Wasps

Facts about wasps

Wasp

There are two types of wasp commonly found in the UK, the Common Wasp and the German Wasp.
The queens hibernate during the winter, in buildings or under the bark of trees.
In spring the queens look for nesting sites such a hole in the ground, a hollow tree or in spaces within the eaves of a building, lofts, attics and garden sheds, etc.
The queen will build her golf ball size nest with a papery material that she makes by chewing small pieces of wood mixed with saliva.
In the nest she will raise a few workers and these will start to enlarge the nest and help to rear the next generation of wasps. Nest construction starts in earnest in June and will usually reach it's maximum in size in September.
Worker wasps will look for food up to 400 metres from the nest. Workers feed mainly on sugary materials such as nectar.
The size of wasp colonies will vary from year to year, but at its maximum nests may contain between 5 - 10,000 wasps.
In the Autumn, the young queens mate and leave the nest to hibernate, the rest of the nest dies out and the nest is never used again.

Wasp stings

Individuals react differently to being stung by wasps; some are hardly affected, others suffer considerable pain and swelling. A few people are seriously allergic to wasp stings and in some cases it can result in sudden death due to anaphylactic shock.

The pain of the wasp sting is caused by a toxic fluid containing a complex protein, which is injected through the needle like sting as it penetrates the victim.

Treatment

Depending upon the location of the wasp nest, it may not be necessary to destroy a wasp nest. If they can be left undisturbed, wasps will often not become a pest and can be left alone.
If it is not possible to leave a wasp nest, the most effective strategy is to locate and destroy the nest or nests.
If you decide to destroy the nest yourself, treatment should be carried out early or late in the day when wasp activity is at a minimum. Most hardware shops and garden centres will sell insecticidal sprays and powders for the treatment of wasps, but care must be taken to follow the instructions on the label.
Most importantly if you decide to treat for wasps yourself make sure that you are well protected against wasp stings and have safe access to and from the nest location.
Insecticides are used to cover the entrance to the nest so that returning wasps will carry it into the heart of the nest. Within a few hours all wasps should be dead.

Charges

There is a charge for the treatment of wasps; for information about charges please contact Walsall Council's Contact Centre or visit the Pest Control Charges web page.

Please see our Pest Control Charges page for details on the treatment charges.

How to contact us

If you would like further advice or need to make a pest control appointment please contact us:

First Stop Shop
Civic Centre
Darwall Street
Walsall
WS1 1EU

Telephone 01922 653366
Minicom 0845 1112910
Email contactcentre@walsall.gov.uk
Website www.walsall.gov.uk

If you need help treating a wasp infestation or have any further questions contact us on 01922 653366.

For further information please view our wasps factsheet (PDF 71KB)

This page was last updated on 22 January 2010