WASPS !

Today the pest control man came to remove a wasps nest under the roof guttering above my balcony. Then with his protective clothing on, he put together his high reach applicator and filled it with insecticide dust which was then pumped into the nest. You can see the applicator in the extra. I took these shots through the window which had to be closed. I had already warned the neighbours to close their windows and the people in the flat underneath me.  Within half an hour they were dropping down on their patio, which I offered to sweep up, Although they said not to bother. A single nest can have up to 4,000 working wasps. They swarm feed and send out scouts to locate food. These scout wasps then go back to the nest to fetch the others.  They will feed until the food is depleted then move on. Different colonies compete aggressively with each other for food sources. Their sting can be fatal and I am allergic to wasps. Last time I was stung my arm was in a sling for 3 weeks, so it was important to get this nest seen to.