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Post by flee on Sept 4, 2018 13:39:25 GMT
Argggghh ! Just had to remove yet another flaming wasps nest from one of the stables . We've found two wasp nests and one bees nest , all in different places in different stables this summer . We have come across them fairly regularly in various places around our property over the years but we've never had so many or had them in the stables before - and now THREE in less than 6 months ! I did feel a bit mean about the bees as I appreciate that they do a vital job , but their nest was low down between the kickboards with the entrance through the bedding banks and the bedding was crawling with them . The wasp nests were higher up with entrances nearer the roofs and were in the wall panelling .
Just as well Mr F isn't as squeamish as me about these things ! He tackles the destruction of the nests as if it was some sort of highly entertaining personal challenge and darts about avoiding increasingly angry insects with a sort of manic agility , and - touch wood - has so far escaped unscathed . He refuses to be thwarted in his efforts and can be highly creative in his methods . One year he found an enormous nest , in a little used shed , that had been built within an old curtain previously used as a dust cover . It was heaving with massive , vicious wasps who were going for anything that went near it ( as the dog found to her cost !). Somehow Mr F managed to attach a ( very ! ) long rope to one end of the curtain , the other end he held in his hand as he set off on the quad bike as fast as he possibly could , in the manner of a possessed Lewis Hamilton . He dragged the curtain with , it's nest , out of the building and into the middle of the sand paddock , followed by a cloud of seething insects . He dropped the rope and shot off into the field , on the quad , as fast as he could go . He let things settle down for a few minutes then , on foot , ran past the curtain and doused the lot with petrol ,he then ran past again and chucked a match at it and fire bombed the lot !
Never seen anyone look so pleased with themselves . Still , if it costs nowt and keeps him entertained .....
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Sept 4, 2018 14:29:11 GMT
We just use deadly powder scattered around the entrance when they are quiet. Far less dramatic but very effective - I'm highly allergic to wasp stings with no desire to die before my time!
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Post by flee on Sept 4, 2018 17:36:59 GMT
We just use deadly powder scattered around the entrance when they are quiet. Far less dramatic but very effective - I'm highly allergic to wasp stings with no desire to die before my time! We ( and when I say 'we' I do actually mean Mr F ! ) will use the foam spray in the first instance if possible . It's highly effective but the nest does need to be reasonably accessible as you have to target the entrance/exit holes . We ( there's that 'we' again ! ) managed that with the latest nest which was built in the angle between the roof and an inner wall . The one with the bees was in the cavity between the kick boards and the wall and Mr F had to repeatedly run into the stable , drag some of the shavings bank away and run out again , before the entrance hole was eventually exposed , and then brave the swarm of increasingly annoyed bees to spray foam into the hole - which was quite large and therefore took 3 or 4 attempts to plug it ! With the other wasps nest , I was first alerted to its presence by the number of wasps buzzing around in the rafters ( we have a pretty high roof in the stables ) but I couldn't see where they were coming from , or going to . The stable next door used to accommodate a pony who would rub his mane and tail at any given opportunity so I had got Mr F to line it out seamlessly from floor to ceiling in smooth wood , did the trick and very nice it looked too ! Mr F went in there , hammer in hand , to see if he could see any wasp activity . Nothing obvious but then , standing close to the wall , he thought he could hear a humming behind the boards . Of course , if you're Mr F , that means that you wack the wall with the lump hammer to see what happens . And what happened was that there was an audible bang as the nest within was dislodged , dropped down the cavity and smashed . And then hundreds of really pi**ed off wasps start swarming out through the opening high up at the top of the wall . So you retreat to a safe distance and leave well alone , yes ? Well not if you're Mr F you don't . What you do is go and put a jumper on ( because , obviously , fleece is wasp proof - and the fact that you're wearing shorts is irrelevant ) and then you dash into the stable and smash a hole in the panel and dash out again , repeating the process until you've removed the whole top half of boarding whilst at the same time scooping up with a shavings fork all the bits of buzzing , seething , broken nest that falls out . The irony is that almost immediately after I had posted the original thread he came in the house to complain that he had just been stung by a wasp - whilst he was in the garage cleaning his bike . The only time he's been stung this year ! NB What IS the point of wasps anyway ? |
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sarahp
Happy to help
Posts: 9,510
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Post by sarahp on Sept 4, 2018 21:14:21 GMT
They do eat carrion for most of the season which is useful, and only really start being a nuisance and stinging people late on when they crave sugar so gorge on over ripe fruit and get drunk and tetchy. The last two stings I had were when picking plums - which I don't do any more - when I got hold of a fruit which had a wasp on the other side that I couldn't see. Luckily I have avoided going into anaphylactic shock so far, but do take instant steroids and piriton. Even with max doses of those, one sting on my finger from a plum wasp resulted in major hand swelling extending right up to the elbow. I had thank goodness thought to take off my wedding ring before it swelled. We get nests in our house roof, they go in under the tiles and the roof is fully boarded underneath so nests are between the two layers.
I'm amazed that Mr F wasn't immersed in stings with all that stable demolition! The mere thought of all those angry wasps gives me the heebie jeebies.
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Post by gillwales on Sept 5, 2018 5:09:13 GMT
Is this some sort of training or ritual for the Iron Man?
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Post by flee on Sept 5, 2018 14:14:11 GMT
Is this some sort of training or ritual for the Iron Man? Well , they do say " Iron Man is a state of mind " ie. - you have to be bl**dy barmy to do it . I guess Mr F is living proof of that theory ? |
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janet
Full Member
Posts: 502
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Post by janet on Sept 7, 2018 14:46:31 GMT
i had one in the back of the hay barn with 150 bales in the way! there was a small hole at the back where they were going in, I was told spray ant powder in the hole and lo and behold it worked
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Post by flee on Sept 7, 2018 19:01:01 GMT
i had one in the back of the hay barn with 150 bales in the way! there was a small hole at the back where they were going in, I was told spray ant powder in the hole and lo and behold it worked That sounds like a good one to try if they're buzzing round the beds . We have the stable doors open most of the time so that the ponies can come and go as they please and the bees/wasps don't seem to have bothered them , but there was a horrific report in Horse an Hound about a horse that was shut in a field shelter and , apparently , disturbed an underground wasps nest in the earth floor . It was attacked and sustained such terrible injuries from both the wasps ( virtually blinded from stings to the face ) and from crashing about in a panic and unable to see , trying vainly to get away ( broken jaw and eye socket amongst other injuries ) , that it had to be PTS . What a horrible thing to happen - just doesn't bear thinking about . |
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