Living in a rich natural environment has its tolls -- turf wars with other species than humans. Even though you can keep a safe distance from other people, insects and animals invade your territory and may even attack you.
As an environmentalist, I value biodiversity. But there are some species I find it too difficult to live with.
Bees, wasps and hornets fall into this category. They are clever and create nests in the most hidden and comfortable place in your property. If you try to get rid of them, they could kill you.
On a sunny day for the first time in a long time in July, I went out on the balcony to hang out and dry bedding. All the sudden, many wasps flew out of nowhere and one stung my left foot..."Ouch!!"
I didn't know what happened, but thought they would have hidden somewhere in the balcony. After cooling the sting, I googled and found a company that gets rid of bees, wasps and hornets and their nests. I called them, and a young gentleman came in one and half hours.
He found a grotesque wasp nest beneath the rail of the sliding shutter. It was about ten centimeters (four inches) long. It was unbelievable as I open and close the shutter every day.
Wearing a protective suit like an astronaut's, he removed the nest, confirmed there were no other nests and applied pesticide on the entire surface of the balcony to ward off wasps. The pesticide should be effective for one month, he said.
The total cost was JPY44,000 ($414) -- a painful expense, literally. It included a substantial amount of his company's margin fee. He gave me his private business card so that I can contact him directly if there is a nest again. That way, he can do the work with no margin fee next time.
Six weeks later, yesterday morning when I opened the shutter, there was a different type of wasp or hornet hovering around the balcony. I sprayed pesticide through the screen door repeatedly and it finally flew away. In the afternoon, however, it came back. I thought there might be a nest again, but I was too scared to check.
This morning, there were no wasps. I carefully went out on the balcony and took a picture of the location close to where the nest had existed. Turns out there was a new nest, although it looked much smaller. This time it was not beneath the rail, but beneath the outer wall between the shutters. This place should be safer for the wasps.
It's amazing this enemy is so intelligent. I was wondering if I can remove the nest by myself. But experts say that if you are stung by a wasp twice, that could be fatal due to an anaphylaxis shock.
Wasps in the autumn tend to be particularly cranky because their prey, insects in general, has decreased. Furthermore, fruits they eat get rotten and include alcohol. In short, they are grumpy drunks. I should certainly stay away from them.
I called the wasp terminator and asked him to come again. He found and eradicated a total of three small nests and made sure there were no other nests within my property. This time, the cost was JPY22,000 ($207) with the guarantee that if a new nest is created until the end of this year, he will remove it for free.
While housing in a suburb is less expensive than one in downtown, it incurs hidden costs like this.
Lessons learnt: Similar to some humans, wasps are desperate to do anything for survival. They have no concept of trespass. You need to watch out and stop them while their invasion is minimal. If they are too incorrigible, you should consult with an expert who knows the tactics to deal with them and possesses appropriate equipment.
