Wasp nest

[Maneandfeathers]

My worst nightmare right now

We had a wasps nest in our roof, we tried just leaving it but it was huge and they were becoming very aggressive to the point our animals were being stung just going to the toilet! We also have small children that were terrified because every time we go into the garden they flew at us.

We couldn’t really afford the £50 to have them sprayed this month so DH sprayed them with wasp nest foam last night instead in the hope that would work.

Since then we’ve had about 20 of them in the house, all very angry. They are also swarming the nest outside so I can’t open any of the doors or windows. They seem to be going up to the nest and turning around but on repeat, all the time getting more angry about it. I’m not sure if they are still going in and out or just buzzing around it.

Does anyone know if they will sod off eventually once they realise the nest is sprayed or am I going to have to find the money and have it sorted professionally

Oh dear. I think you’re going to have to dig deep and get the professionals to deal with it. We had a wasps nest in the past and all the online advice said to never block the entrance yourself.

You could try to make your own trap for the others: www.thespruce.com/how-to-make-a-wasp-trap-1389067

I’ve done a bit more reading - apparently if their usual entrance is blocked they will chew through an alternative route. So, depending on your roof, they may end up inside your house

From what you say, as the wasps are an active nuisance, you will need professional help.

If you have a small nest that isn't causing an issue, you can leave it and the wasps will depart for good in late autumn. They don't return to a nest the next year. This is what we did when we had a small nest, but there weren't enough wasps to be a nuisance or danger.

We have had wasp nests treated twice. The local man charges £50. He told us to go inside and stay inside for a couple of hours after he’d treated them. My dh went outside to lock the gate after the wasp man and got stung 🙄. The wasps swarmed after the nest was sprayed. But after a couple of hours they were mostly gone but we did see quite a lot in the next couple of days or so. I nearly called him out again!
In your case I’d contact a professional and ask if it’s worth them coming round to treat. I think the stuff they use is stronger.
Very cheap to use the local man compared to Rentolkill.

We had one in the roof years ago and some cowboy came and blacked the gaps. They came through the bedroom ceiling in the middle of the night - nobody got stung but it was a horrible experience

Oh god I’m having a panic about them coming through the ceiling now!!!

Maybe I should unblock the hole but it’s hard to get near it, I will have to wait until after dark.
The nest was very long, all the way along the ceiling. We blocked the crack 2/3rds of the way so we could spray the entrance as otherwise they were just coming out of the other side of the crack if that makes sense. I’ve just read and apparently this is a huge mistake. I thought the foam would have just killed them

I wasn’t sure if it would take them a day or two to go away and this was normal or if I’ve just made a problem 200 times worse but if they aren’t settled by tonight it looks like I’m going to have to call the expert!

I don't understand what you thought would happen if you blocked their nest but left them all alive?

If you came home from work and the door was stuck, you'd break in or call a locksmith you wouldn't just say "oh ok I guess I'll go and live somewhere else" and merrily leave. The wasps don't understand you want them to leave or that this is your home, they just know this is their nest and are going to try to find a way back in.

Please don't go messing about with a nest trying to unblock it again - call in a professional.

Our neighbours paid £55 via the council for a man to put his very large pole in the hole in their roof and spend 30 seconds spraying powder in there. It took longer for him to dismantle the poles than spray. No angry wasps, no foam, no breaking through the ceiling - the powder smells and they leave the nest to get away but then can't smell their way home and die quietly. We've had no problems. Sometimes it really is worth paying. Does your council do a discount scheme?

@legoriakelne we didn’t.
We sealed the crack but left a gap, and in the gap sprayed 2 tins of wasp nest killer foam. We thought they would just died.
It mustn’t have killed them though!

We (well dh), has only used the powder before, he is very brave and uses it at dusk and has luckily never been stung yet. We've had two large nests in the last couple of weeks. They don't appear to notice the power and go about their business spreading it over themselves and in the nest and it kills most of them that night.

The foam is just another method of putting in the insecticide although we think the powder is better. The wasps have nowhere else to go, they will keep coming back to the nest, they need to be able to get into it to come in contact with the insecticide.

Whether you (or your dh) do this yourself or call in a professional you need to judge for yourself as you are the one who can see it. At this stage if they are already angry and it needs someone close up to it to resolve the issue I would be more tempted to get in a professional with the right tools.

We had a wasp nest at the front of our house, bloody millions of the little buggers and DH got stung. We tried the foam- did naff all. In the end we got the council bloke out. We didnt even need to be in the house and by the time we got home thry were all dead. Prices vary from council to council, but they are usually quite a bit cheaper than Rentokil. If you recieve certain benefits ( like PIP or several means tested benefits) you often get a discount. We qualified for the discount and it only cost 27 quid. Well worth a look at your councils website.

Just to update this…pest control have been and the nest has been sprayed. They were able to unblock the hole and think they have got the nest itself.

However later after they had gone and while inspecting the damage from nest1 we noticed another even bigger nest on a different part of the roof
I’m debating just leaving it alone and hoping for the best because so far I’ve spent £60 on the evil little things and Ive still got them!!!

Note to self, never buy a house with a flat roof again!

Please get this sorted professionally!!

And it’s not just flat roof properties that have them. My house has a pitched roof and they set up their home in the .

*eaves

Get the professionals out again - there is a real danger of the roof collapsing. My neighbours had a nest in the roof and the whole lot fell through onto their dc's bed

@bamboocat I think if this happened I might just have a heart attack.

The pro was lovely, he said we could either leave them or he could spray them but that with the warmer winters they could live until November getting drunk and angry.

Now we’ve seen the second nest but it would be another call out. Over £100 on wasps

I had a wasp nest outside my back door earlier this year. I spoke to a mate of mine who, very handily, used to be a pest controller with a local council. He told me to get some ant powder and puff it around the entrance to the nest, preferably at night. The powder gets on their wings, they take it into the nest and spread it around, killing the queen and they die.

Another mate, braver than I, dusted it for me and it worked beautifully. Every time I went outside the back door I would find another scattering of dead wasps on the patio.

We left it a couple of days and redusted , which seemed to kill off any remaining wasps.

Cost £1. And I still have plenty of ant powder left.