Identify your Pests > The Common Wasp

Vespa vulgaris

Wasps belong to the same order of insects as ants and are some of the most highly evolved insects known to man They have a cast system by which nest building, nursing the young and foraging for food is undertaken by the workers (sterile females). Reproduction is performed by the queens (fertile females) and the males are responsible for fertilisation.

Wasps are seasonal and spring sees the emergence of the queen from hibernation who quickly gets to work nest building and lays her first eggs. Nests are often excavated in dry soil or constructed in roof voids. The first workers emerge a few weeks later usually in early June; however, in recent years we have known this activity to start as early as April/May! Summer is spent on construction of the nest and the queen continues to lay eggs and numbers of workers reach in the region of 30,000. New queens are born, numbering 2000 or so and further males are developed to fertilise the new queens.

Autumn is primarily the mating season between the males and queens and sees the social degeneration of the nest, as the workers may not return. In winter the queen hibernates and all the males and workers die. The complex nest is made redundant and never re-used, although it has been known for an adjacent nest to be built, so caution must be exercised when removing old nests, especially in active seasons.

The most direct method of treating wasps is to destroy the nest; often an easy task for the trained professional, when they can be located/reached. However, when dealing with commercial / industrial sized problems, wasp control can be approached in a very different manner. Insecticidal baits are placed to intercept the wasp 'en route' to and from the feeding site. The bait is then taken back to the nest and kills the young. We have achieved remarkable results on traditionally heavily infested sites by seasonal baiting to catch the developing nests.