How to remove a wasp's nest from a roof cavity with no access?

QuiteInterestin

Hi all,
Looking for advice here. I'm living in a rental house share and we noticed a lot of wasps flying in and out of a small crack at the top of the house wall where it meets the soffit (found this word on google, had never heard it before, where the white plastic of the fascia/guttering meets the wall of the house).

We're pretty sure there's a nest in there judging by the wasp activity in and out. It's a one storey part of the house with no attic access and no connection to the attic of the rest of the two storey house. We contacted our landlord who came around first with wasp spray yesterday and then with 'pest control' this evening (some random man in a van who sealed up the gap) :mad::mad: I wasn't in the house at the time but my housemate thinks some smoke may have been used as well.

I'm wondering at the safety of the method used. Is it enough to have sealed up the gap and hope they'll die. I'm reading up online of scenarios where sealing up the gap caused the wasps to become aggrevated and eat through walls/wood to find another entrance and end up in the house itself. What would be the best way to deal with the problem from now on?? Really annoyed with landlord as a visit from Rentokil or similar professionals would have cost €50 but she's too stingy to pay that :mad::mad:

Thanks in advance!

Ubbquittious

You can buy a can of that wasp killer and spray it into the hole, but since it's already sealed that boat might have sailed unless they open it up again.

Its unlikely that they will eat their way into another part of the house unless the ceiling is made of some soft material like beauty board

the_pen_turner

cut your landlord some slack. you don't know who did the work or to what standard. some of the best tradesmen out there drive plain white vans and some of the biggest companies with their name everywhere are the biggest cowboys.

_Brian

I wouldn't see this as a landlord responsibility, it's not like it's a structural defect or anything. Loft spaces also can't be completly sealed as they need air circulation to avoid rot.

I think you have a few options.

Wait and see.
Call an professional to deal with the problem at your home.
There are insecticide products you could spray into the Closed space which should kill them off. Woodies have wasp nest destroyer foam or even wasp killer spray, sprayed into a restricted space should help kill them off.

Act quickly as the nest size and population will grow rapidly now to its peak in September when there could be thousands there.

I destroyed a 50cm sized nest this week and there appeared to be less than 100wasps about it.

BrokenArrows

Just wait and see if the wasps are still present.
You might be worrying about nothing.

If the wasps are still there then you can demand from the land lord to get someone qualified to deal with it.

Id say the wasps are all dead or have left at this stage.

Calahonda52

Op:
This is never good: I'm reading up online of scenarios

You mention some random van with a man, so the assumption you make is that the LL got a freebie fix here.

If the gig was during they the stock off residents would have been maybe zero, at night is when they are all home, did that scenario not appear on the www?

Rentokil wont open a van door, random or not, for 50 euros

QuiteInterestin

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately came home to about 15ish wasps swarming around the sealed up area trying to get back in. Will have to wait and see how it progresses.

In relation to cutting the landlord some slack, unfortunately past experience doesn't give me alot of confidence. By the way, no insult intended towards any man in a van, similar to other posters, anyone I've dealt with directly in other places I've lived have been fantastic and done their job brilliantly.

Ubbquittious

QuiteInterestin wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately came home to about 15ish wasps swarming around the sealed up area trying to get back in. Will have to wait and see how it progresses.

In relation to cutting the landlord some slack, unfortunately past experience doesn't give me alot of confidence. By the way, no insult intended towards any man in a van, similar to other posters, anyone I've dealt with directly in other places I've lived have been fantastic and done their job brilliantly.

That will happen. The ones trying to get in should go away after a few days to a week

QuiteInterestin

Ubbquittious wrote: »

That will happen. The ones trying to get in should go away after a few days to a week

Thanks, was thinking that. Hopefully they won't persevere for too long!

crossmolinalad

live in a old farmhouse and have something similar like this
What will be the problem if I leave the wasps / bee nest as it is ??
Its at the side of the house nobody ever comes and its I think its the third year now they are there
I'm a type of live and let live
What could be the damage they could do???

Zebbedee

crossmolinalad wrote: »

live in a old farmhouse and have something similar like this
What will be the problem if I leave the wasps / bee nest as it is ??
Its at the side of the house nobody ever comes and its I think its the third year now they are there
I'm a type of live and let live
What could be the damage they could do???

I like your attitude.
If they're doing no harm....

Markcheese

If they're not causing a problem don't worry... Bees would overwinter in their hive.. Lots of honey, wax, larvae ect in the attic over winter... ( but from what I heard wild bees aren't really surviving very long these days)
. Wasps all die out at the end of the year and make a new hive next year.. So if it's wasps just fill the crack in winter

_Brian

crossmolinalad wrote: »

live in a old farmhouse and have something similar like this
What will be the problem if I leave the wasps / bee nest as it is ??
Its at the side of the house nobody ever comes and its I think its the third year now they are there
I'm a type of live and let live
What could be the damage they could do???

I worked in an old building in what was known as "the bee room" they had estate records showing bees had been in the attic space going back 200 years.

We would have occasional bees appear but they only wanted out a window.

They had a guy survey them at one stage and he estimated three large hives 5-6ft in size that he could see, tens of thousands of bees.

Ironically the kept hives belonging to the local club on the estate and while walking a path nearby I was stung by bees leaving the keepers hives.

Ubbquittious

_Brian wrote: »

I worked in an old building in what was known as "the bee room" they had estate records showing bees had been in the attic space going back 200 years.

We would have occasional bees appear but they only wanted out a window.

They had a guy survey them at one stage and he estimated three large hives 5-6ft in size that he could see, tens of thousands of bees.

Ironically the kept hives belonging to the local club on the estate and while walking a path nearby I was stung by bees leaving the keepers hives.

Are the bees still there? Did the Varroa mite get the better of them yet?