The common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) is mostly beneficial, destroying many insect pests to feed the growth of the nest. In autumn, however, after the nest matures, redundant workers flying off in search of fruit and sugary food become a nuisance to man.

Wasps are nuisance because of their sting and humans tend to suffer due to a fear of being stung. Wasp workers will aggressively defend the nest by stinging anything causing a disturbance. Unlike bees, wasps are able to sting repeatedly. The venom of the wasp contains a pheromone which acts as an alarm causing other wasps to become more aggressive when a wasp has stung something or has been killed. So it is a bad idea to swat a wasp near its nest site or to attempt to remove the nest yourself.

Wasp stings are usually irritating but harmless. A minority of people are hypersensitive to stings and may experience anaphylactic shock.

Wasps can nest in trees, foliage, roof spaces and in the ground.

Do I Need to Call Pest Control?

There is no need to kill every wasp you see. In the summer they perform the useful task of killing hundreds of other insects that are themselves a problem in the home and garden. So if wasps are tolerable, leave them alone. On the other hand, if you are being pestered by dozens of wasps daily then there is probably a colony nearby that you may wish to destroy.

In this case, contact the Customer Service Line to request treatment for the wasps.

There is currently a charge for wasp treatments.