Nuke it from orbit or kill it with fire?

Street · 4 Dec 2010 at 17:26

I was just up in the loft part of the extension on my house, trying to put in a new layer of insulation to keep me a bit warmer when I stumbled across the following down at the end of the building up against the wall..

Sorry for the crappy quality photos but they were the best I could do while hanging half in the loft with a torch!

Is it what I think it is? A massive wasps nest!? It measures about a meter and a half across the bottom!

What are the chances of there being any wasps in it this time of year? I absolutely hate wasps so really don't want to be working up there if there are any about!

Street · 4 Dec 2010 at 17:32

Graeme43 said:
holy crap thats freaky! if i found that in mine id be too scared to go up ever again! why dont u poke it with a stick and we'll see what happens from there?

Yeh I kinda don't want to go back up.. I hate wasps more than anything!

Street · 4 Dec 2010 at 17:33

shroomz said:
1. Deodorant
2. Zippo
3. Light
...
FLAMETHROWER!
???
PROFIT!
???
new house + arson charge

I have just renewed my house insurance so I could make it look like an accident..

Guess I'll have to call the council out!

Street · 4 Dec 2010 at 17:36

Checked with the council and they should do it for free, although they won't touch it if its dead..

Street · 4 Dec 2010 at 17:49

GeezerButler said:
Still, at least it's in your loft and not in your bedroom:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-481767/Unsuspecting-couple-slept-entire-night-wasp-nest-pillow.html

Thats horrible! I'm going to be having nightmares tonight..

Housey said:
Small charge as I recall, wife sorted it out but no more wasps!

Luckily Liverpool Council do it all for free!

Street · 4 Dec 2010 at 17:56

shroomz said:
OP, you should be fine because wasps don't reuse nests year after year, but call the council in anyway to have a look at it

If I owned a nest that big I'd make damn sure I kept coming back to it!

Street · 4 Dec 2010 at 18:13

cm1179 said:
if that were me, i'd go back down the ladder, close the loft hatch and pretend i didn't see a thing

Thats pretty much what I did.. Although I took pictures to post here first!

Street · 4 Dec 2010 at 22:20

Vampire said:
99% chance it'll be empty. Wasps don't hibernate as a colony as bees do, a few queen wasps disappear off and hibernate on their own.

A mate of mine had a few old nests in his attic, I just went up there with a bin liner and scooped them in. I'd probably give them a few exploratory pokes with a stick first just to make sure.

I want to get on and get the insulation done tomorrow so think I'll give it a few pokes and see what happens, I'll try and get a decent light up there instead of just holding my little Maglite in my mouth and get some proper pictures!

Hopefully I'm not allergic to wasps like my dad is! Don't want to be rushing to the hospital tomorrow..

Street · 5 Dec 2010 at 18:42

I borrowed the gf's camera today to get some better pictures..

(Click it for the full size!)

Managed to finish most of the insulation apart from the bit at the end around the nest, was going to poke it but sort of lost the bottle and ended up leaving it be!

Street · 5 Dec 2010 at 19:23

LizardKing said:
That really is a work of art!
Those wasps certainly like there swirls!

It almost seems a shame to destroy it.. Then I remember how much I hate wasps!

Street · 6 Dec 2010 at 10:18

Might send a picture into the Echo see what they say. Turns out that the council do charge for wasps so think I might just get up there and smash it with a brush and hope for the best! If I smash it down, its going to be hard for me to get up there to remove the pieces, is it OK just to leave them?

Does anyone know if wasp allergies are hereditary? As my dad is massively allergic to them.. He got stung on the nose and had to be rushed to hospital. His face was swollen up like the elephant man and he couldn't breath! Don't fancy that happening to me..

Street · 6 Dec 2010 at 14:33

Kazz said:
Can the OP confirm that he has indeed tried whacking it with his penis yet?

Regards
Kazz

Well I was up in the loft stark naked with my schlong in hand about to probe the nest when my missus asked me what the hell I was doing and I had to come back down the ladder.. I think I'm just going to hit it with a broom instead!

Street · 6 Dec 2010 at 16:41

kingy666 said:
I notice your location is Liverpool. I don't suppose this is the same nest i stuck my head in is it, do you live in Waterloo?. Does it have a head shaped dent in it?

Haha.. I'm in Childwall! Although it will have some large holes made in it soon!

I can't think of anything worse than putting my head into a nest, empty or not!