Shocking Discovery in Spare Room
When a woman entered a rarely used spare room in her mother’s home, she was stunned to find a massive wasp nest with around 5,000 wasps filling the bed. The nest measured 3 feet wide and 1.5 feet deep, with wasps chewing through the mattress and pillows to build it.
Pest Controller’s Astonishing Find
Pest controller John Birkett, who responded to the scene, quickly realized the nest had been growing for several months. The homeowner, living alone in a five-bedroom house in Winchester, Hampshire, had not used the spare room in a long time. Her son had left a window open, providing access for the wasps to enter and build their hive undisturbed.
An Unbelievable Scene
Recalling his initial reaction, Birkett said, “I couldn’t believe my eyes. The nest covered the pillow, and the wasps were still hard at work.” In his 45 years in pest control, he had never seen anything like it. He estimated up to 700 queen wasps among the thousands swarming in the room.
Clearing the Nest
Dressed in protective gear, Birkett used a spray to kill the wasps, carefully removing them and managing to save the cherished blanket on the bed. Though he succeeded, he felt a tinge of regret at destroying their intricate creation. “It was a work of art,” he said, “but she wanted it gone.
