest it may, or it may not cause problems with plasterboard. I'd rather not have a cascade of 1000's or wasps in the house from a failed ceiling.
Secondly, with a small rear garden and 3 nests all zipping wasps across it, I think there is a high risk of being stung, if not now, certainly later in the year. My general belief is that a wasp stings more wasps come. Could that be more wasps from neighbouring nests too? I have a small dog, so lots and lots of wasps can be a big problem.
thirdly, my wife is a vegan animal loving doesn't want to kill anything type (so much so that all summer projects have been shelved until the wasps go from my tool shed). I suspect these wasps will need killed. The above two points will be used as evidence for or against killing them. I think I know the answer, but is there another way, can I just leave them?
Thanks
Wasps - how many is too many?
Any more than zero, generally.
One is too many. We have just arranged for the councils annual visit to get rid of a nest
firstly, the dormer and roofspace. will wasps cause structural damage? I thought they made nests from chewed wood
Unlikely, TBH. They tend to nest in dry places and the volume of wood they strip is pretty low. As far as I know they won't dig holes through things to get in and out, the holes are usually already there. But... I won't have them in the house, thanks... Or the shed.
If you kill one, many more will follow. Not sure about stinging per se, but if they've become aggressive enough to sting, they've likely already released the magic chemicals that attract more and put them on edge.
If small children or dogs are involved, just get rid.
There are ways and means of getting wasp powder to most nests, it costs buttons. Pest control also possible but its a lot of money for what you get with wasps.
My folks house had a wasp nest and they got thru more than half of one of the roof joists. Dunno how long they have been there but it was impressive how much wood they had chewed
My folks house had a wasp nest and they got thru more than half of one of the roof joists. Dunno how long they have been there but it was impressive how much wood they had chewed
crikey
There are ways and means of getting wasp powder to most nests, it costs buttons. Pest control also possible but its a lot of money for what you get with wasps.
I did try some powder with the one in the dormer roof, but it's quite difficult to get to as you need to point the nozzle upwards to get access to where they're going in, which the nozzle is not designed to do.
plus the stuff then drops on you and I didn't like that idea.
I'm kinda thinking one nest is a nuisance, several is getting potentially dangerous.
Last year was a very poor year for insects but I think this year is going to be a fantastic one! I have a wasps nest behind the facia boards and I spotted one yesterday in a birdbox near where I sit up the garden which explains all the fence chewing I’ve seen.
As far as I know wasps don’t do any damage, killing a large nest does cause some smell from the rotting larvae though. They are wonderful creatures and are part of the ecosystem, eating other insects and caterpillars and also helping with pollination.
I leave them alone unless they’re in a place that can’t be avoided - I am allergic to wasp and bee stings but still don’t want to cause them harm.
Secondly, with a small rear garden and 3 nests all zipping wasps across it, I think there is a high risk of being stung, if not now, certainly later in the year
In my experience once a nest is established it's probably less bother to leave it be than remove it. Wasps forage over a pretty large area - the nest is just where they're starting and finishing those journeys. So the number of wasps hanging around your garden isn't really that different if theres a nest in your garden or one in the next street.
The problem if the nest gets destroyed is most of the wasps serving that nest aren't in it. Remove the nest and theres nothing for them to do - so then they don't go anywhere and then they do just hang around and are probably more of a bother than if the nest was there.
We have just arranged for the councils annual visit to get rid of a nest
If you book your visit from our council after about the middle of april (usually still snow on the ground), they'll take 6 months to turn up as *everyone* books over a 24 hour period. "Insane Wasp Day".
I just have to do my own instead. Which is shit as i react badly to the stings.
Already had a couple of Hornets in the house too...
Check the small print if you book a pest controller - there can be 6-800 wasps in a next - which at £30 each could sting a bit when you get the bill 🙂
I did try some powder with the one in the dormer roof, but it's quite difficult to get to as you need to point the nozzle upwards to get access to where they're going in, which the nozzle is not designed to do.
It's nigh on impossible to "dispense" from the containers as-is. Plus, you're approximately 13cm away from a cloud of pissed off wasps, after you apply the stuff.
I've used about 4m of garden hose, gaffer taped to a long pole. It makes a really crap blowpipe - but it means I can reach pretty much any nest on my house from ground level. Plus, I'm 4m away from the pissed off wasps, after application.
Ways and means.
My folks house had a wasp nest and they got thru more than half of one of the roof joists. Dunno how long they have been there but it was impressive how much wood they had chewed
Did they live here
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-10871240
I stuck one of these in my attic 2 winters ago after being plagued by them - not seen one since:
I was intending on leaving the nest structure in place if possible to deterr next year's.
So, it shouldn't, but may cause damage, but mostly leave them be is the gist of it?
I do keep my bikes in the shed, and it's quite a small space to share. :-/
Bit of an update, I got in touch with the local humane pest control person who echo-ed what's been said here, leave them be if you can. as long as they're not in areas you access (i.e. ground level or directly above doorways) then they won't bother.
So the one above the bedroom window is going well, I use the room as an office and am accompanied by a 'snap crackle pop' in the mornings. annoying, yes, but the radio is on most of the time so it drowns it out a bit.
As said, the cottage is a single story with wooden box dormer on it, so the gutters are at ground floor height. the wasps front and back are in and out about 3ft or so above my head at the gutter line, which seems to be OK, they're just getting on with foraging. The magpies are loving the flying banquet....
The one in my shed, well that's still going strong. I've managed to gently move my powertools out of the way and moved them into the house, same with my two bikes. The wasps did seems inquisitive, a couple of 'scouts' but nothing aggressive.
I've been trying to identify them with little success, but I think there are a few different types.
This I think is a median wasp, which is currently living in the front of the cottage, under the small roof space
This one I think is a german wasp, thought it was a common wasp, but the thoracic markings are more in line with the german type. This is above my office window. :-/
Haven't managed to look at the others close up yet..
I would usually leave them alone if there was no bother, eg somewhere no-one goes, but this year I started spotting them indoors. Ignored it for a bit, then both my kids got stung. My daughter is already an epipen carrier for other allergies, so thought some action was needed just in case. So I found the nest in the loft, quite close to the hatch, which was handy. Son and I then did a dawn raid in full PPE (hoody, buff, woolly hat, DH goggles, fire gauntlets). I went up, saw only one wasp on the outside so started puffing the powder. Then 1 became 4, then 30, then a huge buzzing started and son was yelling at me to get out. I got one more puff in then the swarm started and I dropped out of the hatch and son shut it fast. Only one got out and tried to sting him on his ear. By his reckoning (I was too busy dropping out of the hatch), we were seconds away from the swarm in the house.
Yeah, the powder works, but the whole operation is quite hairy.
Thanks for leaving them be lovewookie. They are an important part of the ecosystem and for the vast majority of the time they cause no issues. I know stings hurt but the desire to kill everything is quite sad. Even those with allergies, I can appreciate it's a bit stressful, but they can come from miles away, anyway if you've got interesting food in your garden. Just don't leave sugary drinks / food sat outside. I have been intrigued watching wasps eat our ripe raspberries this year, since we mostly observe them being ruthless killers of other insects (including pests).
Oh, I am very much in favour of leaving them alone and mostly I do. This year it was too much though as they went from a few indoors to eventually numerous wasps on the floor of my daughter's room, the landing and stairs and in my son's bed where he was getting multiple stings at night. We had run out of options this time.
What I have done now though was look for the main entrance point in and out of the loft (some lifted flashing) and reseated it + used some leadmate to seal it down so hopefully next year a different nest spot is chosen.
we are keeping an eye on the indoor invaders, so far, only a couple of lost ones through the window. there is no direct entry to the house for them other than the windows so should be OK.
My wife, who is against killing anything nearly flipped when she saw how active they are, especially when the dog was snuffling a little too hard in the garden and got stung by one. :-/
but, they're staying for now. the median wasps should be done by the end of august and the germans done by the end of september/nov.
the hangers on may be got rid of then, dependent on when our roof needs looked at.
Timely as we have recently seen wasps outside sons bedroom. They seem to be going into a small crack in woodwork below roof guttering. Presumably they might be finding way into the eves of the loft.
I was thinking of risking just putting some spray or something on the gap to try and deter them entering and kill any which are in there. But sounds like might be better off just leaving be (bee!) and hoping they die over the winter??
I generally leave them unless it's an issue. Had a few large nests in the past - one in the garage roof, which was an issue as our cat's used to climb into the garage loft area on a regular basis - that was dispatched with use of ant powder at the entrance. Still takes a few glasses of wine, a step ladder, darkness and courage to go up and puff ant powder into the nest. Another was on the rear of the garage where we passed, and it was large. Initially sprayed with wasp next destroyer foam - works well, but there will be many angry wasps in there that now can't get out. Removed the rest some days later with a jet washer.
For future reference, the best time of day to destroy a wasp nest is early morning (probably a bit early in summer) or late evening once they have stopped flying. Otherwise, you will end up with a lot of homeless wasps that will potentially continue to be a nuisance for months.
I could quite happilly live and let live if the little stripey bastards didn't feel the need to be so bloody annoying. Don't have any nests, but the odd one will get a swatting if it really insists on not leaving me alone. There's a lot of them this year.
Re: leaving me alone - I must have some sort of attraction, as I can be surrounded by half a dozen of them in a beer garden, whilst other people on other tables seem to avoid having their personal space relentlessley invaded
I would usually leave them alone if there was no bother, eg somewhere no-one goes, but this year I started spotting them indoors. Ignored it for a bit, then both my kids got stung. My daughter is already an epipen carrier for other allergies, so thought some action was needed just in case. So I found the nest in the loft, quite close to the hatch, which was handy. Son and I then did a dawn raid in full PPE (hoody, buff, woolly hat, DH goggles, fire gauntlets). I went up, saw only one wasp on the outside so started puffing the powder. Then 1 became 4, then 30, then a huge buzzing started and son was yelling at me to get out. I got one more puff in then the swarm started and I dropped out of the hatch and son shut it fast. Only one got out and tried to sting him on his ear. By his reckoning (I was too busy dropping out of the hatch), we were seconds away from the swarm in the house.
The only way to deal witha wasp nest in the loft os witha laura ashley cushion.
Is jt that hard just to check what you eat during wasp season.
I have politely waited while a wasp has chewed a lump of ham in my sandwich then just continued eating it.
Had one crawl in my nose and back out.
Cans are a bit sketch i will grant you but everything else they not exactly camouflaged.
Like bees, wasps are pollinators, though not as good as bees due to bees being more hairy, but pollinators none the less.
So I would think that despite their annoying persona, they are as important to crops/flowers/plants in general as bees themselves.
If the van in the pic further up said -'Bees - Destroyed for £30' there would be a public uproar.
Mrs STR had one land on her chest yesterday. She thought she'd let it be and do it's own thing, wouldn't sting if not threatened.
Nope, stung her for shits and giggles. Tosser
We've been pretty much wasp free all summer so far but had 2 of the little ****s flying around whilst we were eating last night which was 2 too many. One of them disappeared when its mate got squished.
Waspist thugs.
Leave the critters alone.
Shed occupiers seem to be thriving....and totally not bothered by me coming in and gently removing tools. I was waiting for something to fall and wake them all up!
They are amazing creatures, all that from chewing wood and mixing it with spit!
update on waspmageddon!
shed dwellers abandoned the next late august, I have since removed it and am keeping it in the shed to have a look at and also maybe as a deterrent for next year!
The front and rear roof dwellers along with the dormer dwellers are now mostly just dopey drones, bloody big drones, and greatly reduced in number. however they are coming into the house at every opportunity. I woke to find 6 in the bedroom all licking the window and we have acquired a queen clip to help collect and remove them. it's a very simple but useful bit of kit.
we have substantial death assemblages on most window ledges....and cannibalism.
I've set some water traps as I figured death by drowning was probably better than death by starvation. :-/
Good update, a lesson in humanity for us all!
Got stung in the mouth by one when camping last month. I'd opened a beer tin, gone for a shower, came back, drinking said beverage, and only at the end did the bugger come sloshing out and stung the roof of my mouth. Bit of a shock. Just been outside minding my own business, and one landed on my wrist and stung me - I only noticed at the point of getting a sting. Buggers.
They are amazing creatures, all that from chewing wood and mixing it with spit!
And yet when I do that, I get escorted out of Travis Perkins. It's one rule for vespula vulgaris and one for the rest of us!
Think we must have a nest that's dying off somewhere in the loft - all of a sudden we've got 5 or 6 at a time in our bathroom and think they're popping in through the window as they've nothing better to do. Just keeping the door shut and leaving them to it!