Representative Image.
Credit: iStock Photo
After driving back home from a holiday to a nearby forest, on reaching home, as I opened the restroom door to enter, there was this orange insect “wasp family” waiting to welcome me in good numbers. I was horrified! I just shut the door and used the other restroom. How did this happen? How do I get rid of this? And many more?
After some time, we opened the door to solve the burning issue. It was sunset time; their activities had come to a halt; they were back in their hives. We went a little closer to inspect and have a better look. It was a big colony on the glass window, which was open for ventilation. They were well settled in a span of just four days. It was a little difficult to dislodge them at this stage ethically (fearing bad karma), and we were also scared for the harm they may cause us!
We decided to leave them alone. After some tense moments, we arrived at the decision to paste a paper stopping their entry inward; it also meant no ventilation for us. We both (me and my guests) were living in harmony!
After a few days, I saw a lone queen wasp frequenting the other restroom. As they say, ‘once bitten, twice shy,’ I wanted to nip them in the bud and became more watchful of her moves and her peculiar modus operandi. She came alone for a few days, surveyed the place, sat on the glass window for hours together, and moved in circles around one spot.
And Lo! Behold, as expected, she came and sat on the same spot the next day, and the day after, she got busy with her work. It looked like she was stuck in that particular spot without much movement. I was keeping an eye on her activities; she could manage only one cylinder-like structure by evening.
At sunset, after a tiring day’s work, she flew out. Without wasting much time, I immediately got into action, decided to scrape it off, and cleaned the window with strong detergent and strong perfumes, expecting her not to try again.
But the next morning, the little queen returned and was probably searching for her place. After some reconciliation, she sat exactly on the same spot as her previous construction, as if melancholic and brooding, making me feel guilty of my cruel act!
After my afternoon nap, I went in to check on her, and to my horror, she was back with great gusto! She built the same structure in probably less time, in the same place, to show me, Look, I am back!
After ruminating for some time, she was testing my endurance. As a human, I had to behave differently and gently, not thinking much of the bad karma it would add up. As she flew out, I just shut the window from inside. Kept it shut for a few days.
At times in life too, when things happen over and over again, all we have to do is shut the window from inside.