discussion Too Hot!!

[boatman]

Hot weather, shmot weather. Try this.

My den is up in the loft of our bungalow, and this last week or two I've been hearing a buzzing on t'other side of the partition, which has been getting progressively louder.

As it's so hot and sticky today, I decided to sort out Mr. Wasp! I wasn't going to have some chancer coming here and slinging a smoke bomb in the loft - "Thanks, that will be £100, please!"
This morning I bought two aerosols and went in to the den and listened to where the buzzing was coming from. Armed with a good sized screw driver, I made a hole through the partition wall, well away from the nest.....Wrong! Straight through the bl**dy thing. Needless to say the very annoyed wasps came at me when I withdrew the screwdriver. A good, quick squirt and I was gone! Luckily, I was only stung once, on my finger.

When things settled down in the den, I ventured back in and emptied a full can through the hole.

Now as I type this, I'm watching hordes of half dead wasps dropping down from the light fittings then landing on the floor, or bashing at the windows trying to get out.

Must be one hell of a nest!

All good fun.....

HI Ron terryfiyin to hear about your wasps as when i was young one stung me in the throat as i had been playin football an was thirsty an drank out of a pink lady bottle my mum had been usein an it nearly killed me ever since then i hate the bl**dy things

but the other day i was talkin to my neigbour an he said he has a big wasp nest he just found so i kept well clear of that when goin back indoors but just as i was comin past my shed something flashed past me like a lancaster bombmer as it was big an it looked like it went into my shed where i do a lot of drillin on things for tiger so i thought id have a looksee in the shed an BOY was i glad i did as there in all its horror was the biggest hornet id ever seen an it was brown an black stripes an to my horror it was buildin a nest from the roof of my shed well i just slammed the door an made a run for it

an went indoors an told jen an she said well we cant leave it in there as the nest will get bigger so i geared up with coats an gloves an my ole motor bike fullface crash hat with the glass down an armed with a bug sprayer like you Ron an well i was layin bricks i can tell you as i approched my shed door an thinkin whats gonna happen if there are more in there so pluckin up courage

i gently opened the door an my flamin helmet steamed up an i could not see what was happening by this time i was nr panic so i just turned an ran straight into the bl**dy wall instead of the door well by this time i was panicin but thankfully jen came out an opened the door as she herd the crash an thankfully the misting of my glass was goin so i dived out an jen looked in an thankfully the bleeding great thing had dissapeared but the nest was still there but in my panic it looked a lot bigger but quickly got a plastic container an dropped the nest in to it an got rid of it an ive checked again there an thankfully no new nest so hope its got the message of not wanted (PHEW)
chris

 

[KarlW]

Well my first day back at work, feck me it's warm, even warmer up a ladder in a marquee fixing stuff a customer just pulled down, finished the day with a splitting head so sports drinks for tomorrow.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Sounds like a Dad’s army script Chris.....made me smile.

 

[rtfoe]

Very obvious most modelers hate the heat and sun as most are locked up in their shaded cooled den building most of their lives. :smiling6:

Weather here has been crazy dark and hazy...effects from Mount Sentibung in Sumatra erupting and sending clouds of ashes over the straits the next day. It's been cool. Had to close up windows and doors to keep out the dust. Constant drizzling have kept dust to the minimum. Staying indoors.

Ideal building weather...hhmmm.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[boatman]

Sounds like a Dad’s army script Chris.....made me smile.

HI Tim yea thank goodness the outcome was ok an yea me an jen had a good laugh about me running into the wall of the shed afterwards when i had calmed down but at the time i was scared very much so as wasps an even worst still bloomin hornets scare the hell out of me due to what happened when i was young

as this is the second time this yr about a month ago i was in my man cave buildin tiger an all the windows were open as it was warm an out of the corner of my eye i see somethin movin accross the window pane an looked around at it an yea it was one of these brown an black striped hornets but not as big as the one in my shed the other day
an when i see it on the window i just froze for a few seconds as i was lookin around for something to clobber it with

but thankfully again it must have came in one window walked accross the glass an then flew out the other side an i was nr to collaspe in fright but again when i had calmed down i wish i had taken a photo of it as i had the camera to hand but just dint think of it at the time as these big brown hornets are bigger than our yellow an black buggers an due to how warm its gettin here they are comin this way they are ones that come across from ashia an i see a tv program about them an they were sayin these hornets if they sting you the sting is so powerfull it dissovele your skin dont know if this is all hype but i was'nt gonna take any chances with these things as to me they look unearthly uuuurrrgghhh
so now we are keepin our eyes open for any more an gettin ready to run for it
chris

 

[Tim Marlow]

Chris, I understand the fear. With me it’s spiders.....I’m sure they are alien and not of this earth. It’s the way they move!
From your description it sounds like you had an European Hornet though. The invasive Asian type are smaller than the indigenous species and are black and yellow, not brown. They have yellow legs and look a bit like a wasp on steroids. European hornets are less aggressive than wasps and usually only sting if trodden on or picked up, unless they are defending their nest or a food source.....

 

[boatman]

Chris, I understand the fear. With me it’s spiders.....I’m sure they are alien and not of this earth. It’s the way they move!
From your description it sounds like you had an European Hornet though. The invasive Asian type are smaller than the indigenous species and are black and yellow, not brown. They have yellow legs and look a bit like a wasp on steroids. European hornets are less aggressive than wasps and usually only sting if trodden on or picked up, unless they are defending their nest or a food source.....

HI Tim well cheers for the info on them but i just wish they would not come here an thats the oppisite to me as i dont mind spiders but jen not to keen on them but you talk about spiders when livein in our old house a few yrs ago to keep the happin short i was one eve gettin ready to go to bed as i had been on my pc talkin to some of the guys on another forum an jen shouted down from the bed room are you comin to bed so swithed all lights of in livein room an put on the upstairs light to go upstairs an as i started goin up i looked to the stairs top an i see all these tiny lights it looked like to me well i thought what is it

well boyo the lights were eyes about nine of them an i just stopped an stared at the spider there an by gum he was a big hairy fred so i just calmy walked back down the stairs back into the livin room an i thought i got to capture him so i grabbed a big pint beer mug the top openin about 4 inches across an i thought right i ll use a beer mat to slip under him when i put the beer mug over him an do you know the beer mug opening was not big enough to put over him without sqaushin his legs so i gently esed the beer mug around him to sqezze his legs in an push the beer mat under him an gently walked him out side down to the bottom of the garden

so i let him out an he walked away an i thought well thats one good deed done today as i hate killin them when they have made it to that size
an went to bed thinkin well we wont see him no more

well nxt morn i was up at 0430 to get ready to go to work an i could not belive my eyes the big bugger had hoffed it up our long garden an sqezzed under our door an was up on the curtain in the livin room well i was flabbergasted an i said to jen he's bl**dy come back an she was havin a look at him from a fair distance as when i told her how big he was i dint think she belived me but there he was in all his glory

SO i thought right mate you have got to go so i again captured him an got in the car an took him a few miles up the rd to work an i again let him go an weve not seen him no more that fixed him an settled his hash but things like this take some belivin dont they but it happend
chris

 

[Dave Ward]

In the late 70's, early 80's, we were at anchor off Nacala, Mozambique ( a real one-eyed hole! ), normally being anchored meant that we weren't bothered by the squadrons of mossies etc. It was midsummer, and HOT. The ship was old ( in fact she was sold a few months later ), and was non air-conditioned. Fine, it had big windows ( yes, windows ), and plenty of fans in the bar, where the two fridges were kept topped up with ice-cold beers.
One evening, as we were discussing philosophy over a few cans, one of the guys cocked an ear, and said " What's that?" - It sounded like a light plane on take-off.........................
We turned to look at the window - and in flew the insect from hell! It looked like a wasp, but a wasp about 150mm long!
After a frozen moment later, everybody decided that they didn't like the look of this. 8, healthy big blokes tried to go through one door at the same time. There were contusions & scrapes and large amount of profanities before we were able to get out & close the door.
After minutes of quiet, sober discussion, it was decided that this wasn't acceptable, and the lecky was volunteered to deal with it. He armed himself with a rolled up Sunday Times ( pre tabloid sized days ) and went for it. It took him about 5 minutes, and even then I wasn't sure that it was dead, only stunned, but it was decanted into the sea ( with a shovel ).
Normal service was resumed, but everyone was jumpy listening for approaching hums..............
Dave

 

[stona]

When my little brother and I were kids growing up in West Africa he decided it would be a great idea to kick in a hornets' nest.

The result was predictable.

I managed to get on my bike and make a sharp exit, but he ran and consequently got stung several times. Those b*stards will chase you for a couple of hundred metres from the nest. He ended up having to have anti-histamine injections and was really not very well for a couple of days...served him right.

 

[Dave Ward]

Two insects give me the shivers:
The giant millipede - about the size of a chipolata sausage & glossy chocolate brown - Can't even watch them on TV!
Cockroaches. Every single ship I was on had them - some far worse than others - one ship was really bad - they infested the flour bins & if cookie wasn't too careful sifting, they ended up being baked in your bread! - and nothing disturbs your sleep more than a cockroach crawling across your face! - Ahhh the good old days!
Dave

 

[rtfoe]

I get this uncontrolable chill down my spine when I see a centipede. And it gets creepy when you decapitate in two and both sides run in opposite directions.
I never put my hands in between bricks left idle on the ground or any crevice or creaks in rocks or trees. Been lucky so far...bbrrrrrr
Do you have them in UK?

Cheers,
Richard

 

[boatman]

I get this uncontrolable chill down my spine when I see a centipede. And it gets creepy when you decapitate in two and both sides run in opposite directions.
I never put my hands in between bricks left idle on the ground or any crevice or creaks in rocks or trees. Been lucky so far...bbrrrrrr
Do you have them in UK?

Cheers,
Richard

YEA Richard we have them but they are not that big about an inch long an they to my knowlege do not hurt you so not scared of them
chris

 

[KarlW]

YEA Richard we have them but they are not that big about an inch long an they to my knowlege do not hurt you so not scared of them
chris

I need to get some to hunt the silverfish in the downstairs loo.

 

[rtfoe]

The largest I've seen here is around is 9 inches long, mean and deadly. The ones in the jungle can grow even larger...bbrrrr

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

They hide during hot weather so no lifting rocks or bricks for me...

View attachment 395564

Dave is right, I seem to sweat more as I age.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Guest]

The recent run of heat has me stripping insulation from the 2 sun catching walls and roof of my shed so I can add air gaps and radiant barriers.

Can I ask how this has worked out Karl?

It might be a good temporary solution until I can get my new shed/garden room built.

 

[KarlW]

Can I ask how this has worked out Karl?

It might be a good temporary solution until I can get my new shed/garden room built.

It's actually worked out pretty well, I was dubious as I had seen articles rubbishing the idea and saying use proper insulation instead. I had used 25mm polystyrene, shed frame is 30mm box section, and apparantly this is the equivelent of 55mm, shed definitely not getting as much "solar gain" as it was.. Am going to take the opportunity to shift stuff around and make a bigger bench as well.
I glued wooden batts to the tin skin, 4 along each face of the roof and only top and bottom of the walls, stapled the stuff to those, then batts over this, fixed to the shed frame, and then plasterboard. The only mistake made was using a solvent based grab adhesive on one area of the roof, it was the tail end of a tube, the solvent attacked the glue holding the anti condensation flock so that bit had to be redone, where I used solvent free it was fine.
Fingers crossed I'll need to turn the greenhouse heater, basically a tubelar oil filled rad, down this winter.

 

[Guest]

Cheers Karl. Like you I've heard bad stories so it's good to hear a positive one. The bad ones are probably from the same people I see fitting it without an air gap!

 

[KarlW]

Cheers Karl. Like you I've heard bad stories so it's good to hear a positive one. The bad ones are probably from the same people I see fitting it without an air gap!

Oh it definitely needs an air gap, physics........and I've only got about 20mm of a gap, but it's "live", air can circulate through.

 

[Defiant911]

Is it me or is it just too cold