# Am I a Monster? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 5, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191 "2005-07-05T20:58:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/41 "2005-07-06T21:32:39Z")
> [@Snowboarder Bo](#): > > Whatever you do, be careful. WASPs are not affected by plaids or turtlenecks. The best thing to do may be to put up a large multi-ethnic display of some kind in your yard, like a Jewish Kwaanza tribute to Buddha or something. I bet the WASPs run and never look back. Actually, the White Anglo-Saxon Pagans I know would probably be attracted to that. Many paths to the goal, and all that. 🙂 But as for _insects_, if you can, wait until winter, then knock down the frozen nest and its contents. Worked for me, no poison needed, when I found a nest in the sunshade on my trailer… ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/42 "2005-07-07T01:02:21Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > But as for _insects_, if you can, wait until winter, then knock down the frozen nest and its contents. Worked for me, no poison needed, when I found a nest in the sunshade on my trailer… Frozen? Things freeze outdoors? That sounds cool. I should move up north! I don’t run around randomly killing wasps. I run away from them. I only took out that nest that was right by my door. It’s not like I make a major dent in the world wasp population. Once I was about to get into bed in the same apartment when a wasp landed ON MY PILLOW. Major freakout time. And then a dead wasp. Hey, it was in MY territory! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/43 "2005-07-07T01:48:18Z")
> [@Sylkyn](#): > > I started slapping at my hair just reading this thread. Don’t slap, brush. Else you will drive the stinger into you. (Note to self:I thought I had “they are just trying to make a living” copyrighted. Speak to patent attorney.) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/44 "2005-07-07T03:01:53Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > Frozen? Things freeze outdoors? That sounds cool. I should move up north! Sorry. I didn’t fully notice your location. The trailer, I should mention, is located inear Algonquin Park, in an area that regularly sees -35C in winter. Clearly, your experience may be different. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/45 "2005-07-07T03:34:00Z")
The thing is, when you are done with your war on the wasps. You must know that in the future adult wasps will tell their babies to behave or **nealla** will come get them. The mention of your name will send a shudder through their bodies as if someone stepped on their grave. All of wasp killers will be measured by you and they would come up lacking. You are not a monster. Yes, you do lurking in the darkest corners of their minds and when baby wasps head something in the closet they know it is you coming for them, You **nealla** , are more than that. You are legend. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/46 "2005-07-07T04:06:16Z")
A few days ago I happened on a ground hornet nest in my garden. Only one of the little bastards stung me before I could get the wasp spray out. I’m here to testify that my killing rampage was a Good Thing[sup]TM[/sup]. ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/47 "2005-07-07T05:39:43Z")
Well, whether or not you’re a monster, we can be pretty sure that you’re not **Monstre[sup]TM[/sup]**. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/48 "2005-07-07T06:24:23Z")
When I was a 9 or so, we had a hornet nest in our back yard. Every once in a while one of them would get its wings wet while trying to get some water from our pool and end up floating on the top. If I saw one before it stopped moving, I’d scoop it up in my hand, dump out the water, and hold it on my open hand while I waited for it to dry out and fly away. I didn’t get stung once. One day, I saw one of the hornets floating in the pool, scooped her up, and she nailed me right in the palm. I shook her off onto the concrete next to the pool and went inside to put some baking soda on the sting. I told my dad what happened and he told me that earlier he’d sprayed the nest. I got stung for the first time after a few weeks of rescuing hornets because she was dying from a neurotoxin. I won’t give you advice on what you should or shouldn’t do about the wasps, that’s up to what you feel comfortable with. I just wanted to point out that unless someone in your family is allergic to stings you can live with them with no real problem. I certainly had no problems until my dad decided to poison them. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/49 "2005-07-07T06:31:35Z")
> [@nealla](#): > > I am considering committing mass genocide. The intended victims have not threatened me, except by their existence in the sphere of my daily life. Do I have the right to kill them? IMO, no. Leave them alone, they won’t do you any harm. I had some build a nest just outside my bedroom window several months ago. It was wonderful to watch them at work, I used to check on them every morning first thing out of bed. Unfortunately their nest fell down in a storm and they went away, but I miss them. The nest itself was fantastic, this really fine paper-like stuff, I gave it to my girlfriend to do something arty with. ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/50 "2005-07-07T10:13:49Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > ??? > > Have you fixed the mite problem, then? Because in a large section of North America, wasps are providing the pollination (at a reduced rate, of course) that we used to rely on bees to provide. > > And I have never been stung by a wasp that I was not (inadvertantly) attacking. I have destroyed a few nests where I was concerned that they would attack some person who would freak out, but I have never been stung by any of the wasps or hornets that have entered my house when I captured and released them. > I get a wasp nest in the window above my window-mounted air conditioner every year. Since they build in the portion of the window that is blocked off from my bedroom, I just leave them alone until October, then knock down the nest when I pull the a/c out to store it for the winter. Check out post #39, the part about: > [@](#): > > Beekeeping is difficult enough with natural predators. I deal with mites, its rough. Bumblebees are better pollinators than wasps and are much less aggressive. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/51 "2005-07-07T13:58:19Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > Bumblebees are better pollinators than wasps and are much less aggressive. All wasps are not aggressive. The paper-making wasps around here are quite docile. But I did grow up in the midwest where there are some pretty touchy wasps. I even got stung a few times. Fortunately I’m not allegic. If I were I probably would be much more prone to wipe out nests in my vicinity. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/52 "2005-07-07T15:37:06Z")
Kill them. Kill them all. Kill them now. Personally, I believe that the world would be a much better place if we exterminated any species with more than 4 limbs! I also feel it would be a better place if we exterminated any species that produces reality TV, so take my opinions for what they are worth. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/53 "2005-07-07T15:39:22Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Personally, I believe that the world would be a much better place if we exterminated any species with more than 4 limbs! I also feel it would be a better place if we exterminated any species that produces reality TV, so take my opinions for what they are worth. Well, not spiders. They eat the wasps, when they can get them. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/54 "2005-07-07T15:42:11Z")
Won’t someone _please_ think of the wasp children? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/55 "2005-07-07T15:43:31Z")
No wasps or other, icky, multi-limbed monstrosities, then no spiders needed. They, too, can fall like wheat before my scythe. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/56 "2005-07-07T16:08:11Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > No wasps or other, icky, multi-limbed monstrosities, then no spiders needed. They, too, can fall like wheat before my scythe. Someone said the world would end if there were no ants to clean up. How will you feel when the little baby WASPs ask, “Mommy, when will Daddy come home?” ☹ ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/57 "2005-07-07T16:45:22Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > How will you feel when the little baby WASPs ask, “Mommy, when will Daddy come home?” > ☹ Overjoyed. And when Mommy and little Baby Wasps’ chamber starts filling with soapy water, DDT, and/or uranium-87436, I’ll do a jig. Bwah-hah-ha-ha! ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/58 "2005-07-07T17:32:18Z")
> [@David Simmons](#): > > All wasps are not aggressive. The paper-making wasps around here are quite docile. Really? The wasps on the Great Salkehatchie Swamp attack if you look at them wrong, land ass first and, unlike honeybees, can sting multiple times!!! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/59 "2005-07-07T17:37:37Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > uranium-87436 I seem to have misplaced my periodic table… ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191/60 "2005-07-07T18:03:49Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > Really? The wasps on the Great Salkehatchie Swamp attack if you look at them wrong, land ass first and, unlike honeybees, can sting multiple times!!! :eek: I’ll back up **David Simmons** on this. Common paper wasps in the genus _Polistes_ aren’t usually all that aggressice. I had small nests on three non-consecutive years under the eave of my former porch, five feet from the front door. In all that time I was never once stung, harassed or even menaced. In general I’d follow **tomndeb** ’s advice. If they look to be in a place where they will directly interact with people or animals passing right next to their nest on a regular basis, get rid of them. If not leave them be. - Tamerlane [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-a-monster/311191.md?page=4)