Wasp Control Oxford, Abingdon, Reading, Newbury & Bicester

Safe Wasp Nest Removal

Dont get stung this year. Here at Attack Pest Control we are happy to deal with wasp nest removal safely and effectivily for you at a very competative price.

Most people think of wasps or yellowjackets as being a nuisance or pest, especially around barbecues, picnics, beer gardens, ice cream, cake and fruit stalls and fruit trees. What is surprising is the number of people who live in fear of these insects. It is estimated that between 4 to 8 out of every 1000 people are at serious risk from wasps. Many hundreds and possibly even thousands of people die each year as a result of an allergy to a wasp sting. Even in people who do not have an allergy, wasp stings can be a problem. A mature wasp will almost always have a poison sack that is swarming with bacteria. If stung by such a wasp there is a real risk of severe infection and a painful wound. Furthermore, it is not only people that are affected! Countless numbers of household pets are stung each year by wasps.

Apart from the fact that wasps sting and bite, they can also cause other problems. Because wasps scavenge in faeces, they are prime carriers of disease especially where they come into contact with human food. Wasps will attack bee hives and kill bees. In late summer and throughout autumn, wasps do untold damage to fruit crops. During nest building, wasps cause damage to timber and trees which they use for making their wood pulp paper nests.

the wasp lifecycle

Despite its reputation as a villain, the wasp in itself is not all bad. Wasps play an important role in controlling other harmful pests. The behaviour of wasps is closely linked to their lifecycle. In spring, young queen wasps come out of winter hibernation to begin building nests. For a while the queen helps pollinate flowers whilst feeding on nectar. The queen lays eggs and these hatch into grubs. The grubs need protein to grow and so the queen wasps hunt for insects to feed their growing grubs. After about two weeks the grubs mature into worker wasps and these take over the work of the queen. From this point onwards, the queen wasp remains in her nest laying many thousands of eggs.

Whilst the nest is growing, worker wasps continue to hunt for insects to feed the grubs. In return, the grubs feed the worker wasps with a sweet sticky liquid. As the nest grows, so more and more insects are caught by the worker wasps. In this way, many garden pests are kept under control.

In mid to late summer there is a change in the wasp nest. New queen wasps hatch and they leave the nest to mate. The old queen wasp stops laying eggs and before long there are no more grubs to be fed. The worker wasps are then left without their sweet sticky liquid food. By this stage there may be as many as 5000 hungry worker wasps in the nest. This is when the wasp becomes a pest. The workers start to forage for sweet foods and this brings them into conflict with people. Being hunters by nature, wasps are all too ready to sting to get their food and when that food is a candy or an ice cream or a beer, this is when wasps are at their most dangerous.

Important Note: there are many different species of wasp the vast majority of which, being solitary in nature do not come into contact with people. Many of these species of wasp are beneficial, feeding solely on insects. The above text therefore expressly refers to a select number of varieties of social wasp, in particular; the common wasp (the yellowjacket), the European (or Germanic) wasp and the hornet.

Please contact our local office in most cases we are happy to provide a same day service to rid your nest.