Wasp Nest in top of Mast

[FreeStyle]

I would think if you could start the engine and get into open water without getting them all exited you might be able blow them out and outrun them. Got a dingy? How fast can they fly? If it worked you could take your boat someplace other than where you started, lower the mast and nuke any that are remaining, clean out the nest and foam the mast. Hopefully when you return home they won't be there waiting on you.

[Tony D-26X_SusieQ]

Dimitri,

You will probably have to lower the mast. Wasps do not fly in the dark so it is best to work at night and in the dark. Next time a wasp gets in your house try this. At night watch the wasp and turn out the light. It will immediately drop to the floor where you can step on it easily. Next after dropping the mast you can instantly drop the wasps by blasting the nest with a CO2 extinguisher. CAUTION!!! This will stun the wasps only. It does not kill them but it will give you time to remove the nest and properly dispose of it. Then get the H..l out of there for a day or so. It will also help to spray the inside of the mast with insecticide so they don't return. Good luck! wear heavy clothing and work quickly. Save the cold ones till after the job is done.

[Jim Cate]

If you don't want to lower the mast, I suggest using a long pole to get a can of wasp spray "within range." Tie the can of wasp spray to the end of the pole, turn it on (jam the plunger down if necessary, e.g.,with a nail), and raise the pole to position the can near and upwind of the nest. In other words, although it might be difficult to reach all the way to the top of the mast, a long pipe or tube, such as an extendable, telescoping pole of the type used for holding paint rollers or those used for tree trimming or the like, should permit you to get within range of the nest, since cans of wasp spray do spray quite a long distance. I would think you could tie the can onto the pole at an angle pointing diagonally upward and get close enough to spray the nest. Then... Step off the boat, bang on the mast with something hard, and run like h..... - This will at least permit you to determine whether the wasps are still there.

Jim

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Wow..thanks for all the great responses. I had noticed wasps swarming a few weeks ago and then forgot about them and went out for the 4th of July fireworks. Evidently, they either all went with me or else they waited for their nest to come back. So far, they have not come down to the deck level and they seem to stay up in the top third of the mast area when flying around, even if I'm walking on the boat disturbing them by making the mast move.

We've had some good gully washing afternoon storms these last couple days. Maybe I will get lucky and the rain will wash them out since there is no where to hide from it up there. If not, I think I may try hoisting the mothballs up the halyard to start off with. Pesky wasps, last year it was mud daubers.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Jim, I thought about the wasp spray can tied to the end of a pole thing but then I thought I probably would not have very good control over it so I started thinking about showering myself with wasp spray. Then I thought about wearing a rain coat, but you would still have to look up to see what you were doing so it would probably still end up back in my face. Be nice to design something that would let you pull a string to fire the can when you got it into position, but that sounds a bit challenging from an engineering perspective.

Some good ideas in this thread, I could wait till low tide, and stand on a ladder with a pole.. That would probably bring me 10 feet closer. So, I'll need to wait for an offshore wind at a very low tide and preferably when there is no lightning in the area (holding metal poles in the air could be a bit dangerous this time of year). With a 10 ft pole, maybe I could get 2/3 up the mast, but it would still be spraying upwards which would mean I would have to tilt the pole back likely losing control over it. What a dilema.

Maybe if I inject some propane into the mast...not enough to blow shrapnel, just enough for a small fireball to toot those bugs out of the top. Would probably look cool at night!

[Jim Cate]

[quote="Dimitri-2000X-Tampa"]Jim, I thought about the wasp spray can tied to the end of a pole thing but then I thought I probably would not have very good control over it so I started thinking about showering myself with wasp spray. Then I thought about wearing a rain coat, but you would still have to look up to see what you were doing so it would probably still end up back in my face. Be nice to design something that would let you pull a string to fire the can when you got it into position, but that sounds a bit challenging from an engineering perspective.

Some good ideas in this thread, I could wait till low tide, and stand on a ladder with a pole.. That would probably bring me 10 feet closer.
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My thought was to go out to your boat on a day with some wind and stand upwind of the mast, pointing the wasp spray downwind. I think that would resolve the problem you mention.

If you can stand on a ladder, that might achieve the same thing.
I'm not an expert, but I have been stung several times by wasps that I thought were taken care of but were just ticked off at me. - They are mean little bastards IMO.

Jim

[Frank C]

I've heard that you should wait until dusk to spray wasps. That's because they all return home at dusk so you can kill all of them. Otherwise, many of them are out foraging when you kill their nest, making them pretty annoyed when they return!

[kmclemore]

I've heard that you should wait until dusk to spray wasps. That's because they all return home at dusk so you can kill all of them. Otherwise, many of them are out foraging when you kill their nest, making them pretty annoyed when they return!

Absolutely right, Frank.. I've heard - and seen - the same thing. Nailed a ground wasp's nest in my lawn last year... watched the little suckers coming back to the nest like a line of soldiers in the late afternoon and early evening, then shot it down the hole at nightfall.. next day, no wasps!

[zuma hans 1]

Geez, you guys, the solution is simple.

Turtle the boat.

[Tom Root]

Drop the mast and put one of those OUTSIDE type spray bombs up the mast at the bottom, seal it off, and roll the mast back on the crutch until the top is under the water. Of course tie it so it doesn't go so far back and make it hard to recover.

I have never heard of swimming bees yet, ( OK Maybe NAVY SEABEES, LOL ) so when they do bail you have effectively blocked them from attack. You might even get some fish interested, as they love insects!

Maybe tie something that marks where the mast goes out to under the water to warn other boaters using the slips, sit back and watch for swimmers, and possibly in an hour the deed is done!

One approach of many on here anyway!

When you are ready to step the mast, hose it off to get the salt water off and walla!