Wasp nest in loft. What would you do?

[catswhiskers]

Have so much going on at moment, what with paperwork, doing my sef, inspection maybe coming. Then last night went up into loft to get a suitcase for my sis to borrow and had to get out quick as realised there were wasps up there!

Went outside and can see where they're flying in an out under the guttering somewhere. I thought my cats kept looking up at the ceiling for the past few days! I've not been up in loft for around 6 weeks and I know they were not there then.

I don't work Fridays but kids are due on Monday and somebody is coming to have a look up loft on Tuesday morning.

What would you do? Close down or tell parents (I will text them anyway) and let them make decision to send their child? Or should I just say until it's sorted I'll stay closed?

[lollipop kid]

Have so much going on at moment, what with paperwork, doing my sef, inspection maybe coming. Then last night went up into loft to get a suitcase for my sis to borrow and had to get out quick as realised there were wasps up there!

Went outside and can see where they're flying in an out under the guttering somewhere. I thought my cats kept looking up at the ceiling for the past few days! I've not been up in loft for around 6 weeks and I know they were not there then.

I don't work Fridays but kids are due on Monday and somebody is coming to have a look up loft on Tuesday morning.

What would you do? Close down or tell parents (I will text them anyway) and let them make decision to send their child? Or should I just say until it's sorted I'll stay closed?

That must be so annoying for you! Have you tried to get another contractor out? Near me, there are lots of '24' hour type services.

Until the nest is treated, I would certainly not close - unless that is you need to childmind in the loft?

I would just risk assess the situation and be extra vigilant with the children and, at the same time, teach them not to touch the wasps - or bees for that matter. (I've had a curious child stung trying to touch a nice fuzzy bee!). Also, tell them that if one does come near to them, they should stand perfectly still. I also tell the children that the wasp/bee will think they're a flower and fly away.

(I actually do this with my mindees - it does mean that I too have to stand still, though. I taught each of my own children this way and I was stunned when my daughter, then aged about 3, stood perfectly still while a wasp crawled on her closed eyelid. It flew away without incident and she just carried on playing.)

I hope it helps.

LK

[Mouse]

We regularly get bees nests in our garden so I risk assess and block off certain parts of the garden as necessary. I also teach the children not to panic if a bee or wasp comes near then although it's difficult to reinforce that when my husband and teenage boys go screeching round the garden if one so much as comes close to them

For a wasp nest I would risk assess but wouldn't close unless it was in a place where the children are likely to annoy the wasps.

[moggy]

I'd just leave it alone, unless the wasps were coming down to ground level and are likely to cause a risk.

They are wild creatures and could have nests anywhere- in a tree/shed/bush/garage, you can not avoid them. As long as they are not causing a problem then I'd use it as a learning opportunity- watching the wasps coming in and out, learning about not touching them and then when the nest is abandoned get the nest out to have a look at- they are fascinating.

[Mouse]

when the nest is abandoned get the nest out to have a look at- they are fascinating.

I've got one that I found in my shed a couple of months back. I'd seen the queen wasp going backwards and forwards so followed her track. I found the start of a lovely little nest inside a wicker basket! It was about the size of a golf ball and I was probably lucky to find it when I did as no other wasps had yet moved in. I moved it out and the queen disappeared. It's in a jar now as it's quite fragile, but the children love getting the magnifying glasses out to look at it

[Maza]

We get them most years just outside our living room window. They also love the pears that fall off our pear tree and so I just block off part of the garden this time of year. We do get the wasps nests removed because they are a nuisance. I never close because of it though - just risk assess (in my head) - this includes telling the children not to touch the dead ones that we come across too. I always re-read part of my first aid book that deals with stings too, so that I know immediately how to deal with them should it happen. If you have older children you could do a project on wasps - people are less afraid once they understand them. x

[Mouse]

Last year my daughter called me into her bedroom to say there was something scratching in her bedroom wall and trying to get out. When I looked I could see a small leg poking out where the wall joined the skirting board. I thought it was a spider, so got a knife and made a bigger hole. This massive wasp came crawling out!! I think it had been hibernating in the wall and was coming out ready to look for something to build its nest.

[catswhiskers]

Thanks for all the advice. It's awkward because I do go up in my loft quite a lot for different bits. My 19 year old is going camping next month and so I need to get all the stuff down. The wasps are going in quite high up and I wouldn't be able to get the children in a position to see them. I also think the nest is just above my head when I'm in bed so I won't be able to sleep properly!

I've text parents and they're happy to let children come along on Monday and then somebody is coming Tuesday. I do feel terrible as I love nature but the wasps are just too risky.

[Simona]

Have so much going on at moment, what with paperwork, doing my sef, inspection maybe coming. Then last night went up into loft to get a suitcase for my sis to borrow and had to get out quick as realised there were wasps up there!

Went outside and can see where they're flying in an out under the guttering somewhere. I thought my cats kept looking up at the ceiling for the past few days! I've not been up in loft for around 6 weeks and I know they were not there then.

I don't work Fridays but kids are due on Monday and somebody is coming to have a look up loft on Tuesday morning.

What would you do? Close down or tell parents (I will text them anyway) and let them make decision to send their child? Or should I just say until it's sorted I'll stay closed?

Call your council and they will send someone around to destroy the nest.

[moggy]

Call your council and they will send someone around to destroy the nest.

Yes, that is the case for our local council- £30 survey fee + £50 wasp nest removal fee. Worth comparing to a commercial company. Council may offer discounts for households on benefits too.

[hectors house]

You can buy spray to kill the wasps in most DIY stores, costs about £7 a tin - I found a wasp nest last year in an old tree stump on our boundary in front garden. I just sprayed the entrance to the nest in the evening when most of the wasps were inside and I just repeated it each time I saw wasps coming or going from it.

[catswhiskers]

Wish I could just spray the nest myself as myself and family not slept past few nights with the shuffling and funny noises coming from the space in the loft. I thought the floorboards were going to come through the other night!

Trouble is because it's such a confined space and entrance is a small square to the loft, I wouldn't know what to expect when I get up there and don't fancy it anyway!

The professionals are coming tomorrow so will let you all know outcome. I just want my loft back as I use it to store a lot of childminding bits and other things like winter duvets and photo albums and stuff I sell for the Alzheimers Society. Just hope it's all intact as I've read that wasps chew paper and wood to make the nest.

[sing-low]

Good luck, today, Catswhiskers! Hope the wasps are all gone by this evening.

[TinyTinker]

my parents had a bees nest in the loft once, they put up a uv light/zapper and shut the hatch - then a few days later opened the loft to a pile of dead bees under the zapper! not sure if wasps would be the same?