Wasp nest suspended in a house loft.
	Close up showing the structure in detail.
	One layer of the nest showing empty cells.
	Outer layer partly removed to show the internal structure of the nest.

Most wasp nests are straightforward to treat if the nest itself or entrance to the nest is accessible.

If the nest is difficult to get to (like in a chimney stack) it can be more problematic to treat and may be best left alone.

It is not necessary to remove the nest once it has been treated, as wasps never use the same nest twice. If the nest is accessible we do remove them to avoid the chance of secondary pests colonising the dead colony, like carpet beetle larvae, although this is rarely a problem.

We only use approved insecticides and wear protective clothing. In the unlikely event of the treatment not working first time we will treat it again free of charge.

COMMON PLACES FOR WASP NESTS:

IN BUILDINGS:

• Behind air bricks
• Any cracks around windows and door frames
• Under lead flashing
• Behind facia, soffitt and barge boards
• Under first row of roof tiles
• Any external access to lofts

IN GARDENS:

• Old mouse or mole holes
• Pampas grass
• Dense shrubs
• Tree hollows
• Bird nesting boxes
• Garden sheds

SIGNS TO LOOK FOR:

THE NEST

A round/oval structure suspended from the top, resembling a paper lantern and coloured in narrow bands of light brown. The entrance hole is at the bottom.

In the early part of the wasp’s season (April/May) the nest will be the size of a golf ball but will gradually grow up to the size of a basketball or even bigger by the end of August.

If left, the colony will die out by the end of October, but new queens will have recently emerged and may hibernate nearby waiting to start a new colony next spring.

NEST ENTRANCE (if the nest is in a cavity behind a structure)

Any small hole just big enough for a wasp to crawl through could lead to a nest. In April only the queen wasp will come and go. As the season progresses more and more worker wasps will be seen. By mid Summer wasps will be seen continually throughout daylight hours.

Bee and Wasp Identification

With over 300 species of bees and wasps in the British Isles and more arriving from Continental Europe as temperatures increase it is sometimes difficult to make positive identifications and to assess the risk of what
can be a dangerous insect or totally harmless.