Wasp nest removal

(Dolichovespula Spp)

Wasp nest treatment and removal is often required throughout the summer months to prevent wasps becoming a nuisance in both domestic and commercial environments. A pest controller who is trained in wasp nest removal is able to carry out a treatment that will get rid of the wasps and ensure the nest can be safely destroyed and removed.

Hawthorn Pest Control provide a professional wasp nest removal and treatment service that guarantees wasps are removed. Whatever your problem with wasps, you can be sure our wasp control experts can provide a rapid and effective solution.

Queen wasps hibernate throughout the winter months and come out of hibernation in spring. They tend to hibernate in areas free from frost including lofts and sheds. When the queen emerges from hibernation she builds a small nest, about the size of a golf ball, made of a papery substance derived from chewed wood fibres.

The queen wasp then lays 10 - 20 eggs which hatch into grubs that grow into new ‘worker’ wasps. Once fully developed, these grubs assist the queen in feeding the next generation of grubs. This process continues until the summer when the nest will be the size of a football, or larger, and may contain in excess of 10,000 wasps.

All the ‘worker’ wasps are sterile and it is their responsibility to look after the queen wasp, maintain the nest and bringing back food for the grubs, as the queen never leaves the nest.

During the summer months, the work of rearing grubs ceases and the wasps turn their attention to ripe fruits and other sweet foods and drinks. It is over the summer months, when the wasps are searching for sugary foods that they can become a nuisance or pest. This is also the time when, if annoyed or disturbed, wasps can sting, which can be very painful. The venom can produce considerable swelling as well as discomfort and upset. In some cases people develop allergic reactions to the venom in the sting and this can be extremely serious if not treated immediately.

It is possible to locate a wasp nest by careful observation of the wasps’ flight path, especially on a sunny day when wasps are at their most active. However, it is very important to note that wasps will defend their nest and can become very aggressive if disturbed or threatened. It is for this reason that it is recommended that the eradication of wasps is left to a professional pest technician who is trained in wasp nest removal. A trained pest technician will wear appropriate protective clothing and use insecticides only available to professional users supplied by an approved supplier.

At the end of summer, as the season turns to autumn and the weather gets colder, the ‘worker’ wasps die and the young queen wasps seek a location to hibernate for winter. In April the queen wasps come out of hibernation and the cycle commences again. However, it is unusual for a wasp to re-nest in the same location.

It's worth noting that whilst many see them as a pests simply due to the ferocity of their sting, both farmers and gardeners realise that in the right circumstances wasps can be somewhat beneficial as they kill many other insects which can cause considerable harm to plants and crops. Those circumstances however, are clearly not when the wasps decide to nest in your loft or graden shed!

Our qualified pest control team are able to control and safely remove wasps and wasp nests.