Two wasp nests - DIY or professionals?

Hi all

I like to try and tackle most things myself, but not sure about this one...

NEST #1 - with all the hot weather I had to succumb to getting the hose pipes out for the first time this year, when I was met with a surprise!



I'd say it is about the size of a grapefruit. Quite an easy target to hit and run! I've no idea though whether a nest that size will have a lot of wasps or not.


NEST #2 - The second one is a trickier number:



The nest can't be seen in the loft. In the bedroom, I'm doing some renovation work and can see into the void where the wall meets the ceiling. I can hear a quiet buzz, but cannot see it from there either. so not sure of the exact location. What I have noticed is dead wasps on the bedroom windowsill; around several wasps a day. Not sure why they're dying, but then don't know a great deal about them so...

Is it time for the professionals? Or should I put on several layers of clothing and a tin hat? If DIYing, for NEST #2 the only thing I can think is blasting what ever is to be used through the hole and hoping for the best.

Many thanks

 

You can buy a spray can that shoots from about twenty foot away. It's not cheap, but it is effective.
I hate wasps

 

Actually if they are not causing any real problem I'd leave them alone.

But obviously if they are then best dealt with properly.

 

Thinking about it, the problem would be that the hole is tiny, so I'd need to get right up to it. I play darts, but my aim isn't good enough to hit a penny sized hole from twenty foot away! Getting to the small hole will be quite tough. But doable. The trouble is that I don't know how far through the hole the actual nest is. So even if I put product into the hole like billy-o, I won't know how much or if any has reached the nest. I guess I could try on an evening and then monitor over the next few days. But it is starting to conjure an image in my mind of angry wasps attacking me while I'm up a ladder!!! I'll make sure my partner is filming it so that if the worst happens we can take consolation of £250 from YBF!

I'd rather not destroy or kill anything, but my partner has an allergy...

Thanks for the replies.

 

Is that an allergy to wasps.

I think we all have that problem, but especially at this time of year they do more good than harm.
I remember one summer a few years ago watching wasps going in and out of a hole in the brickwork where I sat having my lunch every day, they were never aggressive or a problem,.

I know they can be a bit techy at the end of the season, and best avoided.

 

The hosepipe one is easy, just make sure you do the deed in the evening or very early in the morning, while they're all inside and asleep.
For the roof one, the 'pro' cans should contain a knock-down ingredient as well as a longer-lasting contact killer, so as long as you're aiming at their only point of exit, you'll be OK. However.....it sounds as though they're also exiting (briefly) via the bedroom. Not good. Personally, I'd get someone in to sort that one.

 

You laugh, but wasp/bee/hornet stings can cause anaphylactic shock in people who've reached their personal tolerance level. And that kills if it's not treated within minutes. Over here, lots of people carry an 'Epipen', a syringe containing a strong anti-histamine, in the event that they get stung. And all that stuff about 'leave them alone and they'll leave you alone' is pure cobblers. If you approach a nest, without even realising it's there, the guard wasps dive in to defend the nest.
Admittedly, UK wasps aren't as agressive as the european paper wasps, which presumably have been deported since Brexit () but if you've got a known allergy, it makes sense to get rid!

 

No, I wasn't laughing as such,
Allergy, I was just thinking allergic to wasps, arn't we all.

I know some people have a bad reaction if stung but that wasn't my thought.

As to getting stung, some years ago me and my dog stumbled across a nest of wasps in long grass, I didn't notice until the dog yelped.
At that point I looked up and there was masses of them circling around my head, the dog was gone off in the direction of the car.
Next thing I noticed was stinging in my back, they were all over me, cant remember how many stings I got.
Ended up ripping off my jumper and rolling on the ground before running like crazy.
I could actually run in those days.

But they didn't mean any harm.

 

I had a similar experience in a client's garden. Pulled up a dead shrub and the little darlings were nesting underneath it. I only got about a dozen stings, and luckily I had anti-histamines in the car, but I felt very peculiar for a couple of days I know people here, though, who did go into anaphylactic shock after just one sting. Fortunately their partners were nearby to get emergency medical help, so they're alive to tell the tale. What worries me is that we're all potentially susceptible. No-one knows when they have reached the tolerance level until it happens!
My OH was one of the 'leave them alone and they'll etc etc' right up until the point where he got dive-bombed and stung just peacefully ambling by the shed. Don't hear so much of that now.....

 

Thanks for all the replies and help. Decided in the end to agree with the consensus and that getting a pro was the best solution for the house nest; not least of all because it cannot be seen, is inaccessible, and would require working from a ladder. Plus, as it can't be seen, I've no idea what size it is.

Having called a few pest controllers, prices ranged from £45 to £100. Guess which one I went for??!

The hose bin nest we didn't have him eradicate because money's too tight to mention (as the song goes). My preference would be to leave it completely, but my fear is that as it grows and grows, more wasps will be around in the garden, and as it gets later in the season they'll be swapping their nest building activities for annoying humans shenanigans. And be angrier too / drunker from rotten fruit etc. I guess more queens will emerge from it too and hibernate locally ready for next season. So going to do that one myself...

...at night

...from a distance

...with my running shoes on!

Really appreciate all the helpful replies.

Cheers