While we are certainly not experiencing anything like normality the natural world carries on regardless and that means as the summer draws nearer so does the wasp season. A pain or some, a danger for others and certainly something no one really likes wasps are a fact of life in the UK. But how do you know you have a problem and what is the point of wasps anyway?
How Do I Know if I have a Wasp Nest
Our very own top pest expert and owner of Empire Pest Control Mark Stanford says
“When their numbers increase over the next couple of months you would expect to see wasps foraging for nesting materials which would be things like wood chippings and bark. The most obvious sign of a nest is wasps going in and out of small holes around guttering air vents etc and the numbers will increase over the summer.”
So now is a great time to be on the lookout for potential nests. The queens will have found a location and the first workers will have emerged and will be starting to find building materials. However, the numbers won’t be huge and nor will the nest so it’s a great time to call us.
We also asked Mark the age-old question of when will we start to see wasps in our garden and disturbing our picnic and barbeques
“Now! Wasps have already started to build their nests and you would expect to be seeing them more so in the hotter weather.”
So even if you do not have a nest, sadly the time where we can enjoy a wasp free glass of wine will soon be coming to an end. However, the numbers don’t get really high until later in the summer where the nests get much bigger. The adult workers are then out foraging for food to feed the larvae to keep the nest growing. It is during this time we should probably take a moment to understand that wasps do play a role in the ecosystem even if we know we can’t safely have nests in our homes and places of work.
Wasps actually prey on a lot of insects and spiders that would otherwise become far too numerous. Pests like Green Fly are favourite prey and that’s certainly a good thing for most gardeners. Wasps do also play a role in pollination as they enter flowers looking for nectar to feed on. They certainly don’t make honey but they do help in their own way.
Useful But a Pest All The Same
Yes, wasps have a role to play in our ecosystem but that doesn’t mean we have to live with them in our homes and businesses. Wasps can be dangerous and a disturbed nest can really cause some problems. If you feel you may have a nest please do not try and deal with it yourself, call our expert team to come and do it safely. The internet is full of advice on how to get rid of wasp nests but attempting a home solution is invariably a bad idea and a dangerous one.
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