Frelons

[lh]

One of our nearest neighbours (100yds away) has reported that there are frelons going in and out of one of our barns and wants us to get the nest 'seen to' - apparently they have had a few going into their house. 

We have had a nest in there before, and used one of the powerful aerosols you can buy (the ones that have a range of about 6m and cost about 15 or 20 euros) in the evening and that got rid of them. Obviously we can't get over there at the moment, and no-one should be too close so I feel we can just leave them alone and they'll die off later in the year, but do we have to get them dealt with?

Also, we are on good terms with these neighbours and know that they keep a watchful eye on our house, so we're in two minds about asking them to help. How much might it cost to get someone in, now that the pompiers don't do it any more.

[Loiseau]

Your neighbours probably don't want to live with them, at a time when they want to be enjoying the outdoors.

I am not sure if there are any rules obliging you to do something about them, but it might compromise your relations with them if you do not.

I googled “frelons hygiene lot et garonne” and a lot of possibilities came up. Maybe contact one or two of the companies and ask what the cost would be for treatment.

[alittlebitfrench]

You are looking at around 100-120 euros to remove a nest.

But, in October they will be gone....and they won't come back.

Live with them.

They won't hurt you.

[Lehaut]

We had a nest in an out building and had to deal with it as we were selling the property, prospective buyers don't share albf's charitable view!

Sprayed in the evening and witnessed lots of deal bodies on the floor. Went back the next day and they had all gone, been eaten in the night. Bit of a surprise.

[Laurier]

We had a frelon nest in the chimney of our old cottage.I phoned a pest company - they said they would deal with the frelons but not take the nest away. I queried this as I thought they returned each year to their previous abode.I don't know why they wouldn't remove the nest.

A builder friend of ours just said to light a fire - at that time it was about 35C outside. We did that, but the frelons just descended into the lounge. My OH and I were frantically spraying and swatting A LOT of frelons. We were both stung but thankfully are not allergic. In the end, we asked the village handyman to help. He went up a ladder from the outside and sprayed with one of those cans you mention, into the cracks of the bricks, then sprinted back down the ladder. It did the trick because we didn't have a problem any more. As far as we know the nest is probably still in the chimney or has disintegrated.

The frelons hadn't been giving us a great problem except for 2 or 3 every day in the lounge so we thought it better to deal with it before it worsened.

[EuroTr@sh]

Those cans work a treat. I worked on a campsite in Gard and at one point during the season, we were getting several guests per week reporting frelons. Spraying frelon nests turned into almost a regular evening task (you wait until it's starting to get dark and all the frelons have returned to their nest), It worked every time, we never got called back to the same nest twice. This went on for a couple of weeks then the reports stopped as suddenly as they'd started, no more frelons.

[alittlebitfrench]

Are we talking about Frelons or wasps ?

Wasps are a pain in arsê. Git rid.

Frelons....not so much.

[lh]

Thanks for your responses. We can't get there to deal with them ourselves so our feeling is just to leave them. The neighbours are far enough away, and who says there isn't another nest somewhere? It doesn't sound as if we HAVE to get them removed, it would just be a neighbourly thing to do. I guess we haven't spent any money traveling out there this year though 100 euros for frelon nest is expensive, unless our neighbours know a local handyman who would give them a squirt one evening.

[nomoss]

[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]Are we talking about Frelons or wasps ?

Wasps are a pain in arsê. Git rid.

Frelons....not so much.[/quote]

Killing everything you're afraid of or just don't like the look of is illogical and unintelligent.

Hornets, wasps and bees don't attack anyone who isn't an imminent threat.

Hornets are even protected in some European countries. They and the others need all the protection they can get.

[ericd]

Easy nomoss ...... I was on my barn roof earlier this month, mid-afternoon and high 30's temperatures. I needed to reposition/place a few tile as I could see daylight through ..... climbed on the said roof with safety shoes and not much above my waist ..... reached the apex of the roof when a dozen wasps started to attack me. I swear, they hadn't been provoked, I hadn't even yet started to put the tiles in place so couldn't have disturbed any nest ... yet. I couldn't run away as I risked breaking every single tile around me with my heavy boots, I couldn't wave a t-shirt at them as I wasn't wearing one ..... I just had to take the stings as they came until they had had enough ..... 4 on the left hand, 3 on my right elbow, 4 on my left elbow and a couple in the head ..... Ouchhh ...

The left hand nearly doubled in size over the course of the next 3 days.

Did I want to save the species on that roof ..... Not one second. I would have been happy to wipe off the whole colony in one swift move.

I went back to normal on day 5. Tiles now safely put back together.

[nomoss]

[quote user="ericd"]Easy nomoss ...... I was on my barn roof earlier this month, mid-afternoon and high 30's temperatures. I needed to reposition/place a few tile as I could see daylight through ..... climbed on the said roof with safety shoes and not much above my waist ..... reached the apex of the roof when a dozen wasps started to attack me. I swear, they hadn't been provoked, I hadn't even yet started to put the tiles in place so couldn't have disturbed any nest ... yet. I couldn't run away as I risked breaking every single tile around me with my heavy boots, I couldn't wave a t-shirt at them as I wasn't wearing one ..... I just had to take the stings as they came until they had had enough ..... 4 on the left hand, 3 on my right elbow, 4 on my left elbow and a couple in the head ..... Ouchhh ...

The left hand nearly doubled in size over the course of the next 3 days.

Did I want to save the species on that roof ..... Not one second. I would have been happy to wipe off the whole colony in one swift move.

I went back to normal on day 5. Tiles now safely put back together.[/quote]

I've been stung by wasps too on a few occasions, the last time by one which came in through the car window when I was driving quite fast, and a couple of years ago my wife was stung in the mouth by two or three which had got inside a can of Coke she had put down for  couple of minutes.

She she still helps wasps out which have fallen into the bird bath where hundreds of them drink during every day in this hot weather.

We certainly don't want to wipe them off the planet, and I'm sure you don't either.

[ericd]

No nomoss and I agree with your comments. I have on many occasions after found myself fishing a few out of a bowl of water to give them their freedom ......