Wasp and Hornets

Anyone who suffers an allergic reaction to wasp, hornet or bee stings must seek medical help immediately, as stings can cause anaphylactic shock, which is very serious.

It might not feel like it when they’re hovering around your drink, but wasps and hornets do play a role in nature.
They hunt caterpillars, aphids, beetle larvae and other insects to feed their young, which actually helps control some garden and crop pests. The problem is their love of sweet food and scavenging habits bring them into close contact with people — and that’s when trouble starts.

If a nest is well away from people and pets, it can sometimes be left alone. But if it’s near doors, paths, play areas, patios or inside your home, it becomes a real safety risk and should be treated.

Wasps can be defensive, especially late in summer.

• Don’t flap your arms — this releases alarm pheromones and can attract more
• Don’t try to crush a wasp near others
• Move away calmly instead of swatting

Interesting fact — wasps can’t see red but are attracted to bright yellows, so clothing colour can make a difference when you’re outside. Certain smells like mint, eucalyptus and citronella may help deter wandering wasps at picnics, but these will not work if there’s a nest nearby.

If a nest was left untreated in a loft or roof space the previous summer, you might see large wasps or hornets inside your home in late winter or early spring. These are usually new queens waking from hibernation. They are drawn towards light and may squeeze through tiny gaps around ceiling lights, loft hatches, vents or pipework. Warmth from the rooms below can wake them earlier than they would naturally emerge outdoors.

Unfortunately, once these queens have left the nest and gone into hibernation, they can’t be eliminated, as there is no longer an active nest to treat. This is why it’s important to deal with nests during the summer months and before autumn. Towards the end of the season, nests begin producing new queens. If the nest is treated before these queens leave, it prevents them from overwintering and starting new nests nearby the following year.

If treatment is carried out too late — after the new queens have already dispersed — the remaining workers will still be destroyed, but those queens may already be hidden in roof spaces and can later appear indoors when they wake, which can be alarming for homeowners.

For this reason, we always advise keeping an eye out for wasp or hornet activity from early summer onwards, so nests can be treated at the right time and future problems reduced.

If wasps or hornets are:

• Nesting in your home or roof
• Near doors, paths, patios or play areas
• Causing distress to family, visitors or neighbours

…it’s best to get it dealt with safely.

We can usually treat nests quickly and safely, often the same day. Best treated between late June and August — the earlier the better to prevent next year’s queens.

We use professional insecticidal treatments designed to eliminate the colony at the source.

After treatment:

• Activity usually drops within 24 hours
• Some movement may still be seen for a few days
• The nest itself can be left to naturally break down or removed later if accessible

You may need a second treatment if the wasps are still active after two weeks.