wrote in message
...
Hi,

I've had a wasps nest in a very tight space within my attic roof void.
I'm wondering when the wasps will leave it and fly off.

I need to get up there and do some maintainance before the winter but
dont want to be attacked. I cant get to the nest to spray it either.

Can anyone help?


Your local pest control contractors can help, at a price, if the nest
remains active. It should be deserted by now (late November), since the
queen should die in autumn, rapidly followed by the workers, and next year's
queens should have found suitable hibernation sites. If you have not noticed
any wasp activity recently, it's probably OK. However, as the only way to
tell for sure is to get up there and investigate, which is what you are wary
of, you may be advised to phone a local contractor and ask for advice/help.

in article , Grahame Fendle at
wrote on 25/11/02 11:24 am:

"Peter Crosland" wrote:

The wasps will be long dead by this time of year.

Oh dear. How wrong can you be?

I listened to this advice from someone else some months ago. I wish I never
had, for it had almost tragic consequences.

I must agree with this. I think that when someone makes that comment, they
should add the rider "depending where you live". In the milder parts of
Britain, my experience is that they most definitely do NOT die off in
winter.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

In article ,
sacha writes:
| in article , Grahame Fendle at
| wrote on 25/11/02 11:24 am:
| "Peter Crosland" wrote:
|
| The wasps will be long dead by this time of year.
|
| Oh dear. How wrong can you be?
|
| I listened to this advice from someone else some months ago. I wish I never
| had, for it had almost tragic consequences.
|
| I must agree with this. I think that when someone makes that comment, they
| should add the rider "depending where you live". In the milder parts of
| Britain, my experience is that they most definitely do NOT die off in
| winter.

Even in Cambridge, we have had only one mild frost. The mistake
here is following the rigid rule-book approach so beloved of most
gardening writers and almost all bureaucrats. We should judge
the passing of the seasons from observational cues and not the
calendar.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
sacha writes:
| in article , Grahame Fendle
at
| wrote on 25/11/02 11:24 am:
| "Peter Crosland" wrote:
|
| The wasps will be long dead by this time of year.
|
| Oh dear. How wrong can you be?
|
| I listened to this advice from someone else some months ago. I wish I
never
| had, for it had almost tragic consequences.
|
| I must agree with this. I think that when someone makes that comment,
they
| should add the rider "depending where you live". In the milder parts
of
| Britain, my experience is that they most definitely do NOT die off in
| winter.

Even in Cambridge, we have had only one mild frost. The mistake
here is following the rigid rule-book approach so beloved of most
gardening writers and almost all bureaucrats. We should judge
the passing of the seasons from observational cues and not the
calendar.


That depends on what triggers a particular organism's response to the
changing seasons. With those that die in winter because they cannot tolerate
frosts, 'winter' starts with the first frosts. With those that change
because of length of day, for instance, they will follow the calendar almost
irrespective of the weather.

I don't know for sure what governs the wasp's life cycle, but I wouldn't
assume a nest 'must' be dead just because it is autumn outside. Assumption
is the mother of all cock ups :-)

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 25 Nov 2002 18:52:01 -0000, "BAC"
wrote:
I live in a bungalo (50 years old) with a couple of dormer bedrooms
(10 years old) that were added by the previous owner.
From the outside i can see the wasps going in under the slates on the
verticle wall on the sides of the dormer windows.

Inside the house if i put my ear to the wall I can hear a loud buzzing
noise all along the inside if the wall.

Inside the roof void I need to lay some electrical cable ready for
when the electrician is coming over next week to fit some lights.

Over the past few weeks the wasps inside the house have been getting
bigger & bigger but for the past couple of days I've not seen any
inside the house.



The bigger wasps may well be queens looking for suitable hibernation sites.
If you can still hear buzzing, or detect activity, then, obviously, the nest
is still active. If you consult Yellow Pages, you should find a choice of
contractors able to SAFELY destroy and remove the nest.

In article ,
"BAC" writes:
|
| Even in Cambridge, we have had only one mild frost. The mistake
| here is following the rigid rule-book approach so beloved of most
| gardening writers and almost all bureaucrats. We should judge
| the passing of the seasons from observational cues and not the
| calendar.
|
| That depends on what triggers a particular organism's response to the
| changing seasons. With those that die in winter because they cannot tolerate
| frosts, 'winter' starts with the first frosts. With those that change
| because of length of day, for instance, they will follow the calendar almost
| irrespective of the weather.

More-or-less, except that many of those are also affect by light
levels, which can vary by a factor of 2 in a given month depending
on the weather.

| I don't know for sure what governs the wasp's life cycle, but I wouldn't
| assume a nest 'must' be dead just because it is autumn outside. Assumption
| is the mother of all cock ups :-)

Yes, indeed.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

sacha wrote:

I must agree with this. I think that when someone makes that comment, they
should add the rider "depending where you live". In the milder parts of
Britain, my experience is that they most definitely do NOT die off in
winter.

Total agreement from me. The wasps nesting my house have only just left,
within the last week in fact, and I'll be sure that if I ever have another
nest in the house, it will be destroyed immediately.

We've had a complete nightmare here, it's been horrendous.

In article , sacha
writes
in article , Grahame Fendle at
wrote on 25/11/02 11:24 am:

"Peter Crosland" wrote:

The wasps will be long dead by this time of year.

Oh dear. How wrong can you be?

I listened to this advice from someone else some months ago. I wish I never
had, for it had almost tragic consequences.

I must agree with this. I think that when someone makes that comment, they
should add the rider "depending where you live". In the milder parts of
Britain, my experience is that they most definitely do NOT die off in
winter.

In New Zealand, wasp nests have become a serious problem in the milder
areas. North of Auckland there have been examples of active nests
persisting for several seasons and becoming huge - literally metres
across.

In Bedfordshire I find they are not too difficult to deal with. If you
need to kill one off it is easy to wait until nightfall and then use
powdered insecticide on the insects route to and from the nest. They
take it in with them next day, and a couple of days usually sees the
nests demise.

I have found though that usually it is best to leave them alone. They
are good for pest control (aphids etc) and I have also noticed that
wasps from a nest in our roof tend not to bother us, but go further
afield and therefore grant us some degree of immunity. I speak as
someone who has something of a phobia of wasps, but has learned to live
with them. We get a nest pretty much every year somewhere in our roof,
but for several years have ignored them. Until this last summer that is,
when during some decorating I managed to poke a screwdriver through the
ceiling, straight into a nest which I'd forgotten about. That was
exciting because when I withdrew the screwdriver they came out like a
fire hose, but I still managed to avoid being stung (though the room was
unusable for 48 hrs), and applied the above remedy.

Hornets are the things to beware of. Trouble on an altogether different
scale.
--
Jim A

On Sat, 30 Nov 2002 18:01:08 +0000, Jim A wrote:

Hornets are the things to beware of. Trouble on an altogether
different scale.

But normally a nest only has a hundred or so, not the thousands of a
wasps nest. Trouble with hornets is that there is something about
human breath that drives 'em beserk. Never breath on a hornet. At
least thats what the handler said when filming some a year or so back.

--
Cheers
Dave. Remove "spam" for valid email.

In article , Jim A
writes

Hornets are the things to beware of. Trouble on an altogether different
scale.

The scale may be different, but everyone I've met who has had experience
of hornets has found them much less aggressive than wasps.
It sounds as if your experience is different.

--
Malcolm

"Jim A" wrote in message
...
In article , sacha
writes
in article , Grahame Fendle at
snip

Hornets are the things to beware of. Trouble on an altogether different
scale.

Most authorities claim hornets are usually less aggressive than common
wasps, and I've never had any trouble with them (in my admittedly limited
experience - fortunately, I've never disturbed a hornet's nest, and have no
wish to do so) but all nests of stinging social insects like wasps, hornets,
or bees, should be treated with utmost respect, IMHO, assuming you know they
are there, of course. There's no legislating for accidents.

Jim A wrote:

I have found though that usually it is best to leave them alone. They
are good for pest control (aphids etc) and I have also noticed that
wasps from a nest in our roof tend not to bother us, but go further
afield and therefore grant us some degree of immunity. I speak as
someone who has something of a phobia of wasps, but has learned to live

Whilst I agree with this in principle, it is my experience that as time
goes by they become more bothersome. I realise that every case is unique,
but in our case we had a real problem with wasps appearing in almost every
room in the house, and then finding somewhere warm - usually a bed, or a
bag. Not nice to go to bed, having to pull back sheets and pillows, and
still find that one has managed to hide itself away somewhere.

Our nest was, I think, hidden in the cavity wall somewhere. Despite sealing
various holes around radiator pipes and so on, they still managed to
propogate to the kitchen which is one floor below and two rooms way!

I for one won't be tolerating another nest in the house. :-(

In article , BAC
writes

"Jim A" wrote in message
...
In article , sacha
writes
in article , Grahame Fendle at
snip

Hornets are the things to beware of. Trouble on an altogether different
scale.

Most authorities claim hornets are usually less aggressive than common
wasps, and I've never had any trouble with them (in my admittedly limited
experience - fortunately, I've never disturbed a hornet's nest, and have no
wish to do so) but all nests of stinging social insects like wasps, hornets,
or bees, should be treated with utmost respect, IMHO, assuming you know they
are there, of course. There's no legislating for accidents.

I saw half a dozen hornets really go for someone about ten years ago.
Not a pretty sight and he got three stings. Unfortunately as seems to
often be the case a hornet sting means a visit to A & E, and he was kept
in overnight.
--
Jim A

On Fri, 6 Dec 2002 21:15:35 +0000, Jim A
wrote:

I saw half a dozen hornets really go for someone about ten years ago.
Not a pretty sight and he got three stings. Unfortunately as seems to
often be the case a hornet sting means a visit to A & E, and he was kept
in overnight.

Would you happen to know the formal Latin epithet for these
hornets? I gather that the "European hornet" (what I suppose you
are referring to) is quite different from what we call hornets
here.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

In article ,
Rodger Whitlock wrote:
On Fri, 6 Dec 2002 21:15:35 +0000, Jim A
wrote:

I saw half a dozen hornets really go for someone about ten years ago.
Not a pretty sight and he got three stings. Unfortunately as seems to
often be the case a hornet sting means a visit to A & E, and he was kept
in overnight.

Would you happen to know the formal Latin epithet for these
hornets? I gather that the "European hornet" (what I suppose you
are referring to) is quite different from what we call hornets
here.

Vespa crabro.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679