Death-Wish Wish Fulfillment
There are wasps in our attic. At first I thought they were living in the trim where the master bathroom joins to the rest of the house. That was wishful thinking. They are in fact in the attic. I deduced this by watching them slowly piling bits of blown insulation from the attic on the porch roof to make room for their horrific love nest.
The freak snow storm we had earlier this week was probably one of the last appearance of winter for the year. Soon, spring will be here. When it arrives, the wasps will come with it. Now is the time for me to strike.
I've done a bit of research and preparation. Bug-bombs are out and Spectracide aerosol wasp spray are in. Now, all I have to do is make my way into the attic on a cold night, find the nest without drawing too much attention to myself, hose it down with poison, make my way back to the attic hatch (50-60 feet back to the rear of the house) without getting stung or falling through the ceiling. I anticipate this being as much fun as swimming around the Great Barrier Reef with a five gallon bucket of chum tied around my neck.
Later, just for kicks, I can climb onto the roof and plug the hole into the attic.
The freak snow storm we had earlier this week was probably one of the last appearance of winter for the year. Soon, spring will be here. When it arrives, the wasps will come with it. Now is the time for me to strike.
I've done a bit of research and preparation. Bug-bombs are out and Spectracide aerosol wasp spray are in. Now, all I have to do is make my way into the attic on a cold night, find the nest without drawing too much attention to myself, hose it down with poison, make my way back to the attic hatch (50-60 feet back to the rear of the house) without getting stung or falling through the ceiling. I anticipate this being as much fun as swimming around the Great Barrier Reef with a five gallon bucket of chum tied around my neck.
Later, just for kicks, I can climb onto the roof and plug the hole into the attic.
Labels: death by house, fear, loathing, wasps, woe
posted by John | 5:58 AM
7 Comments:
Oh no! Well, at least you can figure out exactly where they're coming from. One house we lived in had aluminum siding over wood siding and the wasps were going under the aluminum to chew off the wood underneath to build nests. Because there were so many openings to get through the aluminum (wasn't the best job of putting that siding up) there was no way to effectively kill all the wasps. Good luck in your mission. Here's wishing you a sting-free spring!
Kelli
www.ournewoldhouse.com
Good luck! Maybe if you wear thick clothes and tuck everything in and wear a bee keeper hat... :)
I think when you are done with your wasps, you should come to my house and do the same for the bats in my attic. I can't even bring mylsef to blog about them, but laughed out loud when I saw your tags "fear" & "loathing." That sure sums it up, doesn't it?
I don't know whether this is true, so research it if you find it even slightly interesting, but I read (when I was attacking my own ongoing wasp infestation) that if you set up a light in a place different from where you are, the wasps will go towards that instead of you. I also read that they won't come after you when it's cold and dark and they're sleeping. I hope that's true. I'm going after them again myself. I am always terrified every time I do. I have never had an allergic reaction, but I'm so afraid of being swarmed, I got a set of epipens before going after them the first time. So far, I'm still living.
Ooh, I'm jealous. Sounds even more exciting than the kitchen sink/faucet replacement we're planning to do today. Good luck! I hope you escape sting-free.
Kelli, well not exactly. It turned out to be far more complicated than I anticipated. There will be a full post to follow.
Jennifer, thanks. Minus the beekeeper hat, I had the exact same idea.
Stucco House, bats? I'd take them over wasps any day. Really.
A, I think you maybe right about the light and everything. And, we share the same fears except that I haven't been as pro-active. I just hope I won't have an allergic reaction.
Fargo, thanks. I'm not sure if exciting is good in this case.
Hello John! I love your "snow day picture." You're very talented. I found your site when doing research on fixing up old buildings. I wondered if you could please tell me how much it costs to replace a floor and sub-floor? How do you find a good contractor? How many estimates did you get before hiring someone? Thanks. Cynthia
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