How To kill Wasp Nests -
Although 11 species of true wasp are found in Europe, only two, the Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and the German Wasp (Vespula germanica) are important as pest species in the U.K. although in recent years the European Wasp (Dolichovespula media) has made inroads into Britain after arriving on the South Coast in the early 1980s.#All three species over-winter as queens. The Common Wasp usually hibernates in buildings and the German Wasp typically over-wintering under the bark of trees.
It is now as the days shorten that the wasp becomes troublesome and pest controllers across the country are deluged with call-outs.
Although 11 species of true wasp are found in Europe, only two, the Common Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and the German Wasp (Vespula germanica) are important as pest species in the U.K. although in recent years the European Wasp (Dolichovespula media) has made inroads into Britain after arriving on the South Coast in the early 1980s.#All three species over-winter as queens. The Common Wasp usually hibernates in buildings and the German Wasp typically over-wintering under the bark of trees.
In spring the queens leave their hibernating quarters to seek nesting sites which could be in a hole in the ground, a hollow tree or artificial structures such as eaves, lofts and attics, garden sheds etc.
The queen starts to build her nest with a papery material that she makes by chewing small pieces of wood mixed with saliva; this is known as ‘wasp paper’.
She will raise the first few workers by her own efforts and those workers will then commence the enlargement of the nest and caring for the immature wasps to follow.
Nest construction starts in earnest in June and will reach its maximum in size in September when 5 - 30,000 workers may be present. These workers will forage for food up to 400 metres from the nest.
The size of wasp colonies will vary from year to year, the severity of the previous winter is probably the key factor in determining wasp numbers.
In summer as nest building continues apace the wasp is a gardener’s friend as it enjoys a high protein diet of aphids, grubs and larvae but as summer turns to autumn the wasp turns to feeding on fermenting fruits, in short - alcohol!
It is now as the days shorten that the wasp becomes troublesome and pest controllers across the country are deluged with call-outs.
In the late autumn the nest starts to produce the new queens to continue the cycle into the following year and when the time is ripe the young queens leave the nest and mate before hibernating. The rest of the colony dies and the nest is never used again.
Individuals react differently to being stung by wasps; some are hardly affected, others suffer considerable pain and swelling and a few become seriously allergic which in a very cases each year results in sudden death due to anaphylactic shock.
It is always advisable to let a professional deal with a wasps’ nest. An insecticide will be used to cover the entrance to the nest. Returning wasps will carry the insecticide into the heart of the nest and within a few hours all wasps will be dead.
It is inadvisable to allow a wasps’ nest to remain untreated as the resultant queens produced by the nest will invariably nest nearby in the following spring resulting in many more nests the following year. For this reason several nests are often clustered together in a locality.
