Well that wasn't pleasant

[JamesF]

I had to nip out to the observatory in daylight for the first time in a while and was shocked to find that what wasn't visible in the dark were the hundreds upon hundreds (literally) of flies that have decided to make it their winter home, mostly clustered together in the joins and corners of the roof.  So I took the hoover out and have just spent the last hour or so getting rid of as many of them as possible.  Not at all a pleasant job as once a cluster is disturbed it tends to drop off the roof and fall on one's head :(  I also discovered about half a dozen queen wasps that had decided it would be a good place to over-winter.

After a number of restarts when I thought I'd got them all only to uncover a load more I think I'm now done.

I've also discovered that I may have a leak into the warm room :(  I think it's where the coach screws holding down one of the roof rails has (intentionally) pierced the EPDM roofing and I haven't got it sealed up again properly.  I did fill all the screw holes with silicone sealant, but it looks like one of them didn't seal properly, so that's something I need to get sorted soon.

James

[Tiny Clanger]

You need an observatory spider (one specifically trained not to spin webs across tempting metal tubes)

[JamesF]

11 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

You need an observatory spider (one specifically trained not to spin webs across tempting metal tubes)

I've had several of the variety that do :(

Next autumn it may be tempting to move the fly zapper from the beer shack into the observatory for a month or two.

James

[dobblob]

Also try Rent-A-Bat.com  .....

[reezeh]

20 minutes ago, Tiny Clanger said:

You need an observatory spider (one specifically trained not to spin webs across tempting metal tubes)

Is that the four-vaned or three-vaned breed? 

[JeremyS]

1 hour ago, JamesF said:

I may have a leak into the warm room

maybe hold off and go into the garden instead?

🙂

 

[reezeh]

10 minutes ago, JamesF said:

I've had several of the variety that do

Next autumn it may be tempting to move the fly zapper from the beer shack into the observatory for a month or two.

James

Make it a fun job by getting a bug-a-salt 😉

[JamesF]

15 minutes ago, dobblob said:

Also try Rent-A-Bat.com  .....

Oddly enough there were some droppings on the outer edge of the roof rails that looked like they could have been from bats.

James

[Nigella Bryant]

Oh goodness, not a nice thing to have to do. 

[TerryMcK]

In my workshop I encourage the spiders in and Alice with her friends catch everything that ventures inside. She is huge now.

[Stu]

That doesn’t sound like fun at all James. You have my sympathies; we once managed to leave the bedroom light on, with the windows open one evening and when we went upstairs to bed, the white walls were black with bugs and flies. Had a similar task to you, vacuuming the walls for an hour!

[teoria_del_big_bang]

Oh not nice at all. Thats why we like spiders in this house.

Steve