When is wasp season?
April – October (dependant on weather conditions that year).
Queen wasps hibernate during the winter months and emerge in spring to begin building a nest. Queens lay eggs that hatch into sterile female workers. The workers take over the nest building and food collection while the queen continues egg laying. In spring and early summer the workers collect mainly insects to feed the growing larvae. Towards the end of summer, some eggs develop into fertile male wasps called drones and fertile females which become next year's queens. At the end of the summer, the queens go into hibernation and the colony dissolves.
When wasps are at the most active they can become a nuisance and aggressive when protecting the nest.
Signs you may have a wasp nest
If you see a lot of wasps around your home, you may have a nest nearby. An active wasp nest is usually easy to spot with many wasps going in and out of a single spot/hole in the wall. Wasps usually make their nests in places such as in a tree, under the eaves/fascia/guttering of a building, garden sheds and air bricks as well as on the ground in hedges, compost heaps and long grass.
Is it a wasp nest or a beehive?
Wasps
An active wasp nest will look busy with a flow of wasps singularly entering and exiting the nest in the same place (wasps use the same flight path, queuing to enter the nest one after another). Wasps do not form swarms.
You may come across a nest on the ground, in long grass, hedgerows or a compost heap or an aerial nest hanging from a tree branch, the eaves of a building, in a loft space or guttering. The nests can vary in sizes and colour depending on what has been used to build it, but most are typically a grey or beige colour.
Honey bees (sometimes mistaken for wasps)
Honey bees become active early spring. Their hives are usually located in protected areas, such as the inside of a hollow tree, a wall cavity or chimney. These are the only bees that truly swarm. On very hot days a large colony of Honey bees can split in two, with half the colony swarming and relocating to start a new hive. You may have seen a swarm of Honey bees clustered together on a fence, or piece of street furniture resting, they usually move on after a few hours creating a more protected hive and if left alone will not cause harm.
Bumble bees
Bumble bees become active early spring until the end of July. Bumble bees tend to live in small colonies, usually in a nest which they typically make underground, hidden away under sheds, buildings, inside mouse holes and in long mossy grass.
Coventry City Council do not offer treatment for beehive removal.
As bees are now in decline we are all encouraged not to treat bee swarms and hives. Bees have an important role to play in our environment as they are partly responsible for pollinating flowers and fruit trees. Without bees, fruit, flowers and vegetables would also go into decline.
A common danger with treating a beehive is that when the nest is empty, other bees may take the honey which has become contaminated with insecticide from the treated nest back to their own hive. This can then kill those bees and lead to contaminated honey in the food process.
Bees are, as a rule, normally non-aggressive and will only sting as a last resort. For further information about bees or if you believe you have a beehive in your home or garden you can contact the National Bee Keeping Association [http://www.bbka.org.uk].
Treatment
To book a wasp nest treatment - call 08085 834 333.
Please note we will not be able to treat a wasp nest if the nest is in a neighbouring property, or if the nest is in fact bees upon inspection. You will not receive a refund if you have booked a wasp treatment that turns out to be bees.
We advise that you first identify whether you have a wasp nest or a beehive before booking your appointment. See our tips to help you identify [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/262/pest_control/3307/wasp_season/3].
Prevention
Wasps will nest in almost any location. It's best to seal any obvious holes in walls and where possible around the roof.