First note: everything is fine, only a few wasps were killed, and no humans were injured. Second note: the following images may give you the heebie jeebies.
I noticed a hole in the wall of the art room this spring. It turns out, my cat Racecar had jumped up to the windowsill, and while her front paws held on, her back paws thumped the wall hard enough to break through the paper and create a cat foot-sized hole. I investigated by tapping the wall beside the hole, and was astonished to find that it was paper thin. There was no sheetrock behind the wall.
I used a flashlight to peer into the hole in the wall, and saw the paper comb of a wasp nest! I bolted out of the bedroom and closed the door and called local pest control. I did not step back into that room until the day pest control arrived.
The man who arrived walked confidently into the room and put his fingers right into the hole! He tore it larger. He shone in his light.
“Yep. There’s one,” he said. And stood back so I could see a dead wasp inside. “Don’t worry. This nest has long been inactive. Was there a time when there were bees in here?”
I recalled two years previous, when wasps had been flying around – not inside the room – but around the outside of the windowsill. I had assumed they were trying to build a nest between the window trim and the siding of the house. But the key point here is that I assumed they were staying on the OUTSIDE. One night, I sprayed half a can of pesticide into the gap between boards, and the next day after ensuring no wasp activity, I sprayed foam insulation into the gap, to prevent them from getting in.
The pest guy told me that wasps will never return to the same location twice, so I can rest assured that they have abandoned this spot forever. He gave some advice on how to repair the wall. I felt only mild motivation to fix the very small hole in the bedroom wall.
That is….until Pedro and I began taking the steps to get this house ready to sell. You all know how it goes because it has happened to so many of us. All the small fix-it projects that collect over the years and are not super important while you’re living in your place. Well, those become much more important when you want your place to look perfect to a prospective buyer. Pedro and I have been doing fix-it projects since January. We started with an easy one: replace the kitchen faucet.
But one of our biggest fix-it projects was to deal with the wasp nest. First, we cut a larger hole in the wall, and tore out all evidence of wasp nest.
There was a surprising amount of nest constructed inside that wall. Wasps work fast. I recall sealing off the nest within a day or two of finding it. So they must have done all this in less than a week.
We thoroughly cleaned the hole in the wall, and then began the repairs.
I filled all the cracks with spackle. Waited till it dried, which made new cracks. I filled those, waited till it dried, sanded everything down. Then applied spray on wall texture. It’s a great idea, but this stuff doesn’t work at all like it should. It sprayed on too liquidy, and dripped down the wall. I tried different strategies (cuz I just know someone’s going to say I did it wrong), but the goo inside the can was the consistency of salad dressing. The little blobs that came out settled immediately till they were flat, or else dripped into the other blobs until they had enough mass to run in rivulets. *sigh*
I tried on multiple days, spraying the liquid over the same spot over and over, and got a little bit of what I wanted. Then I quit trying and painted it. The final result is not great, but it’s definitely acceptable.
Conscious Engagement 
Whoa. That’s like my worst nightmare. Well, if it was still active, that is. Crazy town. Nice job on the repair though! Wasps are the worst. Glad to learn that they never return or it might be like that old episode of Twilight Zone with the spider … do you know the one I mean? Yikes.
Omigosh no, I don’t recall the Twighlight Zone with the spider. My father did not allow a television in the house until I was a teenager. So anything on the air prior to 1985 I didn’t see, and not much after that either, because then TV was only allowed as a treat if we had done all our chores, homework, and cleaned our plate, then washed the dishes. I think I’ve only seen two or three Twighlight Zone shows – so deliciously creepy. Thanks for the compliment on the repair. I would have liked to have done a much better job, but it’s definitely acceptable.
Hooooo. Unpleasant thought to have had wasps in your walls. Better not knowing about it then when they were still active, say I. We’re having them all over the place. Once we had a nest in our mailbox and one stung the postman. We had no idea! No wonder they invented the communal mailbox after that. :p
They are awful and I’m sorry you have them all over. Your story about the mailbox reminds me of a similar problem with my chimney. I hired a chimney sweep to clean it out one summer, and there was a wasp nest inside and he got stung! I offered to give him my insurance info so he could make a claim, but he was tough and said he was fine, haha.
I had to put up wasp catchers every year. E & E have them all around their place too and have to stay vigilant. They can be destructive. I hope you get all the repairs done soon and find a buyer that will have plenty of help taking care of that wonderful and huge piece of property. It’s time to kick up your heels now .
I’m sure they have to worry about wasps because of the children. That is definitely a reason to stay vigilant.
I believe we are done with all our intended repairs. Now the biggest chores left are painting. So much painting. I was advised to turn as much of my coloured walls into white walls as I could. I have painted so much white into this house. But I am getting sick of it, so I drew some boundaries and have chosen not to do the entire house. I have too much else to do!!
We also need to paint more on the outside of the house. Two years ago I had some improvements done outside and that required new trim and a new awning and all those things are still bare wood. I need to paint that to 1) match the house and 2) look nice. The photographer is coming Wednesday. The storage container will be removed Tuesday. So I need to finish packing in just a couple of days. Then I need to paint and clean very fast, before photos. Eek. House goes on the market Thursday.
I get the white wall issue. I felt much the same way but found that the realtor that advised it was spot on. The first three people that looked at my house and made a full price offer loved the brightness of the house. When I bought it, it was all dark colors. I knew I’d have to sell one day and the white helped me see better. I added so much art to the place, you really couldn’t tell the color of the walls. You are trying to sell, are you not?
The yellow jackets in the backyard were underground and came out to sting me several times when I tried to work in the year. My next door neighbor came to help with the wasps and YJ because his wife was seriously allergic to them. I never worried about it when the kids were younger.
You are wise to take care of those little details. The can draw the eye and make them wonder what else is undone. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a perfect buyer and a smooth sale. 🙂 Love and hugs to you both.
I would have put a piece of furniture in front of it to cover it up.
Reminds me of what my Uncle told my Aunt when she called him to ask what to do about the weird noise coming from her car’s engine when she reached highway speeds. “Turn up the volume on the radio,” he answered.
Oh these things one has to deal with, Crystal. And like you say, one can live with many flaws – until that day one wants to sell the property. Good luck with all those fixing jobs.
Thanks Jolandi! I’m almost done scrambling. The storage container taking most of my things was hauled away yesterday and today the photographer comes to take photos for the advertisement. I just have cleaning left right now, and hopefully I have enough time to do it all.
Wow, that is wonderful. Wishing you much joy for this new phase, Crystal. 💕
That is crazy! And they were living there, without you knowing it. That is one adventure I hope we never have…
I agree that it’s an adventure no one should have. Here’s hoping your adventures in housing are more pleasant. 🙂