Wasps had been holding us hostage all weekend – I don’t know if I’m allergic to them or not, but given that I tend to be allergic to some pretty weird stuff, I figure it’s best to be safe. Ever since the first one landed on me and I did my cursory visual inspection, which unfortunately happened on Easter weekend, I’d been ruminating on how to destroy the stinging bastards.
Wasps do pollinate, so I guess they have that going for them, but the jerks don’t have the courtesy of dying after they sting you – they can sting you multiple times, and they gang up on you. Bees I can deal with – they are generally pretty good natured and I know I’m not allergic to them, and we may wind up keeping some, but the wasps needed to go, yesterday.
On Monday I got in touch with Orkin to deal with our wasp problem. I have no idea if they are good, and I didn’t bother shopping around for deals, but I work from home on most Mondays and they were able to get out here ASAP. A pair of them showed up and did a quick inspection – they had found maybe 2 DOZEN wasp nests for multiple types of wasps, of various sizes and states of activity. We had several “huge” nests, and the main guy said he hadn’t seen so many wasps so active this early in the season – he wasn’t trying to upsell me (I’d already paid) – but it makes sense that we would have so many nests thanks to the fact that the place had been mostly dormant for a couple of years.
They did their job – I think they might have missed one nest waaaaaaaay high at the peak of the roof, about 35′ off the ground, but they obliterated all the nests they could find, and there was much rejoicing as I was able to go outside once again without fear. A few still come around – I’m convinced they’ve got a hive in the field or something, but 2 or 3 I can deal with. And the local bees have been coming back, too – now instead of a dozen wasps, we’re getting a number of bumble bees, which is great. Those cute, fat buggers are fun to watch.
I do need to find some good pet and human friendly spray to kill them as I see them. I’m with General Sherman when it comes to dealing with the enemy – total war, hopefully I can get rid of them fully.