Key Features:
Wasps are very well-known – large, conspicuous buzzing insects with yellow and black striped, wasp-waisted bodies, 10-15mm long. They have a sweet tooth at one end and a painful sting at the other.

Biology:
The queen wasp is larger (20mm) and she hibernates over winter, making a nest in the spring in which to lay her eggs. She feeds the grubs on insects until they develop into worker wasps, three to four weeks later.

Workers, all sterile females, forage for over a mile in search of food. One nest may produce 30,000 wasps in a year. At their peak in August and September with the youngsters reared, the workers turn to the sweet food they prefer and become a nuisance wherever this is available.

Distribution:
There are two species of wasp native to the UK, and several other European species have also been recorded here. Wasp nests may be suspended from trees, nest boxes, bee hives, rafters and dormer windows.

Significance:
If annoyed or threatened, wasps will sting and the best remedy - after removing the sting with a clean finger nail - is to apply an anti-histamine. Some people react violently to being stung with several dying each year.

Control:
For minor problems with small numbers of adult wasps, space sprays and surface sprays can be used to great effect.

If wasps choose a nesting site in, on or near houses and business premises, more drastic action may need to be taken. Insecticidal dusts and liquid surface sprays are some of the options for controlling problematic wasp populations.

If you have a problem with wasps, Safeguard can help you! Contact us today for more information.