The beginnings of a wasps nest
Discussion
Hub said:
Oh, that's the beginnings of a wasp nest? Interesting, because I have an identical nest hanging from my shed roof that I spotted last weekend. There didn't seem to be any activity but I hadn't noticed it before! I'm watching with interest as to your methods of removal and will check mine for growth and activity!
I think you should go first? 
Cover it in diesel, and leave it a while so it soaks in. We used a saucepan on a stick for this job. Then, using something flammable on the other end of the stick light from a safe distance. Run like f
k, or hide in a tractor cab like we did. Watch, enjoy. Like any good BBQ, best served with a cold beer on a Saturday afternoon.
k, or hide in a tractor cab like we did. Watch, enjoy. Like any good BBQ, best served with a cold beer on a Saturday afternoon. durbster said:
Hub said:
Oh, that's the beginnings of a wasp nest? Interesting, because I have an identical nest hanging from my shed roof that I spotted last weekend. There didn't seem to be any activity but I hadn't noticed it before! I'm watching with interest as to your methods of removal and will check mine for growth and activity!
I think you should go first? 
Snap!
williredale said:
That's the water tank which had a leaking ball valve on the left and in the background is the nest. You can't see most of it because of the insulation but the bugger was more than two foot long and full of wasps.
Empty, as they'd all been killed the previous year by wasp nest powder, blown in by airline.
Condi said:
Cover it in diesel, and leave it a while so it soaks in. We used a saucepan on a stick for this job. Then, using something flammable on the other end of the stick light from a safe distance. Run like fk, or hide in a tractor cab like we did. Watch, enjoy. Like any good BBQ, best served with a cold beer on a Saturday afternoon.
And this is absolutely fine in a shed made entirely of wood, right? k, or hide in a tractor cab like we did. Watch, enjoy. Like any good BBQ, best served with a cold beer on a Saturday afternoon. jimmyjimjim said:
Similarly:
Empty, as they'd all been killed the previous year by wasp nest powder, blown in by airline.
Holly mother of god!Empty, as they'd all been killed the previous year by wasp nest powder, blown in by airline.
I had one in the loft as big as the op. Took the biggest carving knife up there and a carrier bag.
Simply cut the f
ker off. Danced around like a girl the binned it. jimmyjimjim said:
Empty, as they'd all been killed the previous year by wasp nest powder, blown in by airline.
When I had to get up in the loft I really wished I paid the council to come and deal with it... when I spoke to them they said it would die off in a matter of days or weeks and probably wasn't worth bothering with. I hadn't been up in the loft at that point, just seen the buggers coming out from under the gutter.Hence my advice of killing it with fire as soon as possible!!!
williredale said:
jimmyjimjim said:
Empty, as they'd all been killed the previous year by wasp nest powder, blown in by airline.
When I had to get up in the loft I really wished I paid the council to come and deal with it... when I spoke to them they said it would die off in a matter of days or weeks and probably wasn't worth bothering with. I hadn't been up in the loft at that point, just seen the buggers coming out from under the gutter.Hence my advice of killing it with fire as soon as possible!!!
A little extreme I know but http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Well, I did it. I sorted it.
The fact I'm typing this means you know I made it through but here's the full, uncensored story.
On Saturday morning, I conducted a recon of the target.
As all mercenaries know, preparation is the key to any operation. I needed equipment. After picking up some powder that my Dad had sitting in his garage for the last twenty years I decided to enhance my arsenal by picking up something that was significantly less likely to have lost its potency.
It was still light and during my planning phase I learnt that the target is less active at night. All great warriors know that you must know your enemy. All I had to do was wait for the sun to go down.
As I waited, it occurred to me that a night mission would require extra equipment. The mission would begin as stealth but sooner or later, I'd need light. I gathered the required kit.
I believe it was the literary genius Sun Tzu, or perhaps Katie Price, that wrote, "defence is often the best form of attack", and my mind turned to protection. I carefully went through my wardrobe, selecting only the clothes that would offer me the most protection but still provide the camouflage and lightness I required. I then noticed it had got a bit chilly, so I just got a woolly hat instead.
Night fell. I made my first tentative steps towards the target, constantly checking my six. The last thing I wanted was to have bogies all over me. I read the instructions on the foam spray one last time. Spray for eight seconds. Use in well ventilated area. Do not spray into face.
This was it. It was time to move into hostile territory.
I carefully turned the key in the lock. However, since it's a shed, carefully doesn't work so I lifted the door at a certain angle, jiggled the lock a bit and eventually it popped open.
Now I could see the target.
As I'm sure you can see it's an intimidating presence. It dominates the area. Perhaps sometimes the camera does lie, however, so I've added this lion to give you a rough idea of the scale.
Target acquired. Things were going smoothly and the nest seemed quiet. I was getting confident. Too confident. All of a sudden, there was a disaster! The top of my foam spray came loose and fell to the floor!
I'll admit, this was a tense moment. I dropped to the floor, scrabbling round in the reasonable light for the lost piece, trying to keep one eye looking up and one down (this isn't easy - I wished I'd practiced). As panic began to set in, I found the rogue element. Luckily, I had the presence of mind not to point it at my face when I snapped it back together. Those instructions - maybe they saved my face that day.
I repositioned and looked up. No activity at the nest. I'd got away with it.
I reassembled my weapon but there was no way of knowing if it had been damaged. I'd have to test the equipment in situ. I sprayed a test patch onto the nearest bit of shed wall.
I knew I had an eight second window to get this right. Eight seconds. That's not a long time. There was no room for error so to test accuracy, I aimed again at the same spot.
Pinpoint accuracy (to within 20cm)! In your face, Vasily Zaytsev.
My sniping skills proven, I began the breathing technique I'd learnt a long, long time ago. When I was born in fact. It's simple but it works well: In, then out, then repeat.
I collected my thoughts. The air was still. The night was quiet.
It was time to unleash hell.
One second:
Four seconds:
Seven seconds:
Eight seconds:
Had I awoken a sleeping giant? I didn't wait to find out. I got out of there.
I ran and I didn't look back. If I was going down now, I didn't want to see. I just wanted to run.
After about ten minutes, I realised something was wrong.
In the chaos, I'd accidentally turned my headlight off. I guess these things will happen in the heat of battle. I turned it back on.
And ran a bit more.
I don't know how long I ran for. Perhaps 30 minutes, perhaps an hour, perhaps more, probably less, but it occurred to me that my back garden isn't particularly big, so I'd obviously just been running in circles.
I headed back to the house and collapsed through the door.
Exhausted, broken, but ultimately victorious.
I don't consider myself a hero, I was just doing what I had to do.
The fact I'm typing this means you know I made it through but here's the full, uncensored story.
On Saturday morning, I conducted a recon of the target.
As all mercenaries know, preparation is the key to any operation. I needed equipment. After picking up some powder that my Dad had sitting in his garage for the last twenty years I decided to enhance my arsenal by picking up something that was significantly less likely to have lost its potency.
It was still light and during my planning phase I learnt that the target is less active at night. All great warriors know that you must know your enemy. All I had to do was wait for the sun to go down.
As I waited, it occurred to me that a night mission would require extra equipment. The mission would begin as stealth but sooner or later, I'd need light. I gathered the required kit.
I believe it was the literary genius Sun Tzu, or perhaps Katie Price, that wrote, "defence is often the best form of attack", and my mind turned to protection. I carefully went through my wardrobe, selecting only the clothes that would offer me the most protection but still provide the camouflage and lightness I required. I then noticed it had got a bit chilly, so I just got a woolly hat instead.
Night fell. I made my first tentative steps towards the target, constantly checking my six. The last thing I wanted was to have bogies all over me. I read the instructions on the foam spray one last time. Spray for eight seconds. Use in well ventilated area. Do not spray into face.
This was it. It was time to move into hostile territory.
I carefully turned the key in the lock. However, since it's a shed, carefully doesn't work so I lifted the door at a certain angle, jiggled the lock a bit and eventually it popped open.
Now I could see the target.
As I'm sure you can see it's an intimidating presence. It dominates the area. Perhaps sometimes the camera does lie, however, so I've added this lion to give you a rough idea of the scale.
Target acquired. Things were going smoothly and the nest seemed quiet. I was getting confident. Too confident. All of a sudden, there was a disaster! The top of my foam spray came loose and fell to the floor!
I'll admit, this was a tense moment. I dropped to the floor, scrabbling round in the reasonable light for the lost piece, trying to keep one eye looking up and one down (this isn't easy - I wished I'd practiced). As panic began to set in, I found the rogue element. Luckily, I had the presence of mind not to point it at my face when I snapped it back together. Those instructions - maybe they saved my face that day.
I repositioned and looked up. No activity at the nest. I'd got away with it.
I reassembled my weapon but there was no way of knowing if it had been damaged. I'd have to test the equipment in situ. I sprayed a test patch onto the nearest bit of shed wall.
I knew I had an eight second window to get this right. Eight seconds. That's not a long time. There was no room for error so to test accuracy, I aimed again at the same spot.
Pinpoint accuracy (to within 20cm)! In your face, Vasily Zaytsev.
My sniping skills proven, I began the breathing technique I'd learnt a long, long time ago. When I was born in fact. It's simple but it works well: In, then out, then repeat.
I collected my thoughts. The air was still. The night was quiet.
It was time to unleash hell.
One second:
Four seconds:
Seven seconds:
Eight seconds:
Had I awoken a sleeping giant? I didn't wait to find out. I got out of there.
I ran and I didn't look back. If I was going down now, I didn't want to see. I just wanted to run.
After about ten minutes, I realised something was wrong.
In the chaos, I'd accidentally turned my headlight off. I guess these things will happen in the heat of battle. I turned it back on.
And ran a bit more.
I don't know how long I ran for. Perhaps 30 minutes, perhaps an hour, perhaps more, probably less, but it occurred to me that my back garden isn't particularly big, so I'd obviously just been running in circles.
I headed back to the house and collapsed through the door.
Exhausted, broken, but ultimately victorious.
I don't consider myself a hero, I was just doing what I had to do.
durbster said:
Well, I did it. I sorted it.
The fact I'm typing this means you know I made it through but here's the full, uncensored story.
On Saturday morning, I conducted a recon of the target.
As all mercenaries know, preparation is the key to any operation. I needed equipment. After picking up some powder that my Dad had sitting in his garage for the last twenty years I decided to enhance my arsenal by picking up something that was significantly less likely to have lost its potency.
It was still light and during my planning phase I learnt that the target is less active at night. All great warriors know that you must know your enemy. All I had to do was wait for the sun to go down.
As I waited, it occurred to me that a night mission would require extra equipment. The mission would begin as stealth but sooner or later, I'd need light. I gathered the required kit.
I believe it was the literary genius Sun Tzu, or perhaps Katie Price, that wrote, "defence is often the best form of attack", and my mind turned to protection. I carefully went through my wardrobe, selecting only the clothes that would offer me the most protection but still provide the camouflage and lightness I required. I then noticed it had got a bit chilly, so I just got a woolly hat instead.
Night fell. I made my first tentative steps towards the target, constantly checking my six. The last thing I wanted was to have bogies all over me. I read the instructions on the foam spray one last time. Spray for eight seconds. Use in well ventilated area. Do not spray into face.
This was it. It was time to move into hostile territory.
I carefully turned the key in the lock. However, since it's a shed, carefully doesn't work so I lifted the door at a certain angle, jiggled the lock a bit and eventually it popped open.
Now I could see the target.
As I'm sure you can see it's an intimidating presence. It dominates the area. Perhaps sometimes the camera does lie, however, so I've added this lion to give you a rough idea of the scale.
Target acquired. Things were going smoothly and the nest seemed quiet. I was getting confident. Too confident. All of a sudden, there was a disaster! The top of my foam spray came loose and fell to the floor!
I'll admit, this was a tense moment. I dropped to the floor, scrabbling round in the reasonable light for the lost piece, trying to keep one eye looking up and one down (this isn't easy - I wished I'd practiced). As panic began to set in, I found the rogue element. Luckily, I had the presence of mind not to point it at my face when I snapped it back together. Those instructions - maybe they saved my face that day.
I repositioned and looked up. No activity at the nest. I'd got away with it.
I reassembled my weapon but there was no way of knowing if it had been damaged. I'd have to test the equipment in situ. I sprayed a test patch onto the nearest bit of shed wall.
I knew I had an eight second window to get this right. Eight seconds. That's not a long time. There was no room for error so to test accuracy, I aimed again at the same spot.
Pinpoint accuracy (to within 20cm)! In your face, Vasily Zaytsev.
My sniping skills proven, I began the breathing technique I'd learnt a long, long time ago. When I was born in fact. It's simple but it works well: In, then out, then repeat.
I collected my thoughts. The air was still. The night was quiet.
It was time to unleash hell.
One second:
Four seconds:
Seven seconds:
Eight seconds:
Had I awoken a sleeping giant? I didn't wait to find out. I got out of there.
I ran and I didn't look back. If I was going down now, I didn't want to see. I just wanted to run.
After about ten minutes, I realised something was wrong.
In the chaos, I'd accidentally turned my headlight off. I guess these things will happen in the heat of battle. I turned it back on.
And ran a bit more.
I don't know how long I ran for. Perhaps 30 minutes, perhaps an hour, perhaps more, probably less, but it occurred to me that my back garden isn't particularly big, so I'd obviously just been running in circles.
I headed back to the house and collapsed through the door.
Exhausted, broken, but ultimately victorious.
I don't consider myself a hero, I was just doing what I had to do.
Excellent work!!!! Big laugh from me!The fact I'm typing this means you know I made it through but here's the full, uncensored story.
On Saturday morning, I conducted a recon of the target.
As all mercenaries know, preparation is the key to any operation. I needed equipment. After picking up some powder that my Dad had sitting in his garage for the last twenty years I decided to enhance my arsenal by picking up something that was significantly less likely to have lost its potency.
It was still light and during my planning phase I learnt that the target is less active at night. All great warriors know that you must know your enemy. All I had to do was wait for the sun to go down.
As I waited, it occurred to me that a night mission would require extra equipment. The mission would begin as stealth but sooner or later, I'd need light. I gathered the required kit.
I believe it was the literary genius Sun Tzu, or perhaps Katie Price, that wrote, "defence is often the best form of attack", and my mind turned to protection. I carefully went through my wardrobe, selecting only the clothes that would offer me the most protection but still provide the camouflage and lightness I required. I then noticed it had got a bit chilly, so I just got a woolly hat instead.
Night fell. I made my first tentative steps towards the target, constantly checking my six. The last thing I wanted was to have bogies all over me. I read the instructions on the foam spray one last time. Spray for eight seconds. Use in well ventilated area. Do not spray into face.
This was it. It was time to move into hostile territory.
I carefully turned the key in the lock. However, since it's a shed, carefully doesn't work so I lifted the door at a certain angle, jiggled the lock a bit and eventually it popped open.
Now I could see the target.
As I'm sure you can see it's an intimidating presence. It dominates the area. Perhaps sometimes the camera does lie, however, so I've added this lion to give you a rough idea of the scale.
Target acquired. Things were going smoothly and the nest seemed quiet. I was getting confident. Too confident. All of a sudden, there was a disaster! The top of my foam spray came loose and fell to the floor!
I'll admit, this was a tense moment. I dropped to the floor, scrabbling round in the reasonable light for the lost piece, trying to keep one eye looking up and one down (this isn't easy - I wished I'd practiced). As panic began to set in, I found the rogue element. Luckily, I had the presence of mind not to point it at my face when I snapped it back together. Those instructions - maybe they saved my face that day.
I repositioned and looked up. No activity at the nest. I'd got away with it.
I reassembled my weapon but there was no way of knowing if it had been damaged. I'd have to test the equipment in situ. I sprayed a test patch onto the nearest bit of shed wall.
I knew I had an eight second window to get this right. Eight seconds. That's not a long time. There was no room for error so to test accuracy, I aimed again at the same spot.
Pinpoint accuracy (to within 20cm)! In your face, Vasily Zaytsev.
My sniping skills proven, I began the breathing technique I'd learnt a long, long time ago. When I was born in fact. It's simple but it works well: In, then out, then repeat.
I collected my thoughts. The air was still. The night was quiet.
It was time to unleash hell.
One second:
Four seconds:
Seven seconds:
Eight seconds:
Had I awoken a sleeping giant? I didn't wait to find out. I got out of there.
I ran and I didn't look back. If I was going down now, I didn't want to see. I just wanted to run.
After about ten minutes, I realised something was wrong.
In the chaos, I'd accidentally turned my headlight off. I guess these things will happen in the heat of battle. I turned it back on.
And ran a bit more.
I don't know how long I ran for. Perhaps 30 minutes, perhaps an hour, perhaps more, probably less, but it occurred to me that my back garden isn't particularly big, so I'd obviously just been running in circles.
I headed back to the house and collapsed through the door.
Exhausted, broken, but ultimately victorious.
I don't consider myself a hero, I was just doing what I had to do.
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