Author Topic: UKs Biggest Wasps Nest (Read 2164 times)

soopahfly · **on:** August 05, 2010, 10:39:37 AM

UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

on: August 05, 2010, 10:39:37 AM

Quote

A pub landlord in Southampton has reportedly found the biggest ever wasp nest in the UK.

The construction was 5ft 3in wide and 4ft 1in in height and is believed to have housed around half a million wasps, Sky News reports.

Pest controller Sean Whelan said: "It really was a monster. Nests usually operate from March to September so theyre very unlikely to get to be this size.

"The wasps disperse and bury themselves under about six inches of soil until March when they come out and then build the nest for the queen."

He continued: "What we think may have happened this time is that, because of the cold winter, the pub kept its heating on so the wasps didnt realise it was time to move on.

"The size of it for the time of year was unprecedented. They just couldnt have made something this big, this quickly."

Whelan had to squirt the wasp colony with an insecticide after using a pole to crack open the top of the oversize nest. "It was scary as hell but it is what I am trained for," he added.

zpyder · **Reply #1 on:** August 05, 2010, 10:52:46 AM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #1 on: August 05, 2010, 10:52:46 AM

Bloody hell thats huge. How it could get to that size without the pub realising I dont know, that thing must have been humming haha.

Clock'd 0Ne · **Reply #2 on:** August 05, 2010, 11:11:43 AM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #2 on: August 05, 2010, 11:11:43 AM

Reminds me of these bad boys

Rivkid · **Reply #3 on:** August 05, 2010, 13:05:03 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #3 on: August 05, 2010, 13:05:03 PM

Sod attacking that thing with a pole!!!

skidzilla · **Reply #4 on:** August 05, 2010, 14:54:45 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #4 on: August 05, 2010, 14:54:45 PM

Quote from: Rivkid

Sod attacking that thing with a pole!!!

Take off and nuke it from orbit.

Its the only way to be sure.

zpyder · **Reply #5 on:** August 05, 2010, 14:56:38 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #5 on: August 05, 2010, 14:56:38 PM

Quote from: skidzilla

Quote from: Rivkid
Sod attacking that thing with a pole!!!
Take off and nuke it from orbit.

Its the only way to be sure.

We were all thinking it ><

Mardoni · **Reply #6 on:** August 05, 2010, 17:12:08 PM

UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #6 on: August 05, 2010, 17:12:08 PM

Youd sh*t yourself if you stuck your head up in the loft and saw that in the corner wouldnt you ? I mean I flap enough when I find a nest the size of a golf ball :s

DEViANCE · **Reply #7 on:** August 05, 2010, 19:11:47 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #7 on: August 05, 2010, 19:11:47 PM

ive seen a few dead ones not much smaller than that when I have been working in attics. really does give you an adrenilne rush for the second when you are not sure if it is still alive.

Tek_Ed · **Reply #8 on:** August 06, 2010, 13:54:21 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #8 on: August 06, 2010, 13:54:21 PM

Quote from: DEViANCE

ive seen a few dead ones not much smaller than that when I have been working in attics. really does give you an adrenilne rush for the second when you are not sure if it is still alive.

adrenaline rush!? Heart attack more like. I am terrified of wasps!

zpyder · **Reply #9 on:** August 06, 2010, 15:46:04 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #9 on: August 06, 2010, 15:46:04 PM

Out of interest have you ever been stung?

My siss partner jumped on his chair when a wasp was flying around his plate when we were out to lunch recently. He hasnt been stung by one yet, it made me wonder whether peoples fear of them comes from not knowing what it feels like, or the other end of the spectrum of having been stung badly or seen someone stung badly etc.

I dont think theyre any worse than stinging nettles to be honest.

Serious · **Reply #10 on:** August 06, 2010, 15:58:13 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #10 on: August 06, 2010, 15:58:13 PM

Feels like a hot needle burn, really nothing that bad at all. Our impression and not knowing how bad it is makes fear of them worse.

The wasp in question landed on my collar and went inside the top, when I moved my head I must have trapped it and it responded in self defence. Ive had wasps walk along the top of my spectacles and over my hands before, without stinging. They arent out to just get you.

zpyder · **Reply #11 on:** August 06, 2010, 16:19:06 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #11 on: August 06, 2010, 16:19:06 PM

The only winged insects which seem to truly have malicious intent are Horse Flies. A wasp buzzing around is likely just investigating and will buzz off after a few seconds. If it lands on you it soon flies off. Otherwise its interested in your food and a few pathetic swats at it will likely give it the message and nothing further will happen.

Horse flies on the other hand...they either buzz around your head loudly to get you worked up before striking...or are the silent type that the first you know of them is the sharp piercing pain when they bite. It wasnt until this year that I finally got bitten by one on the knuckle of my right thumb. I think I was lucky and got it before it really tucked in. To start with it felt like an aching pain and I looked down and it was sat there and I swiped it off. Not too bad, but it ached for a good few hours after that, and was possibly the most itchy bite or sting Ive ever had for the following week. Ive known people to be hospitalised from bad reactions to their bites.

Only time Ive been stung by a bee/wasp was when one got stuck in my towel whilst drying off after a swim.

Tek_Ed · **Reply #12 on:** August 06, 2010, 16:19:57 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #12 on: August 06, 2010, 16:19:57 PM

I have not been stung and I think the fear is to some extent spawned from my not knowing how bad a sting would be..

Another factor is the way they look, which strikes fear into me. Evil little bastards. Why do they always stick around even when you have made it quite clear you dont want them to land on your food.

Backing away from a wasp always seems to make it come closer. Then when you walk away, the bloody things follow you.

All these points make me want to start wasp genocide.

EVIL!

zpyder · **Reply #13 on:** August 06, 2010, 16:37:50 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #13 on: August 06, 2010, 16:37:50 PM

I on the other hand think theyre pretty amazing. They have quite good eyesight, so moving away from them, if theyre buzzing around checking you out, theyre gonna follow until they have seen what they wanted to see.

If you want evil...wood ants...the ones that are pretty big and build big mounds of twigs and leaves in the forests...theyre big enough to give a nasty pinch/bite...and if you have the courage to get close enough to one of the mounds, move a stick or something over it...the ants will reach up to try and bite the stick etc.

Ive not encountered massive wasp nests, but the number of times Ive nearly walked/fallen into a massive ant nest...I can only imagine how closely it would resemble b-movies of people getting eaten alive...

Quixoticish · **Reply #14 on:** August 06, 2010, 17:28:45 PM

Re:UKs Biggest Wasps Nest

Reply #14 on: August 06, 2010, 17:28:45 PM

Ive been stung by wasps twice in my life, once when I was a child and again at secondary school. The first time a group of them flew down the back of my t-shirt and proceeded to sting me mercilessly, and the second time I put my hand into a bag of fruit only to find the wasps had gotten there first. Once again I fear I may have come off worse than the wasps did.

The actual sting is never too bad for me, but I dont like the discomfort that comes afterwards.

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Author Topic: UKs Biggest Wasps Nest (Read 2164 times)