nectarine Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 We've become aware of many wasps buzzing around the roof and now find that the underside of the tiles (there's no insulation so they are visible in the loft) has perhaps thirty small wasps' nests on them, spaced a distance apart. The largest is about the size of a small saucer and some are only 'starter' nests, about the size of a 2 euro coin. They are honeycombed, and thin like paper. Can anyone advise me how to remove these - do they just pull away (I haven't even tried). Are the wasps still active and might they be agressive? My husband (for it is he who has volunteered to do this, brave man, on condition that he can wear his motorcycle helmet, bike gear and thick leather gauntlets) also wonders how we can prevent them from returning ... obviously we cannot seal all the little holes in the loft. Any advice on how to remove the nests, (do we burn them?), and prevent future wasp-nests would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 You could try spraying first. Buy a spray which especially mentions wasps. Give the loft a good going over then retire and close it up for a while. I wouldn't think they are very active at the moment but may be wrong. We had the same problem, but in the middle of the summer when they were very angry to be disturbed. It wasn't me up there thank goodness, but the spray worked eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 You can buy fumigation cartridges (fumigateurs?) which you light and then leave burning whilst you go away for a very long time, preferably overnight, they are available in most brico's and dont cost much. They served me very well when I took over my derelict house which was crawling with all sorts of flys and insects.If that doesn't work then try and find someone that works on ground maintenance at an airport and ask them to "liberate" an aerosol cargo hold fumigator, you press down the button which locks in pace and then run like hell! It will kill anything including animals and probably humans within a volume of several greniers, definitely overkill but again it worked well for me in the past.The above advice is to be taken at your own peril[6] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 They will be either dead or dying now, it's the end of the cycle. Only queens survive the winter but not on your roof, they have either gone or are going to find shelter, somewhere to tuck away until the spring.Oh, BTW. Paper wasps, there's a few different species.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 Get up there with a flamethrower and burn each nest with a ten minute burst. Should just about sort anything out that.[6] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clair Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 Mr Clair has been fitting Velux windows over the past few weeks and has found dozens of these nests under the roof tiles. No live insect though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Framboise Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 They might be redundant nests Clair, or they might just be hibernating with the onset of winter. Beware!!In UK you can buy wasp nest destroyer, a spray that you fire into the centre of the nest which kills all the eggs, pupae and adult insects. We had a problem here with them. OH blasted the nest and a couple of days later scraped out the remains of the nest then burnt it, but if its accessible with the vac I guess you could suck it out that way and put the remains onto the fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob T Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 At this time of year you can just knock them off into a bucket. Any wasps still alive are so sleepy that they will fall into the bucket and won't fly. Don't wear a bike helmet when they are active as it is hell when one gets into the helmet with you wearing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Avery Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 In France the pompiers will come and remove them. They used to do it for free but I heard that they now charge around 50€ . Call on the non emergency number in your phone book Tell them you have un nid de gueppes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoddy Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 The pompiers don’t do this any more in our area. We had a similar problem with wasps in the roof on which my OH needed to replace some tiles. On the advice of neighbours he put diesel soaked rags into the space underneath the tiles before the wasps became active last spring. The wasps stayed away and he was able to work without any problems.Hoddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Avery Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 They certainly don't do it for free any more in 12 Hoddy, but perhaps local forces have different rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nectarine Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 Many thanks everyone for your very useful and informative replies. Lots of good advice out there plus some slightly mischievous suggestions. I'm not sure about getting hold of an airport cargo hold fumigator .... but sounds like fun if you could do it. I know that the nests have been active over the summer but there's no activity near the roof now so Mr. Nectarine will put on his protective bike gear and helmet (just in case) and have a bash at removing them. Meanwhile, many thanks for your helpful advice, everyone ..... much appreciated!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 If Mr Nectarine has nothing else to do and wants to remove them, I won't spoil his fun, it's just unnecessary as the old nests won't be used again - they are finished with.[:D]Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Chase Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Chris is quite right, once a nest is abandoned at the end of summer they will never return to it or use it again. If they are active it is very obvious - loads of wasps crawling around/on and flying to and from. I have tried the foam sprays but they don`t work for me.Handy tip for anyone dealing with a below ground nest (in the garden or woodland) you can follow wasps back to nest early evening as they return home at dusk. Once you locate the nest entrance (a small round hole in the ground about 2" accross) you then take a squezzy bottle and fill it with petrol, about half a litre will do, then stand about two metres back and spray a jet of petrol straight down the hole. Get as much in as possible BUT watch out for the emerging angry wasps - they will exit the nest and then zig-zag around the entrance - anything that is within the pattern will get swarmed, so when the emerge I usually leg it. DO NOT LIGHT THE PETROL. The fumes will kill them all by the following morning - job done. All learnt from painfull experience and advice from a pest control chappy.Enjoy, Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Zoff Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Our roof sounded as if it was filled with wasps this year and there was constant coming and going through 2 main access points. Have never seen so many. Tried two different "killer" sprays into the access points, neither of which worked, but to be fair I couldn't spray the nests as the blighters had built them in a sealed part of the apex of the roof. So I would have had to climb up there and remove some tiles first and I rather suspect the swarm would have not have stood idly by while I was doing this. So we just left windows closed on that side of the house until recently as they seem to have disappeared. A number did get into the house through other windows but fortunately no one was stung.It's impossible to block access entirely as roof has to be ventilated so may see if we can deter them with application of smelly substances before the next lot arrive in the spring. In case that doesn't succeed, we will put some nets up to enable windows to be left open without allowing wasps in as it is not ideal having to keep windows shut in summer. Seems to be one side-effect with Velux roof windows - insects (and pursuing bats) follow the slope of the roof upwards and are automatically deflected into the house by the open window. (The bats in particular then seem to have difficulty finding their way back out.)Also had a different type of wasps nest on the inside of a slatted shutter. Only a bit bigger than a golf ball, attached to the shutter by a short horizontal stalk and fiercely defended by 2 adults. We weren't there when they hatched out but guess there were about 8 or so young. These were no problem at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raindog Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Most people call the pompiers I think. It's often a feature on the news. Can be bloody dangerous to do it yourself, but they've got all the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aitch Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 We had a hornets nest a couple of years ago. The pompiers came and dealt with it very successfully. They didn't charge us at the time but were grateful of a crate of beer at the end of a hot hour or so. We were later billed for 52 euros. Excellent value for money when you consider what they had to do. Use them as they are accustomed to doing the job. Touch wood we haven't had a repeat.Aitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG MAC Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 I have heard WD40 can be sprayed into a nest and it spoils it for them. I am not about to try it to find out though.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Zoff Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 WD40? The damned things are fast enough without lubricating their joints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normandy Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Hello,About 3 months ago we found a nest attached to our barn (gueppes) - if you call the fireman yourself then you will have to pay to have them removed - but if you call your local Mairie, tell them your problem then they will call the firemen and the Commune will pay the bill!!It is not widely known, I just so happened to be in the Mairie's office one day when the secretary was dealing with a local who called the firemen first and was then demanding the Mairie pay the bill (ah, too late).........hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Chris Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Posted twice, somehow - see next post!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Chris Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Are wasps nests really such a problem (apart from proximity to human access ways)? Paper wasps don't seem to bother us much, and we have inadvertently found small nests in the strangest places - a shutter lock, for instance. I bet most people have many small nests in their properties that they don't even know about! And hornets are, supposedly, gentle giants and tend to keep themselves to themselves. Just curious whether aversion to wasps and hornets is through personal experience, or just by reputation. I think the inherent danger is either interfering with the nests or just stumbling across them. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoddy Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 "Are wasps nests really such a problem"They are if you need to repair your roof and can only do it in the summer. Hoddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Spot on Chris;[:D]Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 OK until the nest lifts the tiles!We had some unpleasant experiences with swarming in the summer, one right around us when we were trying to pack the car. But that nest was probably somewhere in a tree, so not much we could do anyway.Also - we have a friend who is likely to peg out if she gets stung again - she says - which would spoil our day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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