Viper Report post Posted May 12, 2006 Sitting in the garden enjoying the sun, when a huge wasp flew at me, it went away but kept coming back so I moved out of the way and it flew into the kids play house. I had a look when it flew back out and found a nest. It was really quite amazing, a perfect egg shape with the begining of little cells. I removed it and in each of the cells, about 10, there was a tiny egg. Sorry to say the wasp kept coming back so I had to trap it in the house and fill it up with wasp spray. I don't like killing nature but in this case I thought it the best thing to do. I will put the eggs somewhere safe so we can observe them growing and then leave it outside before they hatch. Got to take these educational opportunities when you home ed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisann Report post Posted May 12, 2006 Viper that was a close one god if the kids had been out playing in there it doesn't bare thinking about what could have happened. I do have to say if one gets in then sorry but out comes the wasp spray both me and Char are frightened silly of them. Lisa Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaisyProudfoot Report post Posted May 12, 2006 Good grief that was lucky! I think we've got a wasp's nest in the brick out-house but I'm terrified to look. When we had a Group scout camp a few years ago we had a major emergency when one of our scouts decided to drop a big stone on an underground wasp's nest - we all had to hide in the hut for ages until the wasps flew away - boy were those wasps p***ed off Well they do say always do your risk assessment based on the daftest kid you've got! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
littlenemo Report post Posted May 12, 2006 Good grief that was lucky! I think we've got a wasp's nest in the brick out-house but I'm terrified to look. The traditional way to get rid of them is to go out after dark (the darker the better as they don't fly in the dark) and set fire to the nest. Then close the outhouse door and run inside. They should be gone in the morning. Wasps' nests burn really easily as they're just made of waxy paper, but it's not a pleasant sight. I used to have to do this every summer because my mum's extremely allergic to wasp stings. Bizarrely they hardly affect me at all - more like a mosquito bite. Good luck nemo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mel Report post Posted May 12, 2006 I hate wasps. to be honest viper i wouldnt want to observe them. i just kill em with whatever is nearest...newspaper, daughters rock magazine, shoe...whatever comes to hand. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Viper Report post Posted May 12, 2006 Wasps are extremely interesting. The waxy paper that nemo is talking about is actually made by the wasp. if you see a wasp on a fence and listen very carefully you can hear it chewing the wood, and if you look you can see little tracks where the wood is removed. The wasp then chews the wood into a pulp and applies it in very thin layers to it's nest. In other words it makes it's own paper. I find this kind of thing fascinating so have become a bit of a David Bellamy over the years, minus the beard, gut and speech impediment. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zemanski Report post Posted May 12, 2006 (edited) A friend found the most amazing wasps' nest in his attic and after he'd had it fumigated - it was far too big (twice the size of a football!) and not in the right place to burn it out - he gave it to me to show my Y1 class. They were so fascinated I suspended the NC for a week or two (just as ofsted were due ) and taught them all about wasps - they did observational drawing, they did the life cycle, they wrote reports they examined the shapes, etc, etc and we made a huge interactive display, and ofsted loved it Zemanski Edited May 12, 2006 by Zemanski Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canopus Report post Posted May 12, 2006 I had a massive wasps' nest in a tight cavity under the attic floor. It couldn't be burnt in place so had to be fumigated. My dad sprayed the nest with Raid by Johnson Wax in a confined space without a fume mask. It took two aerosols of Raid to kill enough wasps for the nest to be removed. He scooped the nest up with his hands and shoved it in a bin bag and got stung in the process. When he came down from the attic he held up the Raid and said "this is good stuff" as he staggered about looking half dead and gasped for air. For over a week he was coughing like mad and producing lots of disgusting yellow phlegm. The wasps' nest was fascinating but eventually disintegrated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
