The Dreaded Wasp Nest

Yesterday we took on a new contract in Highclere near Newbury for a very large house with loads of grounds. The family moved in about 3 weeks ago and so the grounds have not been touched for some while.

As with all new contracts, the first visit is the worst as you do not know the ground, the grass is long and thick and the edges have been neglected - so it takes ages. The owner had asked me to destroy a few wasp nests around the garden and outbuildings.

We found 3 pretty much straight away as there were high levels of wasp activity around the property - one particularly nasty one at the base of the house, one in the roots of a willow tree and one in the shed.

Rather than gas these whilst we are still working and risk getting stung, we set to work getting all the grass cut, Rick on the Etesia ride on and Pete and I with strimmers. All was going well until Rick went flying past me on the mower and disappeared down the drive at full speed - arms waving about in the air.

I switched off my strimmer, lifted my ear defenders and shouted to him - It appears he found another wasps nest in the orchard - with the mower! Not only did he go over it once but then reversed over it to get a better cut of the grass, hence making the Jaspers even more angry.

Wasps do attack - I have no idea how Rick didn't get stung as he also managed to suck up a load in the collector and dumped them on the grass heap too.

Unfortunately I have no pictures or video of this event but it was pretty funny. Needless to say it made my job of wasp control even more difficult as the wasps were highly aggressive and not prepared to have any further invasions.

I did give all the nests a really good treatment and will revisit later in the week to check all the nests are clear.

Wasps - beware!

Today I spent the day at Bicton College near Exeter. Why I hear you ask?

As well as doing the normal garden maintenance, I also get involved in dealing with garden pests. I control everything from Deer, foxes and rabbits to rats, mice, moles and of course insects.

I attended a wasp control refresher course arranged by a supplier of mine lead by the British Pest Control Association.

Wasps are a total pain - sometimes quite literally. Nothing is more annoying than having wasps buzzing around you when sat outside. Some people are also allergic to the stings, including my wife Karen I might add who has a very nasty reaction to them - anaphalactic shock - and requires immediate medical attention.

I have always been fascinated by Wasps as they build incredible nests and fiercely guard their queen. There are 3 types of wasps:

1. English Wasp


2. German Wasp - easily recognised by the towels they carry to reserve prime sites!


3. Hornet

Both the German Wasp and the Hornet are on the increase in the UK.
They are all dealt with in a similar way, but all have differing degrees of aggressiveness towards potential attacker - especially with insecticides. I have dealt with many nests over the years and have suffered quite a few stings - but Hornets still scare me witless.

Only last week, the wife and I were sat watching a film and I heard a scratching noise from the fire place. I got a torch and looked in - only to have a huge Hornet look right back at me. These things have bad attitude and I give no quarter to them - so a handy block of firewood dealt the killer blow.

Another time, we had one fly into the kitchen and literally dive bombed us - I had to hit it with a squash racket in mid flight to sort it - not nice!

Anyway, the good thing is we are at hand to deal with all your wasp and creepy crawlies - we are just a call away!