How Much Does Wasp Nest Removal Cost in Wrabness?

Gardens with outbuildings, plants and heaps of material offer many places for a nest, and checking them from a distance is the best first step.

A garden full of options

Gardens in villages tend to have more of the things wasps like: sheds, greenhouses, compost heaps, log piles, old walls and mature hedges. Each offers a sheltered gap or a patch of loose soil, and a wasp looking for a site in spring has plenty of choice.

That is why a garden can have more than one nest at the same time, and why they are easy to miss. A nest behind a greenhouse or under a stack of logs does not announce itself, and you may only notice when the traffic becomes heavy.

The sensible approach is to treat the whole plot as a place to be surveyed carefully, from a distance, before you go about your usual jobs.

A large garden may also have areas that nobody visits for weeks: the far end of an orchard, a patch behind the greenhouse or an overgrown corner by a boundary hedge. Wasps appreciate the same neglect, and a colony can grow almost unobserved there.

The price for what you find

Whatever the location, the fixed price for treating a nest is £90 per nest. If you find a second on the same property, that is £35 as an additional nest. Nothing is added for the position of the nest, such as a compost heap or a glasshouse, and nothing is added for the time of day. The work is fully insured.

This is worth knowing if you manage a large garden or smallholding, where more than one nest is quite plausible. You can work out the total before you ring.

If you run a plant nursery, smallholding or allotment site, the same price applies per nest. Domestic and commercial customers pay the same, and the technician is fully insured.

A smallholding or large garden may be crossed by a footpath or a track used by others. If the nest is near a route that walkers, riders or neighbours use, put a note on the gate or ask the people concerned to keep clear until the visit is over.

Spots to scan from a distance

Walk the edge of the plot, or stand at a window, and look at these places without approaching them:

• The base and roof edge of the shed.
• Gaps around greenhouse frames and under staging.
• The side of the compost heap and bays.
• Log piles and stacks of pots or paving.
• Holes at the foot of walls, banks and hedgerows.
• Bird boxes and old nesting boxes.

What you are watching for is a line of wasps entering and leaving a single point.

Do not forget the less obvious spots: the hollow inside an old tree stump, the gap under a stone step or the end of an unused drainpipe. Wasps will use almost anything that is dry and sheltered.

Larger plots often have outbuildings built at different times and from different materials. Corrugated roofs, old brick, timber cladding and thatch all have their own gaps, so a nest could be in any of them. Look at each one separately and keep a list.

Jobs to leave alone

Greenhouse work and composting are typical activities that bring people close to nests. Turning a compost heap, moving pots, opening a glasshouse vent or lifting a stack of wood can all disturb a colony that you did not know was there.

Until the visit, leave those jobs and use another part of the garden. Pick fruit and vegetables from the side away from the nest, and cover any waste food. If you must water, do so from a distance with a hose.

Take special care with children helping in the garden, who may be more interested in a pile of leaves than in the warning you gave them.

Also postpone strimming rough grass and clearing brambles until you have scanned the area. Many ground nests are found only when a machine goes over them, and the result is rarely pleasant.

If you keep chickens, ducks or other birds, wasps may visit their feed. A line of wasps going to the feed bin is not the same as a nest, but it can lead you towards one if you follow the direction they fly, from a distance.

Access to the property

If your plot is down a track or behind a gate, tell the business how to find it. If you are in Wrabness or one of the surrounding villages, the technician covers the area, and the price is the same wherever you are.

Make sure the technician can reach the nest on foot without crossing livestock, sensitive ground or neighbouring land. Put dogs away, and tell the business about any animals that cannot be moved.

If you have beehives, make sure you can tell the difference between your bees and wasps before you ring. Honeybees are not treated; contact a local beekeeper or bee organisation if you are unsure.

Heaps of cut grass, old hay and leaf mould are warm and sheltered, and wasps sometimes use them. Resist the temptation to fork them over to check.

Booking

Phone 01245 327274, or use the online booking form on the contact page, and describe each place you think may hold a nest. Same-day service is offered to homes and businesses, and the business keeps seven-day opening. One visit is guaranteed.

A colony starts from late April and peaks in August with 2,000 to 10,000 or more wasps, so if you have noticed activity, do not wait. Mention any allergy to wasp stings when you book so it can be prioritised.

Take a note of any animals, such as chickens or ponies, that share the area, so the technician knows where to be careful.

Frequently asked questions

More wasp advice for Wrabness