Help - Wasp nest on our roof

Good morning all.  What an exciting evening we had last night – went up to our roof to enjoy a glass of wine and found ourselves surrounded by wasps.  My husband is VERY allergic to bee stings and I, while not allergic had no great desire to get stung so we got out of there PDQ.  

Doused myself with OFF first thing this morning and put on a heavy winter jacket (boy wasn’t that fun) and went out to scope things out.  There is a nest attached to the bottom side of our wood table about the size of a big golf ball? (small softball?) with lots of wasps hanging out.  Can anyone tell us who to call to get this thing gone????  Thanks! Please don’t ask for a photo I have no intention of getting that up close and personal and I don’t have a telephoto lens.

amyschachter

in Quality of Life 13 years and 9 months ago

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srsqualms | 13 years and 9 months ago

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I had a paper wasp nest on my roof, and they were flying down my skylight into my shower.  I called an exterminator that I found on Yelp and he took care of the problem quickly.  They have not come back, after 1.5 years.  Sorry I don’t remember the name, but any exterminator should be able to take care of this!

daveinbedstuy | 13 years and 9 months ago

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“the last thing we want is a bunch of pissed off wet wasps with a memory.”

Boston Tea party????

wyckoff | 13 years and 9 months ago

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Come on youngatheart, this is safer than bungee jumping.  Bees and wasps get a bad rap.

If you have a hose on the roof deck you could just wait til dark and blast the nest with water.  Some will drown, the others will fly away and the nest will dissolve.  Check back every couple of days and if you see any fresh activity, repeat.  Generally you don’t need to do it more than twice before they decide your table isn’t such a great place to be. (I’ve used the hose trick dozens of times and never been stung – something about the water).

And I’d say Steve’s idea is not generally recommended unless you know any 14 to 17 year old boys who are in need of something crazy to do.

This is not a difficult job so you would be fine with any exterminator who’s available.

stevecym | 13 years and 9 months ago

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Someone once told me to wrap rags around a broom handle and douse it in kerosene and light it and wave it under the nest.  The idea being that any of them who figured out who to attack would get their wings burned first and fall to the ground.  I did not try it.

I like the after dark approach mentioned by dittoburg.

Steve

dittoburg | 13 years and 9 months ago

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if you do these things at night its much easier, especially if you place the flashlight away from you. They have a real tough time orienting themselves in the dark.

amyschachter | 13 years and 9 months ago

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Thanks for all the DIY but we are too old to go on our hands and knees to spray the nest which is under the table and pretty difficult to reach and 10 feet is no where near a comfortable distance.  We were thinking of getting someone in and would appreciate anyone who has been happy with the work of an exterminator to chime in.  Not that I’m not impressed with the idea of someone killing a wasp’s nest by themselves but its too scary for me.

bowl-of-dicks | 13 years and 9 months ago

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A can of brake/carb cleaner and a broomstick.

daveinbedstuy | 13 years and 9 months ago

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I’ve tackled small ones like that myself.  Approach it when there’s minimal activity and belt it with a heavy dosage of wasp spray and then knock it off with a pole.  They won’t return.

kidbklyn | 13 years and 9 months ago

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You can buy a can of insecticide spray for that purpose at a Hardware store. The spray shoots about 10 feet, so you don’t have to get close to the nest. Give yourself a safe retreat path for your own peace of mind. Read all the directions on the spray canister. That should do It.