- Messages
- 633
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Impolite people, yobbish behaviour, pretentious people.
A very interesting experience this week. Following our usual custom when we get up, I came downstairs while my wife was taking her shower. I was happily sitting at the computer, checking our emails and reading the online newspapers. When Jackie came out of the bathroom she found that the stairwell was full of wasps flying about and banging themselves against the window. She yelled for me so I did the obvious thing and opened the window wide to let the wasps fly out. We looked around to find where they were coming from and noticed a black mark on the ceiling. While I was trying to work out how it got there I saw a wasp emerge from the “black mark” and fly straight out the window, then another one came out and then another. I went down to the cellar, mixed up some Polyfilla and blocked the hole. The surface of the wall and ceiling began to give as I was doing the filling. An ominous sign, I thought. We had some breakfast and then saw that another hole had appeared and wasps were once more emerging in a steady stream. As long as we left the window open it was okay as the wasps flew straight out. I went down to the town hall and they told me that I should call the fire brigade (les pompiers) as they were the people who deal with wasp nests in Luxembourg.
I duly called them and they came around 9.30 in the evening. Such lateness is necessary as the wasps are all back in the nest by that time. There were two of them and I watched from the bottom of the stairs as the boss man gingerly explored the area where the holes were. He told me that he was going to seal the area by sticking tape over it, but as he started to press the tape down, the surface of the ceiling gave way inwards and a horde of angry wasps came hurtling out. The two firemen came rushing down the stairs, but I was ahead of them. I got stung on the stomach through my shirt, but it didn’t hurt too much, but one of the firemen was stung close to his eye and that seemed rather painful.
Once most of the wasps had left the stairwell for the great outdoors, the two firemen donned their specially protective suits, sprayed as much of the nest as they could, and then taped the hole up.
The boss man told me that he had never seen anything like it. They must have been there for quite a few years as the nest was very big. It seems that they had entered through a gap in the roof and then the nest had expanded between the roof and the inner ceiling over the years. Slowly, the wasps had eaten through the plaster until all that kept them inside was the paint on the ceiling, which was several coats thick. Once they had started finding their way through that there would have been no stopping them. The firemen told us that they would return the next night with more men and remove the nest.
For several hours after that we could hear the angry buzzing of thousands of wasps behind the ceiling, but even though they were sealed in we very carefully closed all the doors when we went to bed.
The next evening two emergency vehicles pulled up and 6 firemen got out. They suited up and went inside, while we stood outside in the garden. Our son and daughter-in-law turned up to offer moral support, and pretty soon several of our neighbours joined us. It was turning into quite a jolly party. Our daughter-in-law went to buy some beer for the firemen (they only drank it after they had finished their work). One of them went up on the roof to find the original entrance and exit and he sprayed inside before sealing it up. Inside the house, the nest got another good spraying, and then the firemen got out a heavy duty vacuum cleaner which they used to break up the nest and suck it away. After that they sealed it with thick cardboard and taped it all down again.
Afterwards, they stood in the front garden, taking off the heavy suits which had made them sweat, and drank a beer. The boss man told me that they couldn’t reach all the nest, but there were no live wasps left in it.
We contacted our insurance company but we aren’t covered for wasps. I should have known that whatever befalls us is never covered by the insurance. We contacted our Portuguese builder who came to have a look and assured us he could fill the hole and replaster the area. He came along yesterday morning and did just that. We now have to wait for a week to paint the newly plastered area and replace the wallpaper.
And a further idle thought – what is the point of wasps? I can see where bees fill a huge job in nature, and even see the necessity for vultures and jackals, but what purpose do wasps serve? Answers here, please.
I duly called them and they came around 9.30 in the evening. Such lateness is necessary as the wasps are all back in the nest by that time. There were two of them and I watched from the bottom of the stairs as the boss man gingerly explored the area where the holes were. He told me that he was going to seal the area by sticking tape over it, but as he started to press the tape down, the surface of the ceiling gave way inwards and a horde of angry wasps came hurtling out. The two firemen came rushing down the stairs, but I was ahead of them. I got stung on the stomach through my shirt, but it didn’t hurt too much, but one of the firemen was stung close to his eye and that seemed rather painful.
Once most of the wasps had left the stairwell for the great outdoors, the two firemen donned their specially protective suits, sprayed as much of the nest as they could, and then taped the hole up.
The boss man told me that he had never seen anything like it. They must have been there for quite a few years as the nest was very big. It seems that they had entered through a gap in the roof and then the nest had expanded between the roof and the inner ceiling over the years. Slowly, the wasps had eaten through the plaster until all that kept them inside was the paint on the ceiling, which was several coats thick. Once they had started finding their way through that there would have been no stopping them. The firemen told us that they would return the next night with more men and remove the nest.
For several hours after that we could hear the angry buzzing of thousands of wasps behind the ceiling, but even though they were sealed in we very carefully closed all the doors when we went to bed.
The next evening two emergency vehicles pulled up and 6 firemen got out. They suited up and went inside, while we stood outside in the garden. Our son and daughter-in-law turned up to offer moral support, and pretty soon several of our neighbours joined us. It was turning into quite a jolly party. Our daughter-in-law went to buy some beer for the firemen (they only drank it after they had finished their work). One of them went up on the roof to find the original entrance and exit and he sprayed inside before sealing it up. Inside the house, the nest got another good spraying, and then the firemen got out a heavy duty vacuum cleaner which they used to break up the nest and suck it away. After that they sealed it with thick cardboard and taped it all down again.
Afterwards, they stood in the front garden, taking off the heavy suits which had made them sweat, and drank a beer. The boss man told me that they couldn’t reach all the nest, but there were no live wasps left in it.
We contacted our insurance company but we aren’t covered for wasps. I should have known that whatever befalls us is never covered by the insurance. We contacted our Portuguese builder who came to have a look and assured us he could fill the hole and replaster the area. He came along yesterday morning and did just that. We now have to wait for a week to paint the newly plastered area and replace the wallpaper.
And a further idle thought – what is the point of wasps? I can see where bees fill a huge job in nature, and even see the necessity for vultures and jackals, but what purpose do wasps serve? Answers here, please.