Guilt about mass-murder

I am feeling very guilty, there was a European hornets’ nest about 1m50 above my front door and this evening they finally got a bit too stroppy and invasive and I murdered them, well at least about 35 of them, with a gymshoe and I wish I hadn’t needed to… :pensive: I had already done for 3 or 4 an evening over the past few weeks.

We had a bad nest outside our door / near the terrace the first year we were here and my dear little boy who was only 9 months got stung, and his cousin the same age and the then 9 year old kept treading on them. Needs must.

I’ve had to destroy several wasps nest this year and have two more to do, I suffer reactions from just a single sting so have to be a bit careful. Don’t like killing any insects/wildlife but have little choice as the nests are often near to a door or window.

Get the Pompiers involved, they are very competent at destroying them efficiently . They might charge a fee, but it is worth it to know it is done properly.

Like so many… I hate killing things… but agree that sometimes it is impossible to avoid.

Re wasps and frelons

If I see wasp/frelon surveying for a new home… too close for my comfort… I spray that area (not the insect) with a general household disinfectant that we use on kitchen surfaces ets… it’s got eucalyptus and all sorts of stuff…

… a quick burst with that… onto the wall/woodwork/whatever… as may be necessary… has kept them at bay over the years.

When we first arrived, we would sometimes find frelons wafting around the bedroom … they were coming down the unused chimney, but we solved that by successfully sealing it.

Must say, they never actually came at us, we weren’t threatened at all… they just seemed to want to get out the window.

They will charge a fee…150€. Since 2019 they have only done it for free where the next is a real danger, eg school playground.

We had to kill a huge I think asian hornet the other day (it was in our shower) and it was horrible. We squished it and it carried on moving, so OH cut it into three pieces and it still carried on moving. Yuk.

Needs must sometimes. Rescue a few bees from a pond or similar to clear your conscience.

A friend of mine has a smallholding in Devon, & recently found two of her top bar hives had been invaded by wasps.
After various attempts at removing them, she decided one morning to remove the “infected” frames, & eradicate the wasps for good & all…
by stamping on them !
She sent me photos of the areas where she had stings…luckily only her lower legs, & forearms.
She should of course, know better, being as she’s a paramedic…& therefore, aware of the risks :joy:

The gymshoe of doom. A slipper would have been kinder.

About six years ago some mummy ladybird got into our upstairs bathroom and must have laid a lot of eggs. Around this time every year (?) a new batch of ladybirds would appear in the bathroom and require being caught and liberated. Many flew off but quite a few didn’t make it :slightly_frowning_face: No sign of them this year.

This year we’ve had two battles with ants. There were big ones using a garden hose as a highway to our kitchen and when we finally defeated them tiny ones made a further assault and had to be repulsed. It’s been a very busy summer.

Shows how times change.
Our one and only and desperately needed help (the guy fitting our tv satellite dish threw himself off the roof * when he discovered the nest!) was about 15 years ago in Burgundy where we lived.
I recall the charge was something like €80 then, which we thought well worth it to be sure.
*Our house at the time was a longere, so although very acrobatic it wasn’t all that high. Pretty impressive just the same.

They died instantly, I lurked in ambush outside in the dark and put the lights on in the hall, they flocked to the windows and the glass panel in the door, where I whacked them one by one ninja-style.

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A video would have been appreciated of this!!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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With sound effects :joy::joy:

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Do you think she made proper ninja noises??? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

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I’d like to hope so🤣

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Tsss when dealing with a horde of targets we ninjas don’t make any noises for fear of alerting them :wink:

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I have hornets in the tree by the house, they have been surprisingly considerate except that they think they own the apple trees and surrounding area.
My friends’ bees are being attacked by Asiatics though,which is grim.