Today's Attic Find

[Steve Carlton]

Better check the basement...

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Better check the basement...

Has to be the 1956 version of the body snatchers? Good flick as was the 78 version.

[stevej37]

I'm trying to figure it out also.

I have a large tank in the basement...but it's reserved for the turtles in the winter.

They won't like someone taking up their space.

[JackDidley]

Wow, that is a big nest. I would freak out if that was in my house. Outside, I'd just leave it be. Inside, it would have to go away.

[stevej37]

^^^
The shell could easily hold a basketball inside...it's that big.
Colder weather will be my friend...suit up and scrape it off.

[Paul T]

Originally Posted by masraum

Not sure where you live or what sort of wasps you have. We get mud daubers in the house frequently. THey are solitary and like to crawl into small gaps and cracks to hide their nests (again, solitary). They are relatively benign. I use a washcloth or towel or glove to grab them and throw them outside.

We get those too, but these are yellow jackets….they were only active the for a few weeks in Aug/Sept….same thing happened last year as well. I’ve looked everywhere I have access to and can find nothing, no cracks at all and no visible nest. House is relatively new (12 yrs) with spray foam insulation in walls/ceiling. Can’t hear any buzzing either….guess I’ll see if they return next summer.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Paul T

We get those too, but these are yellow jackets….they were only active the for a few weeks in Aug/Sept….same thing happened last year as well. I’ve looked everywhere I have access to and can find nothing, no cracks at all and no visible nest. House is relatively new (12 yrs) with spray foam insulation in walls/ceiling. Can’t hear any buzzing either….guess I’ll see if they return next summer.

Wow, weird. You'd think with the spray foam, the house would be too tight for them to get in.

[unclebilly]

You can buy a cheap bee keeping suit on Amazon. I’d suggest you consider getting one before you tackle this. Multiple bites can be fatal.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

You can buy a cheap bee keeping suit on Amazon. I’d suggest you consider getting one before you tackle this. Multiple bites can be fatal.

Yeah, I might do that. For only about $30 I can keep it for future use also. I was planning on using my full face ski mask with ski goggles, but the suit will be handier.

The weather here is very mild...so it's not going to get done for a week of so.

[gacook]

My dad was deathly allergic to bee/wasp stings. I've never been stung and have no intention of ever finding out if I have his allergy. If that was my house...I'd be calling a professional and maybe staying in a hotel until they were gone.

More power to ya, Steve!

[Bugsinrugs]

This year has been especially good for the yellow jacket population. I wiped out a nest on my front porch and now I have one in my attic above my bedroom. I see them flying in and out of the gable vent. Occasionally a few met into our room somehow. I’ll probably set off an insecticide bomb in the attic before we go away for a few days. They seem to work.

[gacook]

I had one wasp nest on my back porch this year (2 wasps in residence; small nest). First day we noticed it, I went and bought some spray that you can shoot from 20ft away. Shot the nest that night, then darted inside like a little girl. Next morning, 2 dead wasps on the ground. Knocked down nest, nothing returned.

[stevej37]

I got the extension ladder out today and went looking for where they were entering.

Sure enough...a piece of soffit was hanging down giving about a half inch opening. 70 and sunny today so they were flying in and out. Will fix that early tomorrow.

[onlycafe]

i must be the lucky one, mine were honeybees in the ceiling ... i can't say there were half a million between dead and flying, but it was damn close..... a local bee guy came and collected the queen, moved the living, and collected almost one hundred pounds of honeycomb.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gacook

I had one wasp nest on my back porch this year (2 wasps in residence; small nest). First day we noticed it, I went and bought some spray that you can shoot from 20ft away. Shot the nest that night, then darted inside like a little girl. Next morning, 2 dead wasps on the ground. Knocked down nest, nothing returned.

If you can, that's when you want to get them, when the nest is still small with only a couple/few wasps. They are not as defensive then. I wander around in the spring and usually find at least half a dozen between the house and garage when they first start. Depending upon the year, I may check from time to time throughout the year as well. The past 2 years have been so dry that I think I only had one more nest after the first batch in the spring.

It's my theory that when the nest is bigger, 1 there are more young to defend and 2 more wasps hanging around to defend it.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by onlycafe

i must be the lucky one, mine were honeybees in the ceiling ... i can't say there were half a million between dead and flying, but it was damn close..... a local bee guy came and collected the queen, moved the living, and collected almost one hundred pounds of honeycomb.

Wow, I'd have wanted a little bit of comb.

[GH85Carrera]

One of my buddies had a house that a small part of the attic had been converted into a game room, with pinball and a pool table. There was a nice stairway going up there from the living room. Once up there one would notice a nice door. It was access to the attic area for storage of the "stuff" all couples collect.

When they first were looking at the house, before the game room was finished, they house had sat empty for over a year. The inspector found a huge squirrel nest up there. My friend insisted on keeping it, and sealing up the access for the squirrel to get back in. So he had this huge 4 foot across very obvious nest shaped thing in the attic. He sprayed it down with various insecticides and them put a pair ostrich eggs in the middle.

He and his son had a routine to show neighborhood kids the pet pterodactyl they had. They always said the mom was out hunting but the kids could take a quick peek at the nest. It was a very convincing display for a kid. They had a lot of laughs with it.

[stevej37]

With this mornings 6 degree temp...I figured it was time to move the yelllow jackets.

Climbed thru the tiny hole into the attic with a 60 gal leaf clean-up bag and a scraper.
I also had an extension hose for my 5hp Ridgid Shop Vac that reached up there also.

After an hour or so, it's all cleaned up. Didn't see any movement...they were all tucked away for the winter.

[herr_oberst]

Science experiment: Plexiglass box and a heat lamp.

And a piece of chicken.

[stevej37]

^^^ Too late....the bag is in the garbage cart at the curb....buh-bye.