Have been ferreting around in the loft this evening, routing & clipping up
ethernet & co-ax cables etc.
At the farthest end of the loft space, which is about 12m from the hatch,
there is a wasp nest attached to an end gable. No signs of activity, but I
guess there would'nt be much at this time of year given the current
temperature. It certainly wasn't there 2 years ago, so may well be live.
Not a big nest, about 30cm in each vaguely triangular direction.
Would I be safe to break this up whilst vacuuming it into an industrial
vaucuum cleaner
or should I pay for someone to come and do it?
Major problem is that this loft is crawl space only. Maximum height is
slightly under 1m.
A racing crawl from the nest to the hatch takes the best part of a minute
(tried it this evening and have the bumped head, knees, knuckles etc to
prove it). I don't have appropriate ppc and am somewhat hesitant as a bunch
of irate wasps will definitely be faster than I.
The tiled roof has sarking rather than felt, I imagine this allows ingress
for the little blighters.
Any constructive suggestions would be much appreciated.

Nick.

"Nick" wrote in message
...
Have been ferreting around in the loft this evening, routing & clipping up
ethernet & co-ax cables etc.
At the farthest end of the loft space, which is about 12m from the hatch,
there is a wasp nest attached to an end gable. No signs of activity, but I
guess there would'nt be much at this time of year given the current
temperature. It certainly wasn't there 2 years ago, so may well be live.
Not a big nest, about 30cm in each vaguely triangular direction.
Would I be safe to break this up whilst vacuuming it into an industrial
vaucuum cleaner
or should I pay for someone to come and do it?
Major problem is that this loft is crawl space only. Maximum height is
slightly under 1m.
A racing crawl from the nest to the hatch takes the best part of a minute
(tried it this evening and have the bumped head, knees, knuckles etc to
prove it). I don't have appropriate ppc and am somewhat hesitant as a
bunch
of irate wasps will definitely be faster than I.
The tiled roof has sarking rather than felt, I imagine this allows ingress
for the little blighters.
Any constructive suggestions would be much appreciated.

Nick.


http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...more_info.html

"Nick" wrote in message
...

At the farthest end of the loft space, which is about 12m from the hatch,
there is a wasp nest attached to an end gable. No signs of activity, but I
guess there would'nt be much at this time of year given the current
temperature. It certainly wasn't there 2 years ago, so may well be live.

There'll be nothing living in it and it won't be occupied again. I promise.

What you do it get a sharp knife - a bread knife is good. Hold a bin liner
under the nest and saw through where the nest is attached to the timbers. It
will be very tough. Allow the nest to go, gently, into the bin bag.

To make you confident that there is nothing living in it, tie the bag
securely and put the lot into the deep freeze overnight. Next day take it
out, saw down the nest - very carefully, parts are very fragile - and admire
the architecture. If you have children show them too. Any insects left will
be dead - they were dead before you cut it down.

Not a big nest, about 30cm in each vaguely triangular direction.
Would I be safe to break this up whilst vacuuming it into an industrial
vaucuum cleaner

You can do if you like but it would be destroyed and wasted before you can
look at it.

or should I pay for someone to come and do it?

Not unless you pay me :-) I've removed lots of wasps' nests when they've
been very active - but only when I haven't been able to persuade people to
keep them (when I charge the Earth) or when it's been absolutely necessary.
The local council will charge a lot, even when it's not occupied.

Major problem is that this loft is crawl space only. Maximum height is
slightly under 1m.

That's deep enough.

A racing crawl from the nest to the hatch takes the best part of a minute
(tried it this evening and have the bumped head, knees, knuckles etc to
prove it). I don't have appropriate ppc and am somewhat hesitant as a
bunch
of irate wasps will definitely be faster than I.

There's no need to race, there are no living wasps in your nest. Please
don't worry.

The tiled roof has sarking rather than felt, I imagine this allows ingress
for the little blighters.

They can get in through very tiny holes. You can't stop them if there's any
ventilation at all in your roof space no matter what the construction is.

Any constructive suggestions would be much appreciated.

I hope this is good enough. If not, either reply here on mail me - my addy
is genuine.

Mary

Nick.

"Sam" wrote in message
...


http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...more_info.html
That's a sound natural history site but of no practical help to Nick.

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

"Sam" wrote in message
...


http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...more_info.html
That's a sound natural history site but of no practical help to Nick.

Mary




Maybe you're right, perhaps the bit "At the end of autumn a number of eggs
develop into new queens and males, which leave the nest and mate. The new
queens seek out suitable places in which to hibernate, and the males and the
old colony (including the old queen) die" would be a bit beyond his grasp,
do you think? Or just yours?

Sam

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Sam" saying
something like:

Maybe you're right, perhaps the bit "At the end of autumn a number of eggs
develop into new queens and males, which leave the nest and mate. The new
queens seek out suitable places in which to hibernate, and the males and the
old colony (including the old queen) die" would be a bit beyond his grasp,
do you think? Or just yours?

Bit of a ******, aren't you, Sam?
--

Dave

"Sam" wrote in message
...

http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...more_info.html
That's a sound natural history site but of no practical help to Nick.

Mary




Maybe you're right, perhaps the bit "At the end of autumn a number of eggs
develop into new queens and males, which leave the nest and mate. The new
queens seek out suitable places in which to hibernate, and the males and
the old colony (including the old queen) die" would be a bit beyond his
grasp, do you think? Or just yours?

Sam

Not much to add to Mary's sane and as ever sensible advice, except some
things you might want to bear in mind:
Wasps don't return to old nests, but the same things that attracted
them to your loft in the first place are likely to continue attracting
them.
Wasps aren't particularly destructive, but they do use 'raw' materials
to construct their nests, quite often these will come from outside, but
it's not unheard of for them to eat wood (joists) or cardboard from
within the loft space for this purpose.

Basically, there's no need to rush/stress/panic, but do try and find
out how they made it in and then block their entry so they don't become
an annual little 'visitor'.

Seri

P.S. don't fall for the misconception that wasps are bad, they're
actually quite nice little buggers (unless they sting you).

"Grimly Curmudgeon" wrote in message
...
It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Sam" saying
something like:

Maybe you're right, perhaps the bit "At the end of autumn a number of eggs
develop into new queens and males, which leave the nest and mate. The new
queens seek out suitable places in which to hibernate, and the males and
the
old colony (including the old queen) die" would be a bit beyond his grasp,
do you think? Or just yours?

Bit of a ******, aren't you, Sam?
--


Well I have in the past, not so much these days, what's it like in sore
wrist land these days John?

Sam

"Sam" wrote in message
...


http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...more_info.html
That's a sound natural history site but of no practical help to Nick.

Mary




Maybe you're right, perhaps the bit "At the end of autumn a number of eggs
develop into new queens and males, which leave the nest and mate. The new
queens seek out suitable places in which to hibernate, and the males and
the old colony (including the old queen) die" would be a bit beyond his
grasp, do you think? Or just yours?

Nothing on the site is beyond my grasp (I'm an hymenopterist). The new
queens never hibernate in an old nest so the above is irrelevant and I
certainly don't grasp your point.

I suggest that you hold your insults until you know others' qualifications
and experience.

Mary

Sam

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

"Sam" wrote in message
...

http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...more_info.html
That's a sound natural history site but of no practical help to Nick.

Mary




Maybe you're right, perhaps the bit "At the end of autumn a number of
eggs develop into new queens and males, which leave the nest and mate.
The new queens seek out suitable places in which to hibernate, and the
males and the old colony (including the old queen) die" would be a bit
beyond his grasp, do you think? Or just yours?

Sam



Yes I wholly agree Mary, best post of your's I've ever read.

Regards

Sam

Seconded.

If you do hear any buzzing or signs of insect activity, don't panic. It will
be small black flies which have hatched out of dead grubs. (I took one out
of a mothballed horsebox last year).

If you have do deal with a "live" one in the season because it is somewhere
*very* inconvenient, the aerosol sprays from hardware shops (less than a
fiver) are easy to use and not scary. They spray a jet of foam containing
insecticide about 10 feet or so, you block up the opening and then cover the
rest of the nest and leave them to die.

"Seri" wrote in message
ups.com...
Not much to add to Mary's sane and as ever sensible advice, except some
things you might want to bear in mind:
Wasps don't return to old nests, but the same things that attracted
them to your loft in the first place are likely to continue attracting
them.

They need a dark pace which is easily defenable (i.e. with a small entrance)
and of sufficient size. All roof spaces satisfy those demands and are very
common places for queens to start nests.

Wasps aren't particularly destructive, but they do use 'raw' materials
to construct their nests, quite often these will come from outside, but
it's not unheard of for them to eat wood (joists) or cardboard from
within the loft space for this purpose.

They *might* use roof timbers, although it's more likely that they'll fetch
it in from outside because they're 'programmed' to forage outside. But even
if they do use roof timbers they're not going to weaken the framework of the
house.

To show this, if Nick (or anyone who takes a nest as I suggested) weighs the
nest they'll see how light it is. Generations of wasps, if they exclusively
took roof timbers, wouldn't make any impact on them during a human lifetime!

Basically, there's no need to rush/stress/panic, but do try and find
out how they made it in and then block their entry so they don't become
an annual little 'visitor'.

You can't block every possible entry, it's impossible. If you do you're
courting disaster in losing ventilation.

Seri

P.S. don't fall for the misconception that wasps are bad, they're
actually quite nice little buggers (unless they sting you).

People tell me that dogs are nice but I've been bitten by them - and their
bites have been far worse than any insect stings (to which I sometimes have
a general reaction and could, in theory, die).

Wasps are beautiful, clever and wonderful predators on many of what humans
consider pests in the garden. Without them we'd be ankle deep in creepy
crawlies.

Mary

Mary

"Newshound" wrote in message
...
Seconded.

If you do hear any buzzing or signs of insect activity, don't panic. It
will be small black flies which have hatched out of dead grubs. (I took
one out of a mothballed horsebox last year).

If you have do deal with a "live" one in the season because it is
somewhere *very* inconvenient, the aerosol sprays from hardware shops
(less than a fiver) are easy to use and not scary. They spray a jet of
foam containing insecticide about 10 feet or so, you block up the opening
and then cover the rest of the nest and leave them to die.

But they can also have an effect on humans. I wouldn't use any of them
except in extreme circumstances. Mostly I do without my fee and persuade
householders to let the colony run its course. I don't like spreading
poisons of any kind.

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

"Sam" wrote in message
...


http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/in...more_info.html
That's a sound natural history site but of no practical help to Nick.

Mary




Maybe you're right, perhaps the bit "At the end of autumn a number of
eggs develop into new queens and males, which leave the nest and mate.
The new queens seek out suitable places in which to hibernate, and the
males and the old colony (including the old queen) die" would be a bit
beyond his grasp, do you think? Or just yours?

Nothing on the site is beyond my grasp (I'm an hymenopterist). The new
queens never hibernate in an old nest so the above is irrelevant and I
certainly don't grasp your point.

I suggest that you hold your insults until you know others' qualifications
and experience.

Mary

Sam



Well I've had a few hymens in my time but to be honest pulling rank in
usenet is just HaHaHaHaHaHa!.

The OP is obviously totally ignorant of wasp lifecycles or a troll, either
way my original post was not invalid. So sod off!

Sam

"Sam" wrote in message
...



Well I've had a few hymens in my time but to be honest pulling rank in
usenet is just HaHaHaHaHaHa!.

Oh dear, Sam, you're really showing your ignorance now. I suspect you didn't
read the website.

The OP is obviously totally ignorant of wasp lifecycles or a troll, either
way my original post was not invalid.

It was invalid because he asked how to deal with the nest, not for the
lifecycle of the insect.

Over and out.

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...

"Sam" wrote in message
...



Well I've had a few hymens in my time but to be honest pulling rank in
usenet is just HaHaHaHaHaHa!.

Oh dear, Sam, you're really showing your ignorance now. I suspect you
didn't read the website.

Oh I would say woosh, but yawn is a better reply.


The OP is obviously totally ignorant of wasp lifecycles or a troll,
either way my original post was not invalid.

It was invalid because he asked how to deal with the nest, not for the
lifecycle of the insect.

Well I guess your attitude of "Oh I'm clever I'll tell what to do, down to
what sort of knives should be used" Is the current usenet theme, rather than
the "hey look here I'll gently give you an idea of where to get a clue" of
old, but hey the world changes, broadband comes, web forums rise, we go
away, you're pleased, all left are dull trolls and idiots. |Well enjoy.


Over and out.

goodbye

"Newshound" wrote in message
...
Seconded.

If you do hear any buzzing or signs of insect activity, don't panic. It
will be small black flies which have hatched out of dead grubs. (I took
one out of a mothballed horsebox last year).

If you have do deal with a "live" one in the season because it is
somewhere *very* inconvenient, the aerosol sprays from hardware shops
(less than a fiver) are easy to use and not scary. They spray a jet of
foam containing insecticide about 10 feet or so, you block up the opening
and then cover the rest of the nest and leave them to die.


Keep sources of ignition away until all the fluid has evaporated and
dissipated but ordinary red diesel fuel squirted from a trigger spray with
the nozzle set to jet is extremely effective and cheap if you need to evict
wasps and the nest. If they arent causing immediate nuisance wait until cold
weather and scrape the dormant nest and any contents off the rafter into a
poly bag and dispose.
I exterminated a nest using the above technique when the waps had built in
the roof of a shed belonging to a friend who suffered extreme reaction to
wasp stings. She even used to carry self administerable shots to use if she
had the misfortune to suffer a sting or bite hence the continued presence of
the wasps could not reasonably be tolerated

The OP is obviously totally ignorant of wasp lifecycles or a troll,
either
way my original post was not invalid. So sod off!

Sam


The OP is totally ignorant of wasp lifecycles and is not a troll. That is
why he posted here. You being hermaphroditic, Sam, might care to foxtrot
oscar and mind you own business.
Nick.

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Nick" wrote in message
...


At the farthest end of the loft space, which is about 12m from the hatch,
there is a wasp nest attached to an end gable. No signs of activity, but I
guess there would'nt be much at this time of year given the current
temperature. It certainly wasn't there 2 years ago, so may well be live.


There'll be nothing living in it and it won't be occupied again. I promise.

What you do it get a sharp knife - a bread knife is good. Hold a bin liner
under the nest and saw through where the nest is attached to the timbers. It
will be very tough. Allow the nest to go, gently, into the bin bag.

To make you confident that there is nothing living in it, tie the bag
securely and put the lot into the deep freeze overnight. Next day take it
out, saw down the nest - very carefully, parts are very fragile - and admire
the architecture. If you have children show them too. Any insects left will
be dead - they were dead before you cut it down.


Not a big nest, about 30cm in each vaguely triangular direction.
Would I be safe to break this up whilst vacuuming it into an industrial
vaucuum cleaner


You can do if you like but it would be destroyed and wasted before you can
look at it.

I have vacuumed out a wasp's nest - at arm's (plus vacuum cleaner
extension tube's :-) length. It was in a loft I was boarding up (and in
the way of the new floor) and I wasn't confident that it was dead/empty
even though it was winter and I'd been assured - on this very group -
that it would be harmless (which it was, as it turned out). Next time I
would like to extract one whole to look at: they really are beautiful,
even just from the outside.

There's no need to race, there are no living wasps in your nest. Please
don't worry.

I'm sure the nest isn't _full_ of living wasps, but I wouldn't be sure
there aren't any live ones around. I got stung by a wasp about 5 weeks
ago (mid-December). The wasp was lurking on an indoor windowsill on our
stairway, but since we'd had a nest in our attic (which, under Mary's
influence, I hadn't done anything about!) and had just had the loft
hatch open I'm pretty sure it came down from the attic. In other years
and/or in other houses I've also seen large wasps flying slowly around
in the attic in winter. Maybe oop North they do all die in the winter
but in the soft South a few can obviously live on well past their
sell-by date.

Basically, there's no need to rush/stress/panic, but do try and find
out how they made it in and then block their entry so they don't become
an annual little 'visitor'.

Seri

P.S. don't fall for the misconception that wasps are bad, they're
actually quite nice little buggers (unless they sting you).

Thanks Seri,

I don't believe they are bad; I don't want to have to live with them in the
house with my family and pets.
All of us have suffered stings over the last few years, nothing disastrous
but painful at the time.
This isn't a knee-jerk reaction, believe me.
In my OP I said that the roof has sarking and not felt. This means that
there will be small spaces under most rooftiles that might allow ingress. A
rough calculation gives 130,000 roof tiles. That's a lot of small spaces.
Probably time to consider re-roofing the whole lot but where to find
someone to cope with this lot. Listed buildings, tythe barns etc.

Many thanks for your advice

Nick.

"Nick" wrote in message
...


The OP is obviously totally ignorant of wasp lifecycles or a troll,
either
way my original post was not invalid. So sod off!

Sam


The OP is totally ignorant of wasp lifecycles and is not a troll. That is
why he posted here. You being hermaphroditic, Sam, might care to foxtrot
oscar and mind you own business.
Nick.
Yes totally correct, usenet qualification grade A+, well done that man!
(wtf?)

Sam

Nick,
if this is the first time you've had them (bearing in mind that I
don't have the first clue how long you've been in your current house),
then the chances are you won't see them that frequently.
For some reason in my house we used to have them as far too
frequent guest, but the filling of some old crumbled mortar has evicted
them from their old summer holiday home.

Personally, check back when the weather gets warmer and see if there's
the beginning of a new nest (it will be a very small little paper mache
ball), if there is then perhaps investigate some of the various
chemical solutions. Generally, the nest you have there now will be last
years nest and will be completely vacant. Follow the other posters
advice and remove it with a thick plastic bag and if you're really
worried then freeze it over night,

If there's no new nests over this summer then to be it's probably
easiest to just forget about them and check back each year.
Hope this is of some help.

Seri

In message , Nick
writes
Have been ferreting around in the loft this evening, routing & clipping up
ethernet & co-ax cables etc.
At the farthest end of the loft space, which is about 12m from the hatch,
there is a wasp nest attached to an end gable. No signs of activity, but I
guess there would'nt be much at this time of year given the current
temperature. It certainly wasn't there 2 years ago, so may well be live.
Not a big nest, about 30cm in each vaguely triangular direction.
Would I be safe to break this up whilst vacuuming it into an industrial
vaucuum cleaner
or should I pay for someone to come and do it?
Major problem is that this loft is crawl space only. Maximum height is
slightly under 1m.
A racing crawl from the nest to the hatch takes the best part of a minute
(tried it this evening and have the bumped head, knees, knuckles etc to
prove it). I don't have appropriate ppc and am somewhat hesitant as a bunch
of irate wasps will definitely be faster than I.
The tiled roof has sarking rather than felt, I imagine this allows ingress
for the little blighters.
Any constructive suggestions would be much appreciated.

Chop it off and drop it into a bin liner


--
geoff

In message , Mary
Fisher writes

"Nick" wrote in message
...

At the farthest end of the loft space, which is about 12m from the hatch,
there is a wasp nest attached to an end gable. No signs of activity, but I
guess there would'nt be much at this time of year given the current
temperature. It certainly wasn't there 2 years ago, so may well be live.

There'll be nothing living in it and it won't be occupied again. I promise.

What you do it get a sharp knife - a bread knife is good. Hold a bin liner
under the nest and saw through where the nest is attached to the timbers. It
will be very tough. Allow the nest to go, gently, into the bin bag.

That's what I said - although the word "gently" didn't figure, and not
even a whiff of hymens for years

--
geoff

In message , John
writes

"Newshound" wrote in message
...
Seconded.

If you do hear any buzzing or signs of insect activity, don't panic. It
will be small black flies which have hatched out of dead grubs. (I took
one out of a mothballed horsebox last year).

If you have do deal with a "live" one in the season because it is
somewhere *very* inconvenient, the aerosol sprays from hardware shops
(less than a fiver) are easy to use and not scary. They spray a jet of
foam containing insecticide about 10 feet or so, you block up the opening
and then cover the rest of the nest and leave them to die.


Keep sources of ignition away until all the fluid has evaporated and
dissipated but ordinary red diesel fuel squirted from a trigger spray with
the nozzle set to jet is extremely effective and cheap if you need to evict
wasps and the nest. If they arent causing immediate nuisance wait until cold
weather and scrape the dormant nest and any contents off the rafter into a
poly bag and dispose.
I exterminated a nest using the above technique when the waps had built in
the roof of a shed belonging to a friend who suffered extreme reaction to
wasp stings. She even used to carry self administerable shots to use if she
had the misfortune to suffer a sting or bite hence the continued presence of
the wasps could not reasonably be tolerated

From my experience from a couple of years ago, when I had to replace
some split lead in a valley

the best stuff is Nippon powder

--
geoff

Mary Fisher wrote:
"Sam" wrote in message
...



Well I've had a few hymens in my time but to be honest pulling rank in
usenet is just HaHaHaHaHaHa!.


Oh dear, Sam, you're really showing your ignorance now. I suspect you didn't
read the website.

The OP is obviously totally ignorant of wasp lifecycles or a troll, either
way my original post was not invalid.


It was invalid because he asked how to deal with the nest, not for the
lifecycle of the insect.

Over and out.

Mary

Well, I would have thought it would have been useful to have understood
what Sam was saying. If it wasn't, then surely the OP could have pointed
that out rather than you. Seems to me like you enjoy picking fights.

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 22:16:26 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


People tell me that dogs are nice but I've been bitten by them - and their
bites have been far worse than any insect stings

Ah, but dogs don't climb into yer beer can when you aren't looking do
they Mary? ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

"T i m" wrote in message
...



People tell me that dogs are nice but I've been bitten by them - and their
bites have been far worse than any insect stings

Ah, but dogs don't climb into yer beer can when you aren't looking do
they Mary? ;-)

I don't drink beer from cans. Wasps can be rescued from glasses :-)

Mary

"John" wrote in message
...

I exterminated a nest using the above technique when the waps had built in
the roof of a shed belonging to a friend who suffered extreme reaction to
wasp stings. She even used to carry self administerable shots to use if
she had the misfortune to suffer a sting or bite hence the continued
presence of the wasps could not reasonably be tolerated

I have the same condition. But I continued to keep bees until my arthritis
made it unsafe (for the bees) and I still remove swarms of bees and wasp
nests from properties when there isn't another option.

a) knowing about what you're dealing with makes it safe - most of us drive
cars which can be lethal. In UK more people die as a result of vehicle
accidents in one week than die of all stings and bites from all sources in
one year.

b) the removal of one nest has a minuscule affect on the number of stinging
and biting insects around us.

Mary

"John Stumbles" wrote in message
...

There's no need to race, there are no living wasps in your nest. Please
don't worry.

I'm sure the nest isn't _full_ of living wasps, but I wouldn't be sure
there aren't any live ones around. I got stung by a wasp about 5 weeks ago
(mid-December). The wasp was lurking on an indoor windowsill on our
stairway, but since we'd had a nest in our attic (which, under Mary's
influence, I hadn't done anything about!) and had just had the loft hatch
open I'm pretty sure it came down from the attic. In other years and/or in
other houses I've also seen large wasps flying slowly around in the attic
in winter. Maybe oop North they do all die in the winter but in the soft
South a few can obviously live on well past their sell-by date.

These large wasps are hibernating queens. They might or might not have
originated from the nest in your house - or from another you don't know
about :-) They usually fly some distance from their nest to hibernate
though. They stir on warm days or when disturbed.

Queen wasps rarely sting. They do if they feel threatened though. I was
stung by one once which was snug in a finger of a gardening glove. If I were
roused from a deep sleep I might defend myself from a perceived threat too.

As the colony progresses the successive generations of worker wasps are
smaller than they are at the beginning of the season, there's less food for
them because of the diminishing number of adults to feed them. So the big
ones you see in winter months are always queens and not leftovers. Single
wasps, apart from queens, can't survive for long without the rest of the
colony, that's one of the definitions of 'social' insects.

It's true that in warmer climes social wasp colonies do survive the winter,
the nests become very large and the occupants, by sheer numbers, are
definitely pests. This has happened in some parts of Australia and New
Zealand and it's a problem. But unless global warming speeds up hugely it's
not going to happen here in our lifetimes. The north/south divide doesn't
favour wasps in this country. Yet.

Perhaps we should all try harder to prevent global warming if only on that
count?

By the way, the social wasp is not native to Australasia. It was taken, like
the rabbit, by the greatest threat to Earth there is - Man.

Some you win ...

Mary

On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 20:29:24 -0000, "Nick"
wrote:

Have been ferreting around in the loft this evening, routing & clipping up
ethernet & co-ax cables etc.
At the farthest end of the loft space, which is about 12m from the hatch,
there is a wasp nest attached to an end gable. No signs of activity, but I
guess there would'nt be much at this time of year given the current
temperature. It certainly wasn't there 2 years ago, so may well be live.
Not a big nest, about 30cm in each vaguely triangular direction.

Do as I did.

Get a large black bin liner. Pull it up over the nest from the bottom.
Holding onto the side of the bag, clamp the top of the nest with your
hand and it should drop into the black bag.

Tie a knott in the top and stick it in the freezer for 24 hours.
Anything that was in it and is still alive will be dead.

Graham

Nick wrote:

A rough calculation gives 130,000 roof tiles. That's a lot of small spaces.

Possibly a bit *too* rough ;-) I think of a rooftile as being about a
foot square; let's halve that to (over-)allow for overlap. Your palace
then has a roof area of 65,000 square feet - let's see, 80x80 is 6,400,
which would be a large-but-possible house (say a 20x20 yard footprint,
wot with the roof being sloped), but 65,000 would be square-root-of-10
bigger on each side, so maybe 60-70 yards square. A not insubstantial
building plot, but house-wise getting on for Footballer's Wives
territory ;-)

T i m wrote:
On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 22:16:26 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:



People tell me that dogs are nice but I've been bitten by them - and their
bites have been far worse than any insect stings


Ah, but dogs don't climb into yer beer can when you aren't looking do
they Mary? ;-)

All the best ..

T i m
Sounds like T i m has never met a Spaniel. ;-) Oh, and BTW I still
like them much more than wasps. They WILL be first against the wall
come the revolution.

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 13:05:05 +0000, Andrew Chesters
wrote:

T i m wrote:
On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 22:16:26 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:



People tell me that dogs are nice but I've been bitten by them - and their
bites have been far worse than any insect stings


Ah, but dogs don't climb into yer beer can when you aren't looking do
they Mary? ;-)

All the best ..

T i m
Sounds like T i m has never met a Spaniel. ;-)

I've met a few me ol'e cocker! My mate just lost his springer .. even
at 15 odd it would still tear a beer can up in about 10 seconds (if
you weren't looking!).

King Charles (dog) ears make good beer mats ;-) ( Joke)

Oh, and BTW I still
like them much more than wasps. They WILL be first against the wall
come the revolution.

Not sure what you would shoot them with Andrew .. Deet in a water
pistol I suppose ? (but don't let Mary see me type that!) .. Shhhh

Or, if wasps wan't my beer so much (and we aren't fancy like Mary and
all posh using (affording?) 'glasses' for our beer) let them finish my
Special Brew, when they are all drunk give them a kebab and whisk them
round to Mary's house!

All the best ..

T i m

"T i m" wrote in message
...



King Charles (dog) ears make good beer mats ;-) ( Joke)

Sounds like a good use to me, if you use beer mats that is. sounds
frightfully posh to me ...

Oh, and BTW I still
like them much more than wasps. They WILL be first against the wall
come the revolution.

Oh, poor dogs! I don't dislike them as much as that.

Not sure what you would shoot them with Andrew .. Deet in a water
pistol I suppose ? (but don't let Mary see me type that!) .. Shhhh

I don't know what Deet is, is it a canicide?

Or, if wasps wan't my beer so much (and we aren't fancy like Mary and
all posh using (affording?) 'glasses' for our beer)

It's not a matter of being posh or affording.

a) we rarely drink beer, when I do it's not canned but bottled and I like to
enjoy the colour through a clear glass.

b) the few times we drink beer it's with a meal. I wouldn't serve beer or
wine in a can at our table.

But if you want to do it that's up to you.

let them finish my
Special Brew, when they are all drunk give them a kebab and whisk them
round to Mary's house!

If you drink things which wasps like you deserve what you get!

Mary

On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 14:31:30 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


let them finish my
Special Brew, when they are all drunk give them a kebab and whisk them
round to Mary's house!

If you drink things which wasps like you deserve what you get!

Drunk?

T i m hic ;-)

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 29 Jan 2005 14:31:30 -0000, "Mary Fisher"
wrote:


let them finish my
Special Brew, when they are all drunk give them a kebab and whisk them
round to Mary's house!

If you drink things which wasps like you deserve what you get!

Drunk?

Quite.

T i m hic ;-)

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
et...


Nothing on the site is beyond my grasp (I'm an hymenopterist).

What does that mean Mary?

Dave

"Stefek Zaba" wrote in message
...
Nick wrote:

A rough calculation gives 130,000 roof tiles. That's a lot of small
spaces.

Possibly a bit *too* rough ;-) I think of a rooftile as being about a
foot square; let's halve that to (over-)allow for overlap. Your palace
then has a roof area of 65,000 square feet - let's see, 80x80 is 6,400,
which would be a large-but-possible house (say a 20x20 yard footprint,
wot with the roof being sloped), but 65,000 would be square-root-of-10
bigger on each side, so maybe 60-70 yards square. A not insubstantial
building plot, but house-wise getting on for Footballer's Wives
territory ;-)

This is an 'L' shaped late tudor building. The roof tiles are of the peg
variety and are approx. 9" wide x 12" long. The size varies as these are
hand made tiles.
The outer walls of the 'L' are approx. 240ft x 200. The rough calculation
given by me was provided by the best roofer I have ever come across. Oh &
by the way, the adjoining barns have approx. twice as many tiles; IIRC
overlap of tiles is 3/1. You obviously like figures ~ go figure!

As you say a not insubstantial building plot but it is not a palace,
maintainance costs are huge. You are most welcome to the footballers'
wives.