Wasps Nest in attic and wasps in kitchen

dontlikemondays

I had loads of wasps in my kitchen over the summer.
Got stung once and man, it was painful (or i'm a big wimp)
Couldn't work out where they were coming from, but then noticed them swarming about outside by my roof tiles, and then entering into my attic.

I got someone to come round and blast the nest from outside, with some chemical (said it was too dangerous to go into attic). He said it would take a week to work, but I'm still getting the odd wasp in my kitchen still, nowhere else, just the kitchen.

Anyone got any ideas as to what is going on and when will it be safe for me to get into attic and get rid of nest?

maninthestreet

Wasps in December??

martinthebandit

I had a wasp nest in my attic a few years back, I waited till mid winter and just knocked it down into a black bin bag and chucked it in the bin.

The only live wasp in a nest in the winter 'should' be an inactive queen.

maninthestreet

martinthebandit wrote: »

The only live wasp in a nest in the winter 'should' be an inactive queen.

The queen normally leaves the nest in the autumn, hibernating elsewhere, and starts a new nest in the spring. Wasps do not re-use old nests.

martinthebandit

maninthestreet wrote: »

The queen normally leaves the nest in the autumn, hibernating elsewhere, and starts a new nest in the spring. Wasps do not re-use old nests.

Even better, thanks

Davesnave

dontlikemondays wrote: »

Anyone got any ideas as to what is going on and when will it be safe for me to get into attic and get rid of nest?

There are still a few dopey queen wasps around, as it's been mild in most areas, but the workers will all be dead by Christmas.

There's no urgency to get shot of the nest, but anytime over winter will do. Of course if you remove it, you could get another in its place unless you track down the entrance point. On older houses that's not easy or practical though.

System

Davesnave wrote: »

There are still a few dopey queen wasps around, as it's been mild in most areas, but the workers will all be dead by Christmas.

There's no urgency to get shot of the nest, but anytime over winter will do. Of course if you remove it, you could get another in its place unless you track down the entrance point. On older houses that's not easy or practical though.

I removed an old nest in a loft when I moved in to a rental property. That year, a new nest appeared in it's place. After that one "died" I left it in place and no further nests appeared. There was obviously a small hole somewhere in that corner of the loft that was perfect for wasps.

Lesson learned, unless you are going to find and block the hole they were using for access, it's best to leave old wasp nests in place, providing they are out of sight etc.

dontlikemondays

martinthebandit wrote: »

I had a wasp nest in my attic a few years back, I waited till mid winter and just knocked it down into a black bin bag and chucked it in the bin.

The only live wasp in a nest in the winter 'should' be an inactive queen.

So the queen will still be in the nest then?

martinthebandit

dontlikemondays wrote: »

So the queen will still be in the nest then?

See maninthestreet's post above

maninthestreet

Leaving the wasp nest in place in the loft may deter future new nests, as the queen wasps seem to avoid building a new nest in close proximity to another wasp nest (even if it is an old, abandoned nest).