How Long Does Professional Wasp Nest Treatment Take in Stock?

Once a nest looks lifeless the temptation to pull it down is strong, but doing it too soon is one of the commonest ways people get stung.

The nest looks dead, so why not remove it?

After a nest has been treated, it can look dull and papery, and the wasps around it may be few. It is natural to think the job is finished and to reach for a pole or a spade. Please do not. A nest that looks empty from the outside can still hold wasps, and anything that has been jolted will react to being struck.

If you live in Stock and are looking at a nest in the eaves or a hedge, the same rule applies. Give the treatment its time to work before touching anything.

It also helps to understand why wasps defend the nest so fiercely. For the colony, the nest is everything, and a strike on it triggers a response from every wasp nearby. Treatment is designed for the technician to deal with this safely, with equipment and experience that you simply do not have in a garden shed.

Wasps will usually react most strongly to vibration and sudden movement near the nest, so even a stick tapping the outside can set off a response. This is the main reason that professional visits are done with care and in a set order, and why a home attempt can go so wrong in a matter of seconds.

If you have seen someone nearby try it and survive unharmed, remember that is luck, and a nest at its August peak can hold thousands of wasps.

What can go wrong

Knocking a nest down looks like a quick fix, but it tends to create the very problem you were trying to avoid.

• Wasps still inside, or returning from foraging, are suddenly out in the open and defensive.
• The nest can fall to the ground or into a room, leaving you standing close to it.
• Pieces of paper nest can break off and scatter, leaving wasps without a home to come back to and flying about confused.
• You can be stung on the hands, face or neck while you are on a ladder, which is a dangerous place to be stung.

None of this is worth the risk when the visit has already been done.

There is one more risk that people overlook, which is the clean-up after a fall. Fragments of broken nest on the ground can still hold wasps, and picking them up bare-handed is a good way to be stung. If a nest has come down, whether by weather, a bird or a well-meaning visitor, treat the pieces as live and keep clear.

What to do while you wait

The best action is almost no action. Keep your distance, keep the entrance as it is, and watch from a window or well back across the garden. Activity should drop over the rest of the day and the day after, and for the first part of that time you may still see wasps returning.

Keep pets and children indoors or away from the spot, and bring washing in. If food is eaten outdoors, cover it and clear plates quickly.

If the nest is on a boundary, tell your neighbours what is happening so they do not wander over to look. Curiosity is a common reason for stings.

Asking about the empty nest

There is a perfectly good way to deal with the physical nest, which is to ask the technician. When you book, mention that you would like to know whether the empty nest can be taken down. You will get an answer that fits your nest, whether it is in a tree, a wall cavity, a shed or a roof space, rather than a general rule.

Some nests are in places where taking them down is not sensible or possible, and they will simply be left to rot away harmlessly. Do not assume yours is one or the other until you have asked.

Think about where the nest is and who could be hurt if it comes down. A nest in a tree above a path, a shed roof above a play area, or an eave above a back door all create a hazard if it falls. The technician can advise on whether anything should be done and how.

Never ask a child to look or to hold something near the nest, and never assume a nest is too high to matter.

Common excuses for tackling it yourself

People give a handful of reasons for taking matters into their own hands after a visit, and each deserves a straight answer.

• “It is obviously dead now.” It may not be, and you cannot tell from outside.
• “It is only a small nest.” Small nests still carry stinging insects and can be sited awkwardly.
• “It is ugly.” That is a good reason to ask about removal, but not to hurry.
• “I want to see inside.” Please do not; wasps can still be present in the structure.

None of these outweighs the benefit of simply waiting.

If you have any doubts, phone and ask. The business is used to calls from people who are unsure what they are looking at, and advice from the technician who knows your nest is worth more than anything you could find online.

If wasps are still going in and out

A busy entrance a day or two later is the point to call, not the point to take a stick to it. The price is a fixed £90 per nest, with “1 visit guaranteed” on the price graphic, so tell the business what you are seeing and when you saw it.

You can ring 01245 327274 or fill in the online booking form on the contact page. Same-day service is offered, the business is open seven days a week and the work is fully insured, for homes and commercial premises alike.

Frequently asked questions

More wasp advice for Stock