Wasps Nest

I have noticed a lot of wasps around my house recently and today I went on a hunt! I noticed wasps going in and out of a ground floor airbrick so presumably that's where the nest is. I was giong to ring a 'wasp trouble' man but then thought "how will he remove it?" Assuming he will not demolish my wall or lift my living room floor up I presume he will treat the entrance (airbrick) with something. Before I pay said man £50(?) to do this is there any point in me buying these foam or powder destroyers that are available. If I can do the same as the man would but at a fraction of the cost I will. The activity of the wasps isn't causing us any problems but I would just like rid of the little b**gers!!

Cheers

John

Reply to
John
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Before I pay said man £50(?) to do this is there

Yes. Nippon ant / crawling insect powder. £3 from morrisons. Sprinkle liberally on the air brick. They will be gone in three days.

Google back for the thread in uk.d-i-y "Wasps nest under floor" on the

3rd July.
Reply to
Adrian C

Or perhaps more appropriately wasp nest destroyer powder.

  1. Close all windows and doors and pets/children inside (they can get seriously hacked off, the wasps that is)
  2. Late afternoon in the sun when activity is high wallop large quantity in through and around airbrick fairly smartish - saturation bombing
  3. Retire indoors and keep door shut for an hour or so.
Reply to
Bob Mannix

"Bob Mannix" wrote

I've used the nest destroyer foam before successfully, but be prepared to repeat a number of times if the nest is big. Also may not be advisable if there is an easier route for the wasps to escape through gaps between floorboards or similar inside your house. I've also heard that the ant powder works well on wasps nests!

Phil

Reply to
TheScullster

Not AFAIK at this time of year. Later on it will. Wasps change their diet by season and they're more "ant like" (ie susceptible to sweet lures) in the late Summer.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

Why do you need to get rid?

You have stated that it isn't causing your family a problem.

If you leave them alone they will go away in autumn, and then if you block the entrance to the air vent next spring and they will not return.

Adam

Reply to
ARWadsworth

Nope, early with the ant powder is much better. The wasps are focused on gathering food for the nest, and a nice dose of Permethrin is what's in Nippon ant powder (and probably the others). It will kill the nest occupants when they bring it home and feed the others.

Yeah, but by then ye'll have to kill each one by hoping they all crawl through the powder left out. Larger task with more wasps. By then, ye may have to use the foam and the deadlier alternatives aimed specifically at nests.

Reply to
Adrian C

Unless they are actually causing you or your family a problem then leave them alone. They eat a lot of garden pests. If you really must deal with them then the power or foam sprays work well but make sure you follow the instructions carefully.

Peter Crosland

Reply to
Peter Crosland

IME they don't return, even if the same access is available. Probably a precaution against becoming predictable. Apart from a few days in late Autumn when they have trouble finding their way home, they really aren't a problem. A friend of mine with 2 young kids had a hornets nest above her back door. They didn't bother anyone either.

Reply to
Stuart Noble

John, you could try RAID spray. Stand back and know where you will run to take cover! I had one under the front bedroom floor and was mad enough to lift the floorboards and poke at the nest. I had hornets and they went absolutely wild. The noise was terrible and I had to put the boards down fast! After a few hours I sprayed RAID in the nest and around the entrance. The never returned. The nest was about 3ft long and wrapped around heating pipes. It was amazing to see the way it was built. You can sometimes get your local council to call as they have a service. You pay them far less than private companies.

Reply to
Clive

A good coating of Nippon ant powder on the horizontal surfaces of the air brick will do the job. £2.50 from your local £1 shop (eh???). Wait for a cool part of the day, give the brick a good blast. Sorted.

The foams are OK, but the powder will poison the entry/exit point effectively. I've only used the foam once, when it was impractical to use powder (wasps entering up a verical wall), but it did the job. Expect to pay £3.50 from your local £1 shop (eh again???).

Al.

Reply to
Al

Oh yes they will.

A L P

Reply to
A _L_ P

Carbaryl (permethrin) powder. Works outside too, when you find the entrance. Here they make nests in the garden and in clay banks, as well as sometimes in houses. You're lucky, your wasps are in a place you can get at easily to do the job yourself. Late evening when they have gone home for the night sling a tablespoonful of the powder into the entrance so they carry it into the nest on their feet next day. They go out, they come home, get the powder on their feet and one by one carry it back to the nest.

And DO get rid of them. They die off in winter, sure, but not the queens, Next season the original queen and the young ones start up new colonies and build up to huge numbers quickly unless weather and food supplies are in *your* favour!

A L P

A L P

Reply to
A _L_ P

le'

John, the only advice worth having is to get in a professional, DIY attempts to destroy wasps or nests can be hardardous and ineffective. we covered this last year in fact-

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=A350 is a reasonable cost to do the job quickly and finally.

Reply to
AJH

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£50 is a reasonable cost to do the job quickly and finally.

Strange how something as harmless as a wasps nest can trigger the fear/aggression response in the male of the species. On the odd occasion where they're a nuisance I'd pay the £50 but, otherwise, find something else to worry about.

Reply to
Stuart Noble

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Stuart Noble saying something like:

Some people are so sensitised a single sting could kill them. In that case it makes no sense to tolerate a nest in the vicinity. Whether the OP or his family are in that position I don't know.

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

I learn something new every day: I always thought that bees rather than wasps caused that problem, but a little research supports GC

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That said, I'd still side with the wasps *unless* they are causing a problem or small children or pets are likely to disturb them

Reply to
newshound

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Unlike a bee which stings once and then the poison sac and the sting itself are torn from its body and it dies, a wasp can sting over and over and over. This is unpleasant in the extreme and can be life-threatening, not just for those with allergic response but anyone who inadvertently disturbs a wasp nest and is attacked by a great many furious wasps.

Another thing that should concern anyone interested in home gardens and the agricultural and horticultural industries is that wasps present a very real threat to bee hives. Without bees, pollination of most common crops is extremely poor. Wasps steal honey. Bees have to spend time defending the entrance to the hive instead of gathering nectar while at the same time their stocks are being stolen and their numbers reduced in the attacks. Eventually a hive is so weakened that it cannot survive through winter, let alone be in a condition to quickly build up to increasing the swarm to the point where it can be divided to make another hive with a young queen.

From the point of view of the individual town householder wasps may not be a problem, not in first year or two anyway. Taking a wider view, they have a significant ill effect and personal short-term convenience is not clever.

A L P

A L P

Reply to
A _L_ P

What is the effect of a wasp nest on the ventilation, and on fire risk, in this particular building, I wonder. It might be as well to check with the house insurer before deciding to leave the wasp nest in place.

A L P

Reply to
A _L_ P

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Do wasps have any good points/uses?

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

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