HORNET

[stresshousemove]

Help! What shall I do. Lone mum, about to move into first house wreck doer upper. I’ve made the main rooms ok. I was just replacing the loft hatch after having some wiring done and saw an absolutely huge hornet in the hole. It goes down directly into my daughter’s new room.

I got the hornet out of the window and closed the hatch, which is an old style board and so not airtight.

Last summer we saw a lot of hornets on a plant in the front garden, but then cut the garden down and assumed they’d gone.

can see that a corner of the roof has a slightly gone fascia and there is a hole where things could get in. Previous owners have a swift box up there. Also, I spent ages covering up what I presumed to be historic damp on the ceiling but which I now worry was hornet ooze. What if I have a giant nest covering the whole ceiling, under the loft insulation?

What shall I do? Moving is tomorrow.

Get a pest control company in to have a look and eradicate them?

Should I try to delay the move?

See if someone can come out today or tomorrow morning. Can your DD sleep in another room until you have it sorted?

That's a terrible worry to have. Wondering what's in, or the condition of, the attic will only be resolved by going into the attic. Awful. I hate attics.

If you just open the hatch and look around with a torch initially, then you should be able to do that quickly with out disturbing anything, and give you enough of a look to assess whether it's safe to look further or it's just an immediate cream to pest control.

These are wood destroying organisms and a potential hornet/wasp nest in a home with children should be a priority for pest control. We had similar where a nest was chewing through the ceiling and the pest company was out the same afternoon.

My apologies, I thought you were in. Will the owners allow this check to happen, perhaps the EA would take a look for you?

Call pest control first thing this morning to come and look. When we needed them they came within an hour and were brilliant.

The pest control company will find the nest, spray powder in and they will all be dead within seconds.

Someone should be able to come out today. You should be ok to move.

Hornets are not aggressive, so on a day to day basis you should be not be worried, they are less aggressive than wasps.

I don’t think you need to delay your move

However, I wouldn’t particularly want them in my house, so calling pest control is the option

I'n not sure "hornet ooze" is a thing! You would have heard them if there is a nest. Besides it's a bit early. Hornets are generally benign despite their size - it's probably a lone survivor from last year. But a pest control firm will do a proper search and deal with if necessary.

It depends on the hornets if they are aggressive. Southern UK now has the Asian Hornets which are very aggressive and have killed farm workers on mainland Europe who accidentally disturb nests in hedges. Picture of Asian hornet below- they are shiny black with yellow band at the end and lower legs are also bright yellow.

It was definitely the yellow one

I once had to shower on a campsite with a hornet watching me.

Is this a property you own or rent?

I am thinking it's one you have bought from the way you described it. If you thought there were damp patches on the bedroom ceiling would you not have checked the loft/roof for missing tiles or other issues before this?

Answering the question raised, contact the council or a private local pest exterminator.

But the whole scenario makes no sense to me.

I did get my diy people to check the loft they said no water ingress and historic damp. Plus previous owner was a big smoker etc. I have bought it, yes. As I said it’s all I can afford and it is run down. The hornet is the final straw.

It’s likely just a queen coming out of hibernation - and now it’s gone🥳. Seriously, you’d hear a hornets nest - it’s like having a tractor in the building (from actual experience!). They aren’t aggressive like wasps - we have them around us lots (fruit growing area) and I’ve never been stung. If you’re really concerned open the hatch a crack and listen directly - no buzzing rumble, no nest. Keep your eyes open over next few weeks for any other queens that may have nested and then just get pest control over. We have friends who just leave the nests in the roof at theirs - I’m not that brave though!!

OP, I'm in the building trade and spend a good amount of time in lofts, don't worry about this.

What you have may be a large solitary wasp, they live on their own in mini nests and are really common in lofts.

If it is a Hornet, they are less aggressive than wasps - if there is a nest a good pest control firm can destroy it, or you can keep the hatch shut over the summer and let it be, they don't re-use nests and the colony will die out / move on at the end of summer.

Wasps and Hornets get a bad reputation, but are generally harmless and serve a eally important function in the eco system eating plant damaging insects like aphids and pollinating.

We had a hornet's nest in the attic of a house we were renting (with three very small children). We called pest control they were there that day (IIRC if not, the next day) and treated it then and there and poof they were gone. It is sortable.

So do you think I should wait before knowing there’s a nest before calling pest control.

Any ideas for what I can put round the hatch to make it totally tight? Silly idea but I was thinking big strips of white tack and press it down.

No, what you’ve said is enough. They’ll go looking for a nest for you and if they think the nest is likely to be in the eaves / soffiting, they’ll pump the powder into there

My opinion is that you would know if there was a nest in your attic - as said they make a serious amount of noise! I would not consider the matter at all urgent but if you are one of life’s worriers & have spare cash then get a pest control man out to check it, round here that would be £50. If not, carry on, move in & keep an eye/ear on it - then call someone out IF you need to!

Thanks, that's a sensible view

Are you sure it was a hornet? They are not indigenous to the UK and people often mistake honeybees for hornets…

Yes they are, the indigenous European hornet. Rarely cause any trouble.

You might not get another one OP