How fast do wasps’ nests grow?

Just found one in my loft, the size of two golf balls perhaps.  Given my choice of scaling it seemed appropriate to **** it with a 3 iron.

Cue one very large and seemingly reasonably unhappy wasp giving me a fly past.  Obvioulsy given my bravery, I ran like a chubby child chasing the ice cream van.

Now that it is detached from the roof, will it continue to be ‘used’ and if so, how big will these things get?

I can’t help you with your particular question, but if I’ve learnt anything from this forum over the last few days…a wasp nest can be called a byke. HTH. X

Your alliterative allusion made me lol.

Na, the solitary wasp won’t come back…..unless you haven’t blocked the entry way it used in the first place. They are amazing nests. If you open one and see the grubs it’s pretty fascinating. It doesn’t take them long to build but it’s not a hive so will never get huge

They don’t grow, they are built.

The wasp may come back with friends to rebuild, with a lot of friends…

…nuke if from space NOW! Think of the children

I sleep with the window open and used to often get nests on the curtains. I used to try to leave them alone and it was ok when I was awake, but I didn’t know what they were getting up to while I slept, and one of the nests was about 2 feet from my face. In the end I had to evict them and now have a mesh over the window to stop them coming in.

I occasionally clear old ones out of the loft. The golf ball-sized ones seem to stay that size but I’ve removed a couple about 500mm.

Wasps don’t seem to re-use an old nest

Best option in hard to reach places is nest destroying foam.

The best option in easy to reach places, is the brave bloke from your local angling club. Chub absolutely love wasp grubs.

Chub absolutely love wasp grubs.

Obviously given my bravery, I ran like a chubby child chasing the ice cream van.

Not the OP 😉

I just wish I had enough space in my loft to swing a golf club…

Chubs and bykes content.

My dad used to chuck killed wasp nests into the river having kept back a few grubs.  Then gone in a few days later with them as bait.  In those days they used sodium cyanide, easily purchased for agricultural use to kill the wasps – trade name Cymag.  I still remember with horror the rusting tin in a corner of a shed.  He never confessed to cutting out the middle man, cyanide fishing is a very nasty practice that was probably popular back in the day.

The wasp may come back with friends to rebuild, with a lot of friends…

…nuke if from space NOW!

You mean like this?

You know you could just leave um bee.

I’ve had a hornet nest every year in my loft for almost 20 years apart from the droning sound early in the morning sounds s bit like Jumanji drums they are fine.

pk – I store stuff in the loft that I need regular access to, I don’t fancy having to run that gauntlet every time.  I’m just intrigued as to whether batting the thing across the loft will have pursuaded them to find alternative accomodation or whether they will just continue using the nest on the floor of the loft.  I didn’t hang around long enough to properly destroy it.

Also, wasps and crocodiles, neither can be dead enough for my liking.

If you’re going to nuke it do it now whilst still small. The ones in my loft get 75cm across.

I’m just intrigued as to whether batting the thing across the loft will have pursuaded them to find alternative accomodation or whether they will just continue using the nest on the floor of the loft.  I didn’t hang around long enough to properly destroy it.

I don’t think they’ll use the nest in its new location.  They are not however smart enough to realise they are not wanted there and so will quite likely build a new nest in the same or similar part of the loft.

Wasps don’t seem to re-use an old nest

That was the professional advice we got – treat the entrance and exit route with the toxic white powder (they get it on them and walk it into the nest), then leave the old nest in place as they won’t go back to it – if you remove the nest without removing the access route they will return.

Found this in the fold of a large parasol today, zoom in to see the grubs