Wasps measure about 1.6 centimetres long and have a striped yellow and black body. Two species of wasp are found locally – ‘common wasps’ and ‘German wasps’. Both are known for their sting.

Wasps live in colonies that form self-contained communities, each following a caste order of queens, males and workers.

The only wasps that survive the winter are young fertilized queens they emerge from hibernation in the spring to build new nests; they build their nests to about the size of a golf ball.

To start with, the queen lays 10–20 eggs and when they hatch into larvae she feeds them until they become workers. The workers then forage for food, feed the new larvae and defend the nest.

In late summer, the colony produces males and new queens. They fly away to mate and the fertilized queens then find a place to hibernate. The cold weather eventually kills the males, workers and foundation queen.

Wasp’s nests are a work of art; the nest is constructed predominantly from paper pulp. Unlike honeybees, wasps have no wax producing glands. Many instead create a paper-like substance mainly from wood pulp. Wood fibres are collected locally from weathered wood, softened by chewing and mixing with saliva. The pulp is then used to make combs with cells for rearing.

Wasps nests are normally found in holes in the ground or inside hollow trees, though they feel equally at home in sheds, wall cavities, eaves and roofs.

Unusually large numbers of wasps around your home are an indicator of a wasp nest in close vicinity. You might also notice a nest that has been constructed.

Although wasps are fond of sweet things, they don’t have the nectar-sucking mouthparts of bees. Towards the end of the summer the workers turn their attention to sweet substances, which is why they become a nuisance to people at this time.

Wasps like fruit and nectar, insects and dustbin waste. The workers feed on liquids. All wasps feed their young on meat such as insect larvae.

Dealing with a wasp nest yourself is not recommended, so you should always contact a professional pest control company, capable of providing a reliable wasp nest removal service.

Towards the end of summer, worker wasps turn their attention to sweet substances. This is generally the time that they start to become a nuisance to people.

So keeping wasps at bay is simple, really: Just make sure they don’t have access to anything sweet. You can do this by making sure that:

Don’t forget, the venom of the wasp contains a pheromone, which acts as an alarm. This means that when a wasp has stung something or been killed, other wasps will become more aggressive.

If you have a wasp's nest that needs urgent treatment, or just need advice, please call us on 023 80271491 or 01962 708380 to arrange an appointment or contact us right now.

A wasp uses its sting for killing prey, but it also uses it effectively for defending itself. The sting has associated glands, which produce venom, but as it’s in small amounts it doesn’t normally cause extreme harm.

Although wasps benefit the environment by controlling other small pests and clearing away dead insects, their stings are painful and can be serious if you’re allergic to them.

Unlike bees, wasps can sting repeatedly, which can be very painful. For a minority of people the venom in their sting causes anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal.

Because the venom in wasps contains a pheromone that causes other wasps to become more aggressive, it’s not advisable to swat one near its nest or other wasps.

An ordinary sting can be treated with ammonia, alcohol or cold poultices, followed by antihistamine ointment.