• Stay clear of active areas

• Do NOT attempt to Seal or Block entrance hole.

• Wasp Stings can be treated by applying a proprietary spray or cream this should ease the pain & any swelling.

• If a spray or cream is not at hand, a simple cold water/ice compress can be used to alleviate the pain. 

• Avoid scratching the affected area.

• Oral antihistamine tablets can be effective but take longer to react. 

• If someone is allergic consider seeking medical advice.

Some people may suffer other reactions which, although unpleasant, are not life threatening such as swelling, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps or headaches. However, if you are in any doubt it would be best to play it safe and seek immediate medical advice.

Nobody really knows, but I have noticed that houses with ivy, laurel, and privet seem to suffer the most, and particularly if the potential nesting places have a good deal of sunshine on them during the day. Why this is I don’t know, but perhaps they are attracted to the insects that inhabit these plants.

It is impossible to completely proof a building as Wasps can seek out the smallest of gaps or holes, so you could spend a lot of time doing this and still suffer infestations in the future.

In spring time the queens start emerging from their winter hibernation and begin to search for possible nesting sites. The mated queens will have been the only surviving wasps from last year (mating would have taken place at the end of Autumn), having found a suitable location, the Queen Wasp will begin to build a small nest by mixing small amounts of wood with its saliva to form a pulp, which is then added to the nest in thin strips creating layers into which the eggs are laid. Lofts are a popular nesting choice and the wooden joists and roof supports provide plenty of material, and the loft insulation is sometimes used as well. If you look carefully you can sometimes see minute scratches on a wooden fence where wasps have removed some wood. 

Each Queen carries a tightly packed ball of dormant sperm stored from their mating last autumn. So having found a suitable nesting place she is able to release newly activated sperm each time she lays an egg. These eggs hatch out into sterile females called workers and these workers then take over the job of nest building and feeding the larvae. The Queen continues to lay eggs, producing more and more workers, and very soon a small golf ball sized nest will start to grow at a phenomenal rate. Left untreated, and if conditions permit, Wasp Nests can grow to the size of a kitchen appliance although commonly they are about the size of a Football with a population of between 5,000 and 10,000. Usually the space available and the nearby feeding conditions will dictate the size of a nest, as well as other factors such as the amount of sun (warmth) the area around the nest receives.

Towards the end of the summer the Queen lays more eggs, which produce male wasps, called drones, and fertile females which will be Queens for next year's nests. These swarm out of the colony and mate. The males die shortly afterwards and at the end of autumn the nest dies and the only wasps left alive are the young mated queens who fly away and find a safe place to hibernate for the winter. Once the nest is “dead” it will not be re-colonised, and will in time disintegrate naturally.

Workers forage and feed the larvae, and cool the nest with water and fanning. They will aggressively defend the nest by stinging anything causing a disturbance. Unlike bees, wasps are able to sting repeatedly. The venom of the wasp contains a pheromone, which acts as an alarm causing other wasps to become more aggressive when a wasp has stung something or has been killed. So it is a bad idea to swat a wasp near its nest site or to attempt to remove a live nest yourself. 

Wasps are omnivorous, feeding on fallen fruit, nectar and carrion, and catch other insects many of which are the ones that harm your plants and vegetables. They also feed on nectar that helps pollinate plants and flowers as they move about.

They will also attempt to invade honeybee nests to steal their honey. As we know only too well they are also attracted to sweet food and drinks, and the odour of bodily applications such as skin creams, deodorants, and hair spray merely serve to attract their inquisitive nature. You may notice that towards the end of August they start to hang around you more, particularly if you are eating or there is food around. This is because their natural food is starting to run out as the summer draws to a close.

We hope you have found this both interesting and informative, should you have any questions about Wasps please do not hesitate to give us a call.