NEVER attempt to deal with a wasp nest if you think you might be allergic to stings. Children, the elderly and family pets are particularly sensitive to wasp stings. Death from a wasp sting without medical attention can be the result of anaphylactic shock when a wasp sting attacks the body’s immune system precisely to cause allergic reactions.

         

Few things ruin a summer barbecue faster than the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris). Their persistent nature and painful sting have earned them the status as “gangsters of the insect world”, causing panic and fear in the public eyes.

They are social insects forming colonies inside nests in soil banks, roof spaces, cavities, tree trunks, flowerbeds and walls.

10 facts about wasps

  1. In early Spring you might encounter a wasp’s nest the size of a golf ball. This is the hibernating residence of the solitary queen wasp and perhaps a few workers.
  2. Wasps make their nests in sheltered spots e.g. under trees, in bushes, wall cavities, under eaves or in the garden shed.
  3. They build their nest using chewed wood and saliva to make a paper Mache material.
  4. Workers, all sterile females, forage for over a mile in search of food.
  5. Wasps are natural pest controllers and tend to eat other insects.
  6. One nest may produce 3,000-8,000 wasps in a year.
  7. Wasps abandon their nests after the summer and don’t return to it the following year.
  8. Prevention is always better than cure by keeping windows and doors closed, keep your bins closed and check for early signs of nest activity on your property.
  9. DIY wasp control is not recommended and dangerous. With one sting you might survive but 30-40 stings could kill you.
  10. Only when wasps are endangering public health and safety may a wasp nests be destroyed.

Ecologica Pest Control offer a call out service during daytime, evenings or weekends for wasp removal treatments. For emergenciescallus on 086 812 0435.