Wasps!!!

[ChrisH]

When I found one on my living-room windowsill at about the beginning of November I thought it was a bit late to see them around. And I thought it was odd to find one - well, I should say Ebby finding it - buzzing around on my bedroom window a week or so before Christmas. Then tonight I found one in my kitchen! I thought it was dead but when I got the pan and brush I discovered it was only sort of comotose. Plus, I have to tell you, they have all been quite large!!

Now, as I so dislike and fear the things, I am begining to get paronoid about them. Are there any more? Where are they coming from? Etc. Especially as something similar has happened before.
In February around 3 years ago, I had a plague of bluebottle flies in my front bedroom (Ebbys room now). I got the pest control people out and finally got rid of them but no-one ever figured out the hows and whys of them being there.

[bluekat]

Eww, I hate ALL insects! I know how you feel, I get paranoid sometimes too because of bugs. Whenever I see something fly into the house, I need them gone as soon as possible!
I hate wasps too, hope you get rid of them soon!

[Tonya]

You probably have a nest hiding somewhere. Wasps make nests in our telephone cable cases up in the air all the time. We have to be onguard during the summer. During the winter, they are comotose just like you are describing. But they can still wake up and get mean. I hate them too!!!

If I were you, I'd get your house super cold so that you know they're comotose, locate the nest and have someone (if you don't have the stomach for it) kill them.

[amoore]

Wasps spend the winter under siding at my house. As soon as cold weather hits, they are finding places to hide and stay warm. I watch for them come out on warm days, then I find their hiding places. I spray, as soon as it cools down, in the places I've seen them going in and out.

That way I can get them while they are all there.

[IttyBittyKitty]

I hate wasps, bees and other stingey things, I am such a "girl" when one of them comes near me...and don't get me started on spiders, either!

[amoore]

I know what you mean! Mahayana is a beekeeper so our yard always has lots of bees. They sometimes chase me!

And black widow spiders live here, too.

[ChrisH]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. Glad to hear there are some fellow wasp haters here on PT.

Bearing in mind that I mean from a distance, I do like bees, spiders, beatles and a lot of other insects. However, I really dislike earwigs and flies, I am also none to keen on ants either, mostly because they invade my home in the warm weather!

Originally posted by Tonya
..... If I were you, I'd get your house super cold so that you know they're comotose, locate the nest and have someone (if you don't have the stomach for it) kill them.

Thanks for the good advice Tonya. I certainly will follow it if I can ever find a nest. Trouble is I have no idea where it could be, or even if there is one. The three places where I have seen them are not really close to each other. Living room window and the kitchen sink area, close to back window, are both downstairs, and are both warm areas, but have a hallway between, and the time difference between one being seen in November and one yesterday seems to question the connection. The one I saw in late December was upstairs in my non heated bedroom, and was fully awake! (I was so glad I got to it before Ebbs, she is the champion bug catcher around here!) Though that bedroom is located over the kitchen, maybe there is a connection there ....
Oh, I give up!

[gini]

Chris, someone once told me that wasps are the least aggressive of all the bees, if that is any consolation for you. However, Tonya seems to have more information than I do.

I once had an infestation of those huge black bumblebees in my living room. They got into the house in a tiny opening behind my bookcases near the fireplace. I thought I was going to die........ There were dozens of them - all buzzing like jet planes.

[Tonya]

Originally posted by gini
Chris, someone once told me that wasps are the least aggressive of all the bees, if that is any consolation for you. However, Tonya seems to have more information than I do.

I once had an infestation of those huge black bumblebees in my living room. They got into the house in a tiny opening behind my bookcases near the fireplace. I thought I was going to die........ There were dozens of them - all buzzing like jet planes.

They aren't around here! They're very aggressive. They get angry and chase you. We've had so many guys fall off of telephone poles at work because they got attcked by wasps. We actually carry wasp spray on our tool belt at all times.

[joycenalex]

I was helping a friend move into her house from the apartment she'd been renting; as we picked up her couch from along the living room wall next to the air conditioner vent hundreds of wasps flow into the room. they had nested in an electrical line coming into the apartment and had eaten into the room to avoid the cold outdoors. when we picked up the couch, the opening into the apartment was exposed and they could come into the living room. we dropped the couch and ran. the building managers had to come at 10 pm to spray. check each of the rooms for some type of outdoor access, however small. good luck, it was creepy.

[amoore]

Arthropods account for a large majority of the kinds of living creatures on earth. Isn't it funny how little we are taught about them?