Are Wasps Dangerous? Understanding Stings and Nest Disturbance in Chipping Ongar

Ripening fruit, compost heaps and overgrown corners make a vegetable plot attractive to wasps, so growers need a few sensible habits through harvest time.

Why the plot attracts wasps

A vegetable patch or allotment offers wasps almost everything they want. Ripe plums, apples and pears on the ground give them sugar. Compost bins give warmth and shelter. Tangled corners, old pallets, sheds and bank edges offer places to nest.

Many growers also welcome wasps in the early season, because they feed on caterpillars and other garden pests. That is a fair point. The difficulty comes in late summer, when the colony is at its largest and the wasps switch to sweet food, which is exactly what you are trying to harvest.

Working among wasps need not be fraught. A little knowledge about where nests hide and how to pick fruit calmly protects your hands and your patience.

A grower working a plot in August may find that the fruit is covered in wasps by mid-morning. Picking early, before the wasps are fully active, is often easier, and collecting into a lidded container keeps the crop away from them while you finish.

Where nests hide on a plot

Look at the places that stay undisturbed for most of the year.

• Compost heaps and bins, especially at the base.
• Gaps beneath sheds, greenhouses and water butts.
• Banks, raised-bed edges and old rabbit or mole holes.
• Dense hedging, bramble and nettle patches at the plot boundary.
• Stacked pallets, flowerpots and old tools.

Wasps start building from late April, and by August a nest can hold from 2,000 to 10,000 or more wasps. A plot that has been quiet in spring can have a thriving nest in a forgotten corner by midsummer.

Walk the plot slowly from the outside in, watching for regular wasp traffic to one spot, before starting any heavy work.

Water butts and shaded corners in the greenhouse are another place to look. A gap under the staging or behind a stack of pots can provide a sheltered spot for a small nest.

Picking and tidying safely

Harvesting ripe fruit disturbs wasps that are already feeding on it. Pick in the cooler part of the day if you can, and look carefully at every fruit before you grab it. A wasp hidden in a plum or inside a cluster of grapes is a common cause of a sting on the hand.

Collect windfalls promptly, since they draw wasps to your feet. Use a bucket with a lid for bruised fruit, and keep sweet scraps out of open compost where possible.

Wear shoes in the plot, not sandals, and avoid reaching into dense foliage without looking. Do not swat at a wasp on fruit. Move your hand away, wait, and pick again when it has gone.

If you share a plot or are one of several holders on a site, tell the others when you find a nest, so that nobody starts digging or mowing beside it. A short note on a notice board does the job.

Finally, consider the compost heap. A warm, undisturbed pile with a gap at the base is a favourite nesting site, and turning it with a fork can expose a colony in an instant. Before you dig into it, stand back and watch for a few minutes. If you see wasps going in and out in a line, leave it alone and keep others away. A heap turned at the wrong moment is among the commonest sources of mass stings on a plot, and the colony will not have given any other warning.

Tools, noise and vibration

Strimmers, mowers and rotavators shake the ground and alarm a hidden nest. Digging over a bed near a bank or the foot of a hedge can open up a ground nest without any warning. Moving a stack of pallets or lifting a water butt can bring wasps out in numbers.

Before heavy work, take time to look. If you see traffic to and from one spot, mark the area and keep away. Leave the tool where it is until the nest has been dealt with, and do not return to retrieve it while wasps are active.

If you are attacked, walk away steadily, shield your face and head for a building or car. Check yourself afterwards for stings.

Children who come to help harvest love picking fruit, but they should be told not to put their hands into the middle of clusters or reach into compost. Teach them to look first.

First aid on the plot

Keep a small first aid kit and a cold pack, or at least a clean cloth and a bottle of water, in the shed. For a sting, move away, wash the area, remove any visible sting and apply a cold pack.

Ring 999 immediately for wheezing or difficulty breathing, feeling faint or dizzy, a widespread rash or swelling of the face, lips or throat. A sting in the mouth, perhaps from a wasp hidden in fruit, is urgent. If you have a known allergy, speak to your GP about a plan and keep any prescribed medication with you.

Working alone on a plot is common, so tell someone when you will be there. If you are stung several times, stop work and seek advice. This is general information only.

Keep sweet drinks covered while working. A can left on a bench in the sun is an invitation to a wasp, and a sting in the mouth is a serious problem.

Dealing with a nest at home or on the plot

If the nest is on your own property, Wasp Nest Removal Essex can treat it for a fixed £90 per nest, with one visit guaranteed, and £35 for each additional nest on the same property. The business is open seven days a week, offers same-day service and is fully insured, working for homes and commercial sites.

You can book by ringing 01245 327274 or completing the enquiry form on the contact page. For a nest on a rented allotment, check with whoever manages the site about who arranges treatment.

The technician covers Chipping Ongar and the surrounding villages. Ask whether the empty nest can be taken down.

Frequently asked questions

More wasp advice for Chipping Ongar