Wasps

We offer a service to treat wasp's nests in domestic properties, for a fee of £45. We do not treat for bees. Treatment may be free for residents receiving full housing and council tax benefits. 

Please note, we can only fumigate wasp nests from the outside of the property and the entry point must be below the guttering level of a standard two storey building. We do not remove the nest after treatment. This is the responsibility of the resident.

Please contact environmental health to arrange treatment.

About wasps

Wasps are bee-sized insects with yellow and black bands.  If very large, they may be queens, hornets or what are now commonly called European wasps.

The queen wasp starts a new nest in late spring by chewing small amounts of wood to create a papery material. Later, when the young wasps develop into female workers, the queen will remain in the nest to produce more offspring, and the nest will increase in size.

The nest may be in a roof space, hanging in a tree, shrub or in the eaves, in an air vent, or in the ground.  In late summer/autumn, the workers and males die leaving only the queens who look for shelter to spend the winter and then set up new nest sites in the next year. Old nests are not reused and when dead can be carefully removed by knocking them into a bin liner and then be disposed of in your normal waste bin.

Treatment for wasps

It is a great shame to destroy wasps nests, as wasps are beneficial in the role of predators on other insects.

If you encourage children to observe wasps nest activity you may avoid a fear of wasps. Any panic shown is much more likely to produce an unwanted reaction by the wasp.

If however the location of a wasps nest makes normal life difficult, for example, the nest is very close to a door, it may be necessary to have the nest destroyed. If you decide to treat the nest yourself, there are some products available on the open market, which should always be used with caution.

Dead nests can simply be knocked into a bin liner and disposed of in your normal waste bin.

REMEMBER

Extreme care must be exercised when treating wasp nests.