How do you handle knocking down/cleaning bee and wasp nests that are high up? I ran into a customer who had a nest about 40+ feet in the air, and I just don’t have enough water flowing through to take that down. Nests that are lower down (mud daubers, paper wasp nest, etc) all come off fine until I start getting to 30-40 feet above ground. Since I can easily clean “normal” mold/mildew/etc that high, I’m looking to see if there’s an alternative to dragging a ladder out to deal with them. Side note: there were no wasps in the nest, just wanted it cleaned off the peak.
Setup:
5.5gpm @2500 psi w/ 0040 tip (0015 doesn’t seem to make a difference at that distance)
Bleach + Dragon Juice (tried with some NaOH added in just to see if it helps - no go)
I have had a few times over the years where I had to break out the extension pole. Having an extension pole on your rig is like having insurance… You really hope you don’t need it but you are glad you have it when you do.
If you see one that high up that you might not be able to get just let the customer know ahead of time that you will try your best but do to the circumstances you can’t make any promises. I carry a wide variety of equipment but sometimes obstacles get in the way so I talk to my customers before I wash just so they know what to expect. Customer education goes a long way in keeping you out of trouble and always collecting your payment.
Alright, thanks for the feedback! I was wondering if there was some magic that breaks the bond with the house down and brings them down, but sounds like it’s going to be an extension or ladder to deal with them or just recommending pest control along with setting expectations.
Side note: Dawn (probably any dish soap with a degreaser in it) will take out stinging insect nests as well or better than wasp spray. SH works too but not as well or as fast as dish soap.
My pole reaches over 35 feet. Any higher up and they probably can’t see the nests anyway. From my perspective, the job ain’t done until the nests are gone and vermin evicted.
Re: Side note: I believe any surfactant will have the same effect as Dawn: getting into the trachea and blocking airflow causing them to suffocate. But I’ll leave deliberately pissing off stinging insects to play around with that to other (braver) people than me. As Patriotspwashing said, there are bee guys to take care of active hives. I just want to leave a clean house behind when the nests are already dead/hibernating.
What kind of pole do you use to reach 35 feet, and how do you keep it stable? I’ve only got an 8 foot extension and that’s already hard to handle when attached to a 3 foot wand. Between an extension and a ladder, I’d much prefer an extension.
You all are nuts. If its an active nest I’m not messing with it. Call the pest control guy. I hit a nest last year inside fascia and about 100 wasps came out of it…absolutely not lol
I always have a pump up with soap in it. I got rid of a killer bee hive under my mobile home at the ranch last year after the pest control guy camp up empty using his chemical array, I used Dawn. I also carry an Epi-pen.
Are you talking bees or wasps? Or both? I did a house wash a few years ago in which just about every window ledge had a giant wasp nest. I went to the nearest dollar store and bought about 15 cans of wasp spray.
