The Nest is in the Wall

September 8, 2021

Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away.  One would think that after 55 years of life, I would have learned that lesson.  But alas, life’s lessons aren’t always timely.

The wasps appeared in my office at the beginning of the summer.  There were 3 or 4 a day.  They didn’t bother me.  In fact, they were kind of nice to have around.  The buzzing relaxed me.  They were good company.  Maybe even kind of cute.  

You’re probably wondering what on earth I was thinking.  The truth was, I wasn’t. I’ve been distracted this summer -- by virus variants and ferocious storms.  Trying to make impossible COVID-related decisions about what constitutes safety, and what risk is justified.  In comparison, wasps seemed like a minor inconvenience.  

Over time, in various houses, my family has dealt with radiators erupting, plaster crumbling, foundations sinking, sewage leaking, and ice dams melting,  Mice, ants, and termites.  But never wasps.  I had no point of reference or knowledge base to rely on.

As the summer progressed, more wasps showed up.  They ignored me, so I ignored them.  Then one day, the population exploded, and suddenly, there were dozens of them.  I broke down and called pest control, but nobody could come for a week. Meanwhile, the wasps multiplied. 

It was a plague.

Pest control finally arrived today, and pronounced the diagnosis: the nest was in the wall.  Without breaking down the wall, there was not much to do except manage the population over time.  

I’m one of those people who takes the car to be repaired for a noise which nobody else can hear.  My avoidant behavior with the wasps wasn’t typical.  So it would be tempting to allow this situation to reinforce my worrying behavior.

But here’s my takeaway: it’s not that I should have acted immediately when I saw the first wasp.  Sometimes when you leave a problem alone, it really does go away.  But I could have done some research, gathered background information.  Most significantly, I waited too long.  If a problem gets worse, rather than better, then ignoring it constitutes denial.  And denial can result in danger.

I haven’t been stung yet.  And it’s unclear what kind of damage is inside the wall.  This experience has reminded me of how easy it is to pretend something doesn’t exist which is staring you in the face.  

As I write, the wasps are swarming around me.  Their buzzing will serve as miniature warning bells for a safer future: to avoid being stung, call pest control -- preferably sooner than later.