A woman who went into a rarely used spare room in her mother’s home was shocked to discover that 5,000 wasps had made a giant nest in the bed.
The nest, measuring 3 feet in width and 1.5 feet in depth, was still in the process of expansion, with the insects having gnawed through the mattress and pillows to construct it.
When pest controller John Birkett arrived at the location, he recognized that the nest had been developing for several months. His client, a resident of a five-bedroom house in Winchester, Hampshire, had not accessed the spare bedroom for an extended period. Upon opening the door, her son discovered the nest situated in the single bed, realizing that a window had been left ajar throughout this time.
Birkett, representing Longwood Services, remarked, “We received a call, as is customary… but a bedroom situation struck me as peculiar. Upon opening the door, I was astounded. The pillow was entirely covered by this 3-foot wasps’ nest, and the workers were actively engaged in its construction.
“In my 45 years of experience, I have never encountered anything of this nature. There must have been around 5,000 wasps. It is remarkable that the woman was unaware she was cohabiting with them.”
“I got dressed up like a spaceman and tried to destroy as many as I could with the workers flying around the room. In that nest there must have been up to 700 queen wasps.”
He said the only nest he had previously found in a room was about the size of a tennis ball.
Birkett ultimately succeeded in clearing the area by utilizing a spray designed to eliminate the wasps. He also managed to save the cherished blanket from the bed.
Despite accomplishing the task, Birkett felt a sense of sorrow over the loss of so many wasps. “It was a remarkable creation, and they had put in considerable effort, yet she looked at it and insisted, ‘No, no, no – you must remove it.’ If they achieved that in just three and a half months, it is truly impressive, isn’t it? They are merely small creatures.”
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