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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be scared, very scared!?!

41 replies

TheApprenticeAdult · 23/04/2023 17:09

I'll start by saying this has never happened in over 20 years of living in my house.

4 wasps appeared in my house this past week. FOUR!!! At most in previous years we've had 1, but over my 20+ yrs here that's like 1 wasp in 5+ yrs on average.

Between 2-2.5cm long so all queens from what I've read.

Do I have a nest or could they be scoping out to start one? I don't know what to do but the internet is filling me with fear. Need some helpful first hand experience before I run away until the winter.

OP posts:
SirVixofVixHall · 23/04/2023 17:12

We have had eight or nine queens in our conservatory, maybe more , this is more than any other year in the past 15. Maybe a bumper wasp year , although that seems weird after such a cold Winter. Possibly they came in to hibernate in our case, as we have a slightly open window.

SirVixofVixHall · 23/04/2023 17:13

Should say if yours are also all queens there isn’t a nest yet. They will all be coming out of hibernation and looking for nesting sites.

Botw1 · 23/04/2023 17:13

Yeah I think its going to be a bad wasp year

Had a huge 1 in the house the other day.

FionnulaTheCooler · 23/04/2023 17:13

We had a nest in an air brick and kept finding wasps in the house. An exterminator got rid of it and they didn't return.

hereiamagainn · 23/04/2023 17:15

Where on earth do you live that you’ve only seen 1 wasp in 5 years?!

TheGuv1982 · 23/04/2023 17:16

hereiamagainn · 23/04/2023 17:15

Where on earth do you live that you’ve only seen 1 wasp in 5 years?!

Though nothing as extreme as that, we barely saw one last year. It was really noticeable as in previous years there were loads in the garden.

Original poster
TheApprenticeAdult · 23/04/2023 17:18

hereiamagainn · 23/04/2023 17:15

Where on earth do you live that you’ve only seen 1 wasp in 5 years?!

In my house at a random time I meant, times when I know windows / doors etc have been left open.

There's been a few in when I've not been worried how they've got in mid summer!

I'm up north though.

OP posts:
Singleandproud · 23/04/2023 17:20

How do you know it wasn't the same one?
Where I live we haven't really had any cold weather apart from the icy snap in December, I'm expecting lots of insects about this year

SinnerBoy · 23/04/2023 17:20

They commonly hibernate indoors, I'd try to catch a queen and put her outside. Bad tempered, drunken worker wasps in late summer get less sympathetic treatment.

Lockheart · 23/04/2023 17:20

They're coming out of hibernation - they've probably been tucked away in your house all winter without you realising!

The UK had a very hot year last year which meant they bred very successfully, so there will be a lot more of them around this year, at least initially. If we have another hot year, expect even more.

Original poster
TheApprenticeAdult · 23/04/2023 17:21

TheApprenticeAdult · 23/04/2023 17:18

In my house at a random time I meant, times when I know windows / doors etc have been left open.

There's been a few in when I've not been worried how they've got in mid summer!

I'm up north though.

Show quote history

I meant at times windows/ doors NOT been left open

OP posts:
Nolongera · 23/04/2023 17:26

Was it 4 different wasps or the same wasp 4 times?

Unless there is more to it ( sting allergy?), wasps are no big deal, have you ever been stung?

FurElise · 23/04/2023 17:50

Did you bring in logs/sticks from an outside storage? We get queens even in winter because of this - we light the fire and it wakes them up from their hibernation. They're usually pretty docile.

SirVixofVixHall · 23/04/2023 17:53

Singleandproud · 23/04/2023 17:20

How do you know it wasn't the same one?
Where I live we haven't really had any cold weather apart from the icy snap in December, I'm expecting lots of insects about this year

In my case, we caught them and relocated them some distance away. (I am allergic to wasp stings).

usernother · 23/04/2023 17:54

I found a massive one in my house on Saturday so this thread explains why. I just got it on a bit of card and put it outside.

Unicorn34 · 23/04/2023 17:56

I had a huge wasp suddenly appear in my bedroom years ago then found the "case" under my bed that it hatched from. You've probably had them in your house for ages and they've hatched. Check in hidden spots in the same room for any unhatched ones.

SilverGlitterBaubles · 23/04/2023 17:57

Two big ones flew in my kitchen yesterday when the door was open.

moonspiral · 23/04/2023 17:58

Worth getting someone to scope your loft.

Nachobowls · 23/04/2023 18:00

Had a massive one in earlier

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 23/04/2023 18:00

Very easy to get a nest dealt with. I wouldn’t stress.

HOWEVER we had an absolute horror film experience last summer in the heatwave. I was woken up by being stung. When we turned on the light we discovered the room was rapidly filling with wasps through the open window.

I fled downstairs while dh sprayed a great many of them. The next day we watched outside and found where the nest was…. It was in the sash box of our bedroom window, which a crack in the brickwork was allowing them to access! Exterminator came that day and fixed it, no trouble since.

Keep an eye, if you see more than one try to work out where they’re coming from.

Original poster
TheApprenticeAdult · 23/04/2023 18:03

@Nolongera None of us have ever been stung but I'm risk averse & extra anti-sting as one DC has known allergies (life threatening) so really keen to not take any chances of them getting a sting incase they react badly.

@usernother if it was only 1 I'd not be concerned... or 4 across many weeks... but 4 in 1 week has got me eeeeek

OP posts:
Georgyporky · 23/04/2023 18:06

Get a zap-bat, much easier to get rid of them that way rather than spraying.

SinnerBoy · 23/04/2023 18:13

Queens aren't looking for any sort of aggro and are fine to remove with a glass and card. They want to survive, breed and build a nest.

I'm actually terrified of ordinary wasps, as I'm really allergic to their stings. If they leave quickly, through a door / window I've opened, fine. If they don't and start getting agitated, they get batted. I've seen them get into a tizzy and sting window frames, they're not bloody rational.

Original poster
TheApprenticeAdult · 23/04/2023 18:13

Georgyporky · 23/04/2023 18:06

Get a zap-bat, much easier to get rid of them that way rather than spraying.

I've read that spray can be harmful to other pets I think so I don't use it generally

OP posts:
Plump82 · 23/04/2023 18:18

Oh no. This isn't what I want to hear. 2 years ago I felt I was removing a wasp every other day. My cat ended up with a badly stung paw. Her wee foot was double the size. So I was relieved to barely see any last year.