Pest Control
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Wasps are one of the least welcome sights of a British summer, but they are not pests by default. Most of what you need to know about wasp control comes down to two questions: does this nest need dealing with, and what can you do so that one is less likely next year.
The wasps you are likely to meet
The UK has thousands of wasp species, but nearly all of them are small, solitary and never noticed. The ones that build large nests and turn up at picnics are social wasps, mainly the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and the German wasp (Vespula germanica). They look almost identical: bright yellow and black, smooth and shiny, with a narrow waist.
The European hornet is a social wasp too, larger and brown and yellow rather than black and yellow. Our European hornet guide covers it separately.
How the wasp year works
Each colony lasts a single season. A queen that has survived the winter starts a nest alone in spring, the size of a golf ball. Once her first workers hatch, they take over building and foraging and the nest grows quickly through summer, to several thousand wasps by late summer. Towards the end of the season the colony raises new queens and males. The new queens mate and leave to hibernate, and the rest of the colony dies off in the cold. The old nest is never reused.
That cycle is why timing matters. For more on it, see our guides to how a wasp nest starts and the best time to deal with a nest.
Does every wasp nest need treating?
No. Wasps eat large numbers of caterpillars, aphids and other garden insects, and they visit flowers for nectar. A nest at the bottom of a large garden, in a hedge nobody trims or in a shed nobody uses can be left to run its course.
A nest is worth treating when it puts people at risk. That means a nest near a door, window, path, play area or seating, one inside the house or roof, or any nest where someone in the household is allergic to stings. Wasps defend their nest hard and can sting repeatedly, and a nest that is fine in June can be a real problem by late August, when the colony is largest and the workers are most irritable.
Check it is a wasp first
Bees and hoverflies are often mistaken for wasps.
- Hairy or smooth? Bees are furry. Wasps are smooth and shiny.
- Shape. Wasps have a clearly pinched waist. Bees are rounder.
- Colour. Wasps are bright yellow and black. Honey bees are golden brown, and bumblebees are fuzzy and banded.
- Behaviour. An insect hovering over your drink or your bin in late summer is almost always a wasp.
We treat bees only as a last resort and would rather leave or relocate them. Our guide to identifying bees helps if you are not sure.
How to make your home less inviting
No step will stop wasps nesting at your property every time, but these steps make it less likely and mean you find a nest early if one does appear.
- Seal small gaps. Gaps under roof tiles, at the eaves and soffits, and around pipes and cables are common ways into lofts and wall cavities.
- Mesh air bricks and vents. Fit fine insect mesh rather than blocking them, because they ventilate the building.
- Fit fly screens to windows and doors you keep open in warm weather.
- Keep bins closed, away from doors and windows, and clean them regularly.
- Clear up windfall fruit, sweet drinks and food left outside.
- Check sheltered spots in spring. Look in sheds, garages, summerhouses, lofts and under the eaves every few weeks from April. A golf-ball nest is far easier to deal with than a football-sized one.
Only seal gaps when you know there is no active nest behind them. Blocking an active entrance can push the wasps into the house.
When to call us
Call us if you have found a nest near the house or anywhere people need to go, if wasps are getting indoors, or if you are not sure what you are dealing with. We identify it, treat it if it needs treating, and tell you plainly if it can be left. Our wasp nest treatment page explains how we work.