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DIY wasp control
Should I treat a wasp nest myself?
Every year many wasp nests are built in homes and when discovered, home owners are left asking the question "Should I treat a wasp nest myself ?". Many nests are treated by home owners and there are various products on the market aimed at DIY wasp control. However, most of these products come with little or no instructions and very often the successful treatment of a wasp or hornet nest depends on “experience” and having the right tools for the job. Pest controllers use Professional wasp treatment products that are unavailable to the public.
In the spring when wasp nests first start off, there are only a handful of wasps at most present within the nest. These “starter nests” vary in size ranging from 1 inch to 3 inches in diameter, but they resemble a grey coloured golf ball.
Very often you can see old golf ball size nests in lofts hanging from the rafters, for one reason or another they never progressed into full sized nests.
Any nests much bigger than this are starting to get underway and can
contain a good number of individuals. As the summer progresses and the
nest grows in size, so do the numbers of individual wasps. By late July
into early August the nests are going be at full strength and this is
when it is potentially dangerous to interfere with a wasp nest.
Read about how
a wasp nest develops over the summer
The defensive nature of the wasps combined with the sheer number of individual wasps within a nest is what makes them formidable. Every nest is different and the mood of the nest all depends on the queen wasp. Sometimes you can treat a nest and the wasps remain calm, yet another nest may attack before the treatment has even been carried out.
If you suffer with any allergies then you should be very careful to avoid
being stung not only by wasps but by any stinging insect. However wasp
stings and bee stings can be potentially life threatening.
Please read our page about Wasp
Stings for further details.
If you decide to try a DIY wasp control treatment: be aware that wasps
are notorious for “following”. This means that if they decide
to attack they can and do follow you, even if you run away, sustained
attacks like this are one of the reasons why wasps can be potentially
dangerous.
Particular thought should be given to nests that are in roof spaces, due
to the lack of escape routes, if the wasps decide to attack have a predetermined
escape route planned, simply jumping through the ceiling to escape angry
wasps is not only risking injury, but is also costly to repair.
If a ladder is needed to reach a nest, be aware if the wasps start an
attack, it takes some time to climb down a ladder.
The choice of whether to go down the DIY wasp control route is of course up to you, but keep in mind that when a nest is at full strength, it is a potentially dangerous entity.
Things that you shouldn’t do to a wasp nest
Do not block the entrance to wasp nest: they will find another
way out (In some cases this could result in wasps chewing through plasterboard
and ending up inside your house)
Do not use expanding foam to try and kill a wasp nest: it won’t
work and you will just make matters worse.
Do not try and set fire to a wasp nest, blow it up with fireworks,
dynamite or any other explosives.