Last year they hived in my house all around the perimeter of the roof where it meets the exterior walls . You can see the hives from inside the loft.
Two questions: when will it be safe to assume the hives are unoccupied, enabling me to safely remove them? Is there any effective deterrent I can lay down to ensure they don't return this year? Any ideas, please? steve
Wasps nesting in roofs are no fun because they use paper as a nest material, which they manufacture from wood and in most roofs, guess what they find all around them? It may take them a while but what they're doing is no good to your roof timbers at all.
You say that they're all around the perimeter of the roof. To me this suggests that there are lots of them. Bearing in mind my assumption that there are lots of them, the fact that the roof space is a confined space from which you are probably unable to beat a hasty retreat if this proves needful, and my ignorance as to whether the nests are occupied, and if so, if the wasps are active, then I would suggest that tackling them yourself is very fraught with danger. If you are susceptible to wasp stings one may prove fatal, if you know you are not susceptible to one sting then the number of stings you may encounter attacking the nests may prove to be damaging.
You are far better to contact your local council pest control officer, grin and pay your moneyfor a professional to tackle the job. The effective treatments for such infestations are highly toxic in nature and you're thus unlikely to be able to obtain effective treatments in any case. Then, as you say, there is the matter of preventing a return. A professional will be able to advise you on all these matters.
Regards
Boysie
Excellent advice, our local council only charges £37. I called them out last year and their contractor did a great job, very clean and efficient. Well worth the money.
Phian
You'll be glad to know that your house isn't haunted.
Wasps are far too clever to inhabit haunted houses, but beware. If you get rid of the wasps you may be visited by the spirit world......
( See above posts.....)
TonyB
PS I'm sorry I'm not being very helpful tonight but must be in a mischievious mood. And I haven't started drinking yet.....
They should be empty now. There may be a few queens overwintering in the loft insulation, who will start the new nests this year.
Block the holes against insects, without blocking off ventilation. It's generally not worth bothering though. They'll only find somewhere else nearby. Wasps are useful things to have around the garden, eating many of the bugs you don't want on your plants.
They usually use rotting wood -- it's much less effort to chew up and turn into the nest 'paper'. They find this around the garden, but might use some of the house timber if it's got wet rot. They don't normally touch timbers in good condition (although other insects do).
They build a new nest each year. Old nests are never reused. You may have lots of old nests; I have.
Pretty sure the house ain't haunted. Damn sure my pc is, though. steve
Hi
I'm a beekeeper and often get called out to deal with a 'swarm of bees', which often turns out to be a wasp nest.
A few facts about wasps:
They don't survive the onset of cold weather in the late Autumn. Only the queen wasp survives and she hibernates, often in a fold at the back of curtains.
The nest is not re-used the following year.
The nest is made of papier mache, which the wasps collect from fence-posts, garden seats, etc. It normally has alternating layers of white and brownish paper.
So, once winter arrives,wasps' nests can be removed safely. But make sure it is a wasps' nest, not a bees' nest (several parallel slabs of honeycomb) because bees are active in their nests throughout the year - and there are thousands of them!
I normally advise people to leave wasps alone if possible because they will die out in the winter anyway and don't return to the same nest. However, if they are a nuisance, get the council or a commercial pest control company (eg Rentokil) to dispose of them. Or if you know a friendly beekeeper, he might help, or at least lend you a bee-suit.
Regards
Dave
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