Wasps

Family: Vespidae, e.g. Vespula vulgaris

Adult wasps are normally between 10 and 20 mm in length, have a distinctive black and yellow banded abdomen and two sets of wings. Their nests are made of chewed bark and timber and are up to a metre across, varying in colour between grey and yellow. These nests are normally hidden away in areas such as lofts, trees and underground.

Nest locations can be easy to identify in mid to late summer by the constant stream of wasps entering and leaving the entrance of the nest to forage for food.

Nests are abandoned at the end of the autumn, with the workers dying off and the new queens seeking a suitable site for winter. In spring the queens start to build a new nest, never using the nest from the previous year. Empty nest disposal can therefore normally be carried out in the winter in relative safety.

Wasps are not known to carry diseases but are classified as a pest because of their painful sting.

Prevention

You can reduce the likelihood of foraging wasps being attracted to your property by keeping food and rubbish, particularly sweet foods and fruit residues, in sealed containers and cleaning up spillages as they arise.

Control

This can be achieved by the use of various types of poisons applied either directly to the nest or to the nest entrance. Many of these poisons are only available for use by professional operators.  The Council offers a professional wasp control service for which a fee is payable.

E-mail:

environmental.health
@thanet.gov.uk 

Tel: 01843 577000

Fax: 01843 290906