Wasp Nest Statistics in North America

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.

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.

Compiled Wasp Nest Removal Techniques

COMPILATION OF WASP NEST REMOVAL TECHNIQUES :

You can remove wasp nest by yourself and if you are not confident then you can call a professional exterminator to deal such problems.

Here are some summarized techniques of both identification and removal of wasp nests from your home :

How to identify wasp nest?

Solitary wasps are long and have thin body and waist. Solitary wasp don’t make nest.
They are colorful and they rarely sting human beings. They are quite docile and they are beneficial of removing insects from garden. To get rid of solitary wasp you can just spray bottles filled with citrus oil extract on hand and this will kill wasp immediately. Social wasp makes their nest with papery pulp material which is made from wood mixed with saliva. Some species of solitary wasp make their nest with paper and mud. Such type of nest can be seen in trees, walls and inside crevices. Social wasp nest are more dangerous than solitary one because such nest house contain numerous wasp. Some people can identify wasp nest but for some people it is difficult. Some wasp nests are easy to identify and once it is identified you should remove the nest at the earliest and you can be safe from wasp stings.

How to remove wasp nest?

First thing is to verify which type of wasp you are dealing with and then find out the method you are using to remove the nest will work out or not. You can ask a friend to help you to remove the nest safely. Always wear protective clothing’s like wear boots and heavy pants before removing nests. It is better to remove the nest by evening when the wasp will be drowsy. Hornet sprays are very effective and you can spray over the nest by evening. Removing the nest will not be the solution for your problem because these wasps will rebuild if they are alive. Smoke can be used to calm down the wasp. Light up a newspaper and smoke and then remove the nest when the wasps are in smoky haze. Different types of wasp poisons are also available in the market that can be sprayed on them. When wasp tries to escape from their nest they should be poisoned immediately. You can use a hose with high pressure nozzle to spray the wasp. The pressure of the water will destroy the nest quickly.