Wasps

[kelroy55]

How can you not notice something like this.



GIANT Wasps' Nest Discovered On Woman's Guest Bed

[Bullbear]

Im guessing its been YEARS since she has had a guest..lol

Edit. wow only took 3 months to build that nest!.. crazy

[kevinpate]

I've gone a few months without opening a storage center before, but I can't think of a room in the house, any house over my 50+ years, that has ever been closed off for a few months at a time. Even the lil' cabin deep in the woods Pops had for a spell back in my college days was visited by someone more often than that.

[Bill Robertson]

Our 3rd bedroom is unopened for months at a time. Just nothing in there we need and keeping it shut means not heating or cooling it.

[RadicalModerate]

I once did a remodeling project on a "'Lake' 'Cabin'" located in a little "town" that used to be called McBride, OK, near the scenic shores of Lake Texhoma. The place was infested with hundreds--if not thousands--of wasps of every type and description. The worst part of the whole thing is that I'm allergic to wasp and bee stings. It was almost like something out of a Stephen King novel . . . except it was FOR REAL!!!!

(when we actually did the work, we did it in December after a couple of cold spells. the wasps that tumbled--rather than flying--out of the soffits as the plywood was removed were semi-hibernated and sluggish. it made them easy targets for the cases of cans of wasp killer we brought with us in the name of safety and survival. still . . . there is something about the crunching sound of walking around on a carpet of wasp corpses that still sort of creeps me out. when I think about it. like, now . . . shudder. and what if there were wasp zombies that survived the chemical attack that might crawl up your pants leg???? =)

oh! almost forgot: we stayed in the "cabin" for the duration of the project. heat was provided by a propane wall heater. that first night, as the cabin warmed up, I noticed one wasp . . . and then another . . . emerge from one of the ancient lighting fixtures and start flying around. I could almost imagine the theme to "Jaws" playing in the background. or it might have been playing on the transistor radio we brought with us . . . it's been awhile. =)

[kevinpate]

Psssst, just so you know, wasp zombies ... they be real.
You got lucky.

[Martin]

but how would you even know they're protestant? -M

[RadicalModerate]

p.s. (yet another angle to the TRUE story of WASP CABIN in MCBRIDE)--

dude who owned the "cabin" was an elevator magnate. the "cabin"--if a concrete block structure can be called a "cabin"--had a little elevator to the "second floor" bedroom. it was the only access to that bedroom, until, as part of the remodeling project, we put in a small stairway. the elevator was barely big enough for one person and crowded with two. it was also as old and undependable as the propane heater and the electrical light fixtures. I'm just glad that the power didn't go off with the elevator half-way on its journey to that upstairs bedroom . . . as the cabin warmed up . . . and the wasps began to awaken.)

(true story . . . except for actually getting stuck in the elevator. with the wasps. not the zombie wasps . .. the ones that were po'd about being awakened from their winter slumber by the application of unnatural fossil fuel heat.)

[RadicalModerate]

but how would you even know they're protestant? -M

Okay . . . you beat me to the pun (ch) . . . =)

The wasps I am referring to in my TRUE story were black and yellow, red and not white.
And a combination of all of those primary colors. They were certainly NOT Anglo-Saxon.
They were simply mean, unpredictable insects. Of the stinging variety.
Thank goodness all the spiders that were probably living there didn't make an appearance.
(on second thought . . . spiders kill wasps . . . so there probably weren't any spiders.)

In answer to your question, you get a good magnifying glass and read what their little signs are saying.
If they don't say, "Have a Nice Day" then they are probably protesting something or other.

[RadicalModerate]

How can you not notice something like this.



GIANT Wasps' Nest Discovered On Woman's Guest Bed

Just summoned the courage to actually read the post on the other side of the link.
Immediate reaction: "This would have made an extra good episode of Saxondale."
(if you aren't familiar with Saxondale . . . well . . . Google or Netflix it.)

[hoya]

I had some wasps build nests right outside my door a few weeks ago. I opened the door and they started buzzing around me. Ran immediately back inside and closed the door. Did a full body shiver. Then discovered I didn't have any wasp spray.

I've heard that mixing dish soap with a bucket of water makes a good wasp spray. Fill up a spray bottle, spray the things, and the dish soap allows the water to penetrate their exoskeleton. I didn't have a spray bottle, and I didn't trust simple dish soap, so I took a large pot, filled it with water, added some dish soap, stirred it up so it was sudsy, and then put it on the stove until it was boiling. I stepped outside and swung that sucker, throwing the whole pot of water at the nest. A gallon of boiling soapy water will kill wasps dead, I found out. Flash-fried. It was awesome. I felt like Godzilla.

[kevinpate]

HoyaZilla! Hai!

[RadicalModerate]

I had some wasps build nests right outside my door a few weeks ago. I opened the door and they started buzzing around me. Ran immediately back inside and closed the door. Did a full body shiver. Then discovered I didn't have any wasp spray.

I've heard that mixing dish soap with a bucket of water makes a good wasp spray. Fill up a spray bottle, spray the things, and the dish soap allows the water to penetrate their exoskeleton. I didn't have a spray bottle, and I didn't trust simple dish soap, so I took a large pot, filled it with water, added some dish soap, stirred it up so it was sudsy, and then put it on the stove until it was boiling. I stepped outside and swung that sucker, throwing the whole pot of water at the nest. A gallon of boiling soapy water will kill wasps dead, I found out. Flash-fried. It was awesome. I felt like Godzilla.

Lighter Fluid and a match is another Home Remedy to The WASP problem.
However, proper application of the control measures require being sure that there are no flammable materials within the vicinity of the application. Gasoline is definitely not recommended. For obvious reasons.

In REALITY: That semi-gelled spray (from some chemical company) that puts a lethal stream exactly where you want it is very effective in dropping wasps in their tracks. I think it's made by Monsanto or Black Flag. The misting stuff isn't good at all.

It might be a good idea to wear eyeprotection, gloves and other PPE . . . yet, when nesting and/or swarming wasps are involved . . . you have to weigh the options and take your chances. Or not. =)

I just realized something: Wasps aren't mean and stingy. They simply are another natural irritation in the biosphere (like rose thorns--except possibly fatal to me). However, as far as I'm concerned, they--wasps--are useless and personally harmful.

Would it be insensitive to suggest: Make them extinct ASAP by whatever means necessary? =)

Wasn't it Albert Schweitzer who wouldn't harm a fly while operating in the heart of Africa a long time ago?
Nah . . . Vague childhood memory, I suppose . . .

[CuatrodeMayo]

The while foam spray is especially fun. If you hit a wasp in flight, you get the satisfaction of watching a white speck fly a short distance then fall to the ground.

[Plutonic Panda]

How can you not notice something like this.



GIANT Wasps' Nest Discovered On Woman's Guest Bed

I was about to post that.

BTW, when I was little, I saw a hornet coming out of the ground so I ran over to grab it because I thought it was friendly like a bumble bee.... it wasn't friendly. I've stepped on a piece of glass that went all the way through my foot and came out on the top, and that didn't hurt as bad as the hornet sting. So in case anyone is wondering, don't cup a hornet in your hands because for some reason, they don't like that. ;P

[silvergrove]

Lighter Fluid and a match is another Home Remedy to The WASP problem.
However, proper application of the control measures require being sure that there are no flammable materials within the vicinity of the application. Gasoline is definitely not recommended. For obvious reasons.

[PennyQuilts]

I'm mightily impressed with the boiling water technique. And with the addition of the dish soap, they died clean.

[kelroy55]

I'm mightily impressed with the boiling water technique. And with the addition of the dish soap, they died clean.

Maximus then says, "Give me a clean death. A soldier's death."

[hoya]

I was about to post that.

BTW, when I was little, I saw a hornet coming out of the ground so I ran over to grab it because I thought it was friendly like a bumble bee.... it wasn't friendly. I've stepped on a piece of glass that went all the way through my foot and came out on the top, and that didn't hurt as bad as the hornet sting. So in case anyone is wondering, don't cup a hornet in your hands because for some reason, they don't like that. ;P

Are bumblebees friendly?

I used to have a roommate like this. He was a grown man and I had to go and kill the spiders.

[RadicalModerate]

would it be unwise to pause, for just a moment, and re-think the anthropomorphism of WASPs?
there could be a few Yellowjackets involved in the attack . . .
(not to mention a Woody Allen generated giant spider in the bathtub c/o Annie Hall)
Yellowjackets are, like, the WORST.
When I was a kid I threw a dirt clod at a Yellowjacket nest and got stung on the forehead.
It was both a blessing and a curse. (my parents didn't like having the picnic or whatever interrupted by such nonsense.)

I don't have to ask "what is the learning there/here" . . .
Flying, stinging insects have no right to share reality
Because they are totally wrong.
Aren't they?
(I vote yes.)

however . . . without honeybees we can't have pollination and honey.
so . . . I will try to avoid the question in question. =)