EXCELLENT
Can You Remove a Wasp Nest Yourself? Advice for Austerfield and Bawtry Homeowners
Wasps do not only nest in roofs. A colony in a hole in the ground can be disturbed by a footstep or a mower, which makes do-it-yourself attempts surprisingly risky.
A nest you can step on
Most people imagine a wasp nest as a grey papery ball hanging from a beam. Many are nothing like that. Wasps will happily nest below ground, using an old rodent burrow, a gap under a paving slab, a bank, or a hollow beneath a shed. From above, all you see is a small hole with insects coming and going.
That is what makes ground nests awkward to deal with yourself. You cannot see the size of the colony, you cannot tell how far the tunnels run, and you may be standing right on top of it. Vibration is enough to rouse the guards, which is why a mower pass or a spade in the soil can turn a quiet corner of the garden into an emergency in seconds.
Austerfield and Bawtry sit on the southern edge of the Doncaster borough, near the Nottinghamshire border, and the same advice applies whether the garden is large or small: if there is a hole with a steady stream of wasps, leave it alone.
Why digging, flooding and covering do not work
It is tempting to treat a hole in the lawn as a simple obstacle. Fill it in, pour something down it, put a slab or a bucket over it. In practice these approaches tend to make matters worse.
- Filling or covering the hole traps wasps that are inside, and they will dig or search for another exit, sometimes in a different place altogether.
- Pouring liquids down rarely reaches the whole nest and mostly makes the wasps aggressive.
- Digging it out puts you in direct contact with the colony at exactly the moment they are most alarmed.
- Mowing over it to see what happens is how many people discover the nest in the first place, usually painfully.
The nest may also be beside a boundary, a path or a play area, so a disturbed colony can spread into places people use every day.
How to spot a nest in the ground
The give-away is the traffic. Watch from a distance for a few minutes and look for wasps arriving and leaving at the same small spot, often low to the ground and moving in a fairly straight line. You may see a patch of loose soil or a small mound around the opening.
Late summer is when these become obvious, because the colony has grown and the traffic is heavier. By August a nest may hold as many as 2,000 wasps, so a gap that went unnoticed in spring can look very different by the time the grass is dry and the patio is in use.
Do not lean over the hole to look in. Take a photo from a few metres away if you can, and note which part of the garden or verge it is in.
Verges, field edges and the bottom of hedges are worth a glance too if your property backs onto open ground. A nest that starts on someone else’s land can still send wasps through your garden, and the same rule applies: observe, do not approach, and pass on what you see.
Keeping the family and pets out of harm’s way
Dogs and children are the usual casualties, because neither understands why the quiet bit of lawn is suddenly off limits. If you find a ground nest, treat the surrounding area as a no-go zone.
- Mark the edge of the area with something visible, such as a few canes and a length of rope, set well back from the hole.
- Keep dogs on a lead near that part of the garden and do not let them dig or sniff around it.
- Leave the mower in the shed until the nest has been dealt with.
- Tell neighbours if the nest is close to a shared boundary.
If someone is stung, wash the area, remove the sting if you can see it, and apply a cold pack. If there are signs of a serious allergic reaction, such as swelling of the face, lips or throat, wheezing or difficulty breathing, dizziness or a widespread rash, call 999 straight away.
Mowing, strimming and garden jobs
Ground nests tend to be found by accident, which means the first warning is often a swarm rising from beneath a mower or strimmer. If that happens, do not stand your ground. Switch off, walk away quickly and calmly, and shield your face if you can. Go indoors and shut the door behind you.
Once things have settled, do not return for the equipment. A mower left running or abandoned beside a nest is a nuisance, but it is a smaller matter than a second round of stings. Leave it where it is until the nest has been treated.
It is also worth putting off hedge trimming, turf lifting, patio work and shed clearing in any part of the garden where you have seen wasps travelling to and from one spot. Jobs that involve vibration or digging can wake a quiet nest. A short delay costs you little, and the work can be finished safely once a technician has dealt with the colony.
If you have already done some of the work and then noticed wasps, mention that when you ring, as it helps the technician understand what has been disturbed.
Getting the nest treated
A technician can assess a ground nest properly and deal with it without you having to go anywhere near. The Wasp Exterminator charges a fixed £70 per nest, and a second nest on the same property is £25 extra. There is no call-out charge, the service runs seven days a week, and same-day visits are offered.
The price is confirmed on the phone before the technician comes, and nothing happens until you agree. It can be higher where special access equipment is needed, though that is less common with a nest at ground level.
Ring 07798 792 774, or send the online booking form with a note of where the hole is. The enquiry is passed to the technician covering your area by text and email, any day of the week.
Wasps on your property in Austerfield and Bawtry?
Fixed price £70 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.