Talking of man eating bugs...

[buggi]

i had to deal with a swarm of wasps in my house the other night (3 is a swarm yea?)

Seriously pooped my pants.

dog needed a poop at 4am (urgently!). ran in the bathroom, put on light, put on pj's, ran downstairs and let her out and put on the security light on outside. suddenly mass of buzzing. well, it didn't sound like friendly bumblebees. Looked up, at least 50 wasps attacking my light... next to my open bathroom window which still has the light on. by the time i got upstairs 3 of the buggers were in!

so i then had to close my bathroom window and shut myself in the bathroom with them. Full on aerial warfare ensued (the bastards wouldn't land) ... me armed with hairspray and towel (i figured the hairspray would slow em down), them armed with a stinger and getting angrier by the minute. those things just don't die!!! i was nearly crying with fear!

Well, they couldn't stay (i don't appreciate being invaded), they were in my neighbours property so i offered to go halves on a wasp man. my neighbour said "I'll go up with a ladder". He's kidding right??? i told him no way, he had to get someone in, which he did do while i was at work, and he said to me "i'm glad i took your advice. they were very angry!" LMAO Really, you don't think if 50 came out to investigate my light, it might be full on warfare if you drag the nest out??

i don't really like destroying nature but i console myself with the fact that the bees need all the help they can get and wasps are bad for bees. however, i once saw a wasps nest (empty) and they are the most amazing intricate things.

 

[Arjimlad]

Nasty !

Next time vacuum them up ?

(Then put the nozzle through the letter box of someone who has tried to knock you off your bike and reverse the polarity.)

The wasp nest spray you can get from B&Q works quite well. You can pop up a ladder at dusk when they are all safely in the nest and give a good squirt through the entrance. Alternatively, I've heard ant powder is just as good.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Poor wee beasties. Leave them alone and they generally leave you alone (mostly)

 

[Fab Foodie]

Hairspray's a good tactic!
Furniture polish also works.
Not tried GT85 yet ....

 

[Tanis8472]

Me and swmbo were out a couple of weeks ago and thought we'd have a look in a bird hide.
Went in, sat down and heard this weird buzzing noise. Didnt think anything of it until i turned round and saw a football sizes wasp nest in the corner with a lot of wasps coming out.

Soon legged it out of there. Dont like wasps

 

[Night Train]

The last wasp nest I had to deal with was in my roof while a friend and I were re-roofing. I used the first thing that came usefully to hand and sprayed the nest with building foam. Wasps coming and going from the nest got stuck on the foam and the flying ones came to help also getting stuck. Then I put a bag over the nest and scooped the bag around it removing from it the roof. A quick squiggle round and then the nest was broken up and the sticky foam then put an end to the wasps.

Not sure building foam would have worked for wasps flying around a bathroom though.

 

[Melonfish]

actually if you smash a wasps nest they'll move on, added bonus is you won't kill off the queen so they'll move someplace else and carry on their hive.

be prepared to run like mad though! best done at night or in heavy rain (or both)

 

[buggi]

LOL thanks for the ideas. generally, i like to leave nature alone, but i do object to them swarming into my bathroom just coz i've put the damn light on. it was during the heatwave and sleeping with the windows shut was not an option either.

besides, with the bees on a massive decline, they don't need a wasp nest near either (although i am well aware that man is their main downfall not wasps) and i don't want them invading my new bumble bee house.

 

[Fab Foodie]

[QUOTE 2575132, member: 259"]GT85's OK, but it takes longer to light than hairspray. [/quote]

 

[Melonfish]

wasps are also in heavy decline and that is a shame as they spend their time eating the nasties that eat your garden.
they're really good for local bug ecology. i just wish they weren't sadistic little bar-stewards.

 

[asterix]

Sadly it is not always possible to live and let live with wasps. Did try it once when a nest started in the roof but there were simply too many getting into the house to cope with. If you find the entrance and squirt anti wasp powder round that tends to work. Alternatively if the nest is accessible just go up after dark, envelope it in a bin bag which you will fasten very securely and get rid. How you get rid is up to you.. Don't give the bin men a nasty surprise!

We did manage to live with a hornet's nest for 2 years. Hornets are less aggressive than wasps altho' they literally eat wasps for breakfast (and any other time they can get 'em).

 

[vernon]

I was successful with the hair spray and naked flame technique. It took out the wasps and the net curtains.

 

[Arch]

Our recycling site at work tends to attract wasps, given the quantities of unwashed bottles, jam jars and drinks cans we collect. Unusually, in the last couple of days, we've found the drinks cans are attracting several honey bees. We collect the cans in boxes, and then pour them into binbags to be collected by the merchant. I've been having to fight the urge to run away when I do the bagging as the bees buzz round the boxes. I'm better with bees than I am with wasps, they still make me want to scream.

(We were discussing the nature of the waggle dance done by a bee who's found a stash of Fosters. Probably a bit less precise and informative than normal!)

 

[rich p]

Man eating dogs? Korean?
Barking man bites dog.

 

[ufkacbln]

Electric fly swatter - fry the little swine!