Wasp Control for Adwick le Street and Cantley Restaurants, Pubs and Commercial Premises

A busy beer garden is the easiest place for wasps to become a problem, so here is how pub and restaurant managers can deal with a nest quickly and calmly.

Why a beer garden suits wasps so well

Picture a warm Saturday afternoon in August. Tables are full, glasses of cider and lemonade are standing in the sun, and somebody has left half a dessert on a plate. To a wasp, that is a buffet. The sweet drinks, sticky bottle tops and uncollected glasses are what draw individual wasps to your tables, but the real source of the trouble is usually a nest somewhere nearby.

Wasps begin building in early April, depending on the weather and how mild the spring has been, and the colony keeps growing until it peaks in August. A single nest can hold as many as 2,000 wasps. That timing explains why a beer garden that was perfectly comfortable in June can feel overrun by the school holidays: the nest has simply got bigger, and so has the number of workers flying out to feed.

If you manage a pub or restaurant in Adwick le Street and Cantley, the pattern is the same as anywhere else. Wasps will keep coming back to a spot that offers food and drink, and they will keep coming from the same direction, because that is where the nest is.

Reading the signs before customers complain

Staff usually notice before anyone else, so it helps to ask them what they have seen. Useful clues include:

• a steady line of wasps flying in and out of one small gap, such as a hole in a fence post, a crack in a wall, the eaves of an outbuilding or a gap under a roof edge;
• wasps appearing at the same corner of the garden at the same time every day;
• a papery grey-brown shape tucked inside a shed, a hedge or the branches of a tree;
• a hole in a lawn or bank with wasps crossing the entrance;
• a faint rustling or scratching sound from inside a wall or ceiling void.

Walk the garden slowly in daylight, from a sensible distance, and note where the traffic seems to be heading. Do not poke at gaps, knock on boards or try to peer into an entrance. Wasps defend a nest and can swarm and sting if they feel threatened, and your staff and customers should be kept well clear until it has been dealt with.

What not to do on a busy afternoon

The instinct is often to grab a can of fly spray, wave a rolled-up menu or put a lit coil on the table. None of these help. Waving at wasps tends to agitate them, and spraying near food and glassware is a poor idea in any pub or catering setting. Neither approach touches the nest, so the wasps keep arriving.

It is better to make small, sensible changes while you wait for treatment:

• clear empty glasses, bottles and plates promptly;
• put lids on bins and keep them away from the seating area;
• wipe sticky tables as soon as customers leave;
• offer drinks with a cover or a straw if the weather is especially warm;
• tell staff not to swat, and to move slowly if a wasp lands nearby.

These steps reduce the number of wasps lingering at the tables, but they are only a holding measure. The nest is the cause, and it needs a proper visit.

Keeping people clear while you wait

Even a short delay can be uncomfortable when the garden is full, so it is worth deciding in advance how to handle it. The aim is simple: keep people away from the flight path and away from the nest, without turning it into a performance that unsettles the customers.

• Move a few tables, or close off the section nearest the entrance, with a stand or a sign that simply says the area is closed.
• Brief the bar team so that every member of staff gives the same calm answer if asked.
• Keep children’s play areas in mind, because young children are less likely to stay still when a wasp lands.
• Make sure staff collecting glasses know which tables are affected and approach them slowly.
• Never allow anyone to climb a ladder or lean over a fence to inspect a nest themselves.

A short, honest word with customers goes a long way. Most people are perfectly happy to move seats if they are told there is a wasp nest being sorted out and that it is being dealt with by a professional.

How a visit works for a commercial customer

The Wasp Exterminator treats wasp nests for domestic and commercial customers, and the technicians are fully insured and qualified. The price for a nest is a fixed £70 per nest, with an additional nest on the same property costing £25 extra. There is no call-out charge. You are told the price on the phone before anyone turns up, and no work starts until you have agreed. The only time it might come out higher is where the nest is hard to reach and special access equipment is needed, and you would be told about that first.

Because the service runs seven days a week and offers same-day visits, a manager who spots a nest on a Friday does not have to wait through a whole weekend of trade. If your site is open to the public, say so when you call. Mention where customers sit, where staff walk and what times the area is busiest, so the technician can plan around it.

The work is aimed at the nest itself, which is treated by the technician. If you would like to know whether the empty nest can be taken down afterwards, ask when you book.

Booking as a manager

Have a few details ready: the address, where the nest or the wasp traffic seems to be, whether it is at ground level or up high, and who will meet the technician on site. You can phone 07798 792 774, or fill in the online booking form or the contact page if you would rather write it down. The technician in your area is alerted by SMS and email as soon as the form is submitted, and that happens seven days a week.

After treatment, keep tidying up as usual for a few days. A scattering of wasps may still return to a spot out of habit before they stop, and a clean seating area will help them move on. If you are unsure about anything, such as who needs to agree to the work on a leased site, check your lease or ask the property owner.

Frequently asked questions

More wasp advice for Adwick le Street and Cantley