Pest Control
Pest Control Service - WaspsPest Control Service - Wasps
||Advice To Householders About Wasps
The most common wasps are the German Wasp and Common Wasp. Their bodies have a characteristic black and yellow band across
the abdomen and they are fairly large insects approximately 30mm in length.
Distribution & Habitat
Both species of wasps are commonly found throughout Britain and Northern Europe, and they are social insects forming colonies inside their nests.
Significance
Wasps feed on other insects i.e. flies and spiders and can be beneficial to the environment. Where wasp nests are situated away from occupied areas and are not causing a nuisance, they may not need to be treated.
Life Cycle
In the spring, the queen leaves her hibernation site and seeks a suitable place to build her nest, which is made from wood pulp and approximately the same size as a golf ball. She then lays a small number of eggs and tends them until they hatch to produce the larvae.
When fully grown the larvae pupate and sterile female workers emerge. These take over the job of enlarging the nest and foraging for food and insects.
Wasp nests may be found in roof spaces, wall cavities and air grates of buildings, hanging from trees, as well as underground. A normal nest can contain from 3000 to 5000 individuals, depending on its size, by late summer.
Towards the end of summer fertile males and young queens emerge from the nest to mate. The young queens will then fly away and select a suitable site to hibernate over the winter.
In the late summer before the onset of the colder weather the remaining males and worker wasps will forage for sugary foods such as jam, fruit etc. They will also feed on ripe and fallen fruit and become tipsy in the process. This is when they tend to become aggressive to anyone interfering with them.
As the weather becomes colder the active nest dies out, but the new queens born during the summer will search for a hibernation site. In the spring they will start a new nest of their own; old nests are not re-colonised by new queens.
Control
Ashfield District Council recommend that wasp nests are treated by professional Pest Control Officers. However, the following information may be of assistance:
Knockdown insecticidal aerosol spray i.e. "Flying Insect Killer" can be used to treat occasional wasps that become a problem when they appear indoors.
Wasp nests that are not causing a problem can be left alone. You can dispose of any old nests at the end of the following year. You may encounter queens that have chosen to hibernate in the nest for the winter period if you move it too soon. Old nests will not cause any damage if left in place.
Nests that are built in lofts or under eaves are more difficult to treat yourself and are best treated from the outside. If the nest is treated from inside the loft you may not be able to get at the nest entrance to treat it effectively, and if you disturb the nest during treatment you may encounter a swarm of angry wasps trying to protect their nest.
REMEMBER
Extreme care must be exercised when treating wasp nests.
Treatment
Ashfield District Council provides a service for the treatment of wasp nests; however, this is a chargeable service.
If you think that you may have a problem, please contact us immediately.
You will be advised fully of the costs involved prior to any treatment being undertaken.
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