Are Wasps Dangerous? Understanding Stings and Nest Disturbance in Stevenage
Garden machinery is one of the commonest ways people disturb a nest without seeing it, and a few simple habits before you start the engine can prevent a painful afternoon.
Why noise and vibration matter
A wasp nest is sensitive to vibration. Wasps in a nest in the ground, a bank, a hedge or a shed feel the shaking of footsteps and machinery through the soil and the structure. A mower pushing along a lawn edge, a strimmer clearing a verge or a hedge trimmer biting into a thick bush creates exactly the kind of disturbance that the colony reads as a threat.
The danger is that you often cannot see the nest. Ground nests have a small entrance, perhaps no bigger than a coin, hidden in long grass. Nests in hedges sit deep inside the foliage. By the time you notice the wasps, you may be standing within a metre of the entrance with a noisy machine in your hands.
In Stevenage, as elsewhere in Hertfordshire, the first warm weeks of summer are when garden jobs pile up, and also when colonies are growing fast.
Hedge trimmers deserve special mention. A thick privet or conifer can hide a nest in its interior, and the blades vibrate the branches a good distance from the cutting point. By the time wasps appear, you have often already shaken the nest.
Strimmers working along the base of walls and fences can also put you very near a ground or wall entrance. Their noise is high-pitched and persistent, and a nest in a nearby bank can feel it through the soil.
A quick check before you start
Spend a minute walking the area before you switch anything on.
- Look for wasps flying in a regular line to or from one spot.
- Check the base of hedges, banks and the edges of sheds for small holes with wasps entering.
- Listen for a faint buzzing before you start the engine.
- Look in dense areas of shrub for papery grey material.
- Check the area again if you have left a job for several days, as a nest can start in that time.
If you see anything suspicious, leave that area alone and do the rest of the garden first.
It helps to walk the same circuit each week during the season. A new, regular stream of wasps in a place that was quiet the previous week is the sign you are looking for. Make that part of your normal tour of the garden, and you will catch nests early when the colony is small.
If wasps rise while you are working
Switch the machine off if it is safe to do so, or at least let go of it, and walk away steadily, ideally towards a building or car. Do not wave your arms, and do not try to fight them off. Wasps that are angry will follow for a short way, so keep moving until you are well clear.
Once indoors, check for stings. Wash any stings, remove any sting you can see, and use a cold pack. Call 999 for swelling of the face, lips or throat, wheeze or difficulty breathing, dizziness or a widespread rash. People known to be allergic should speak to their GP in advance about managing the risk.
Do not go back to retrieve a machine left running or on the ground. Leave it, keep everyone away and arrange for the nest to be treated first.
Protecting other people
Tell the household that wasps have been disturbed, and mark the area. A garden chair or a bamboo cane with a rag on it is enough to remind everyone not to go there. Keep children and pets in until the wasps have calmed.
Neighbours with shared fences or hedges may benefit from a warning too, particularly if you plan to use machinery near the boundary. A short friendly word prevents someone else from walking into a swarm.
Ask any contractor you hire, such as a tree surgeon or a gardener, to check for wasps before using machinery, and tell them if you know of a nest. A good tradesperson will want to know.
Getting the nest treated
Treatment is a fixed £70 per nest, and an additional nest on the same property is £30 per nest. The price is confirmed on the phone before the visit, there is no call-out charge and work does not begin until you agree. Hard-to-reach nests that need special access equipment might cost more, and you would be told in advance.
Technicians are fully insured and qualified, and offer same-day service, evening and weekend appointments and emergency bookings seven days a week. Ring 07852 111 437 or use the booking form or contact page. Mention it if anyone is allergic to stings so that the booking can be prioritised. Afterwards, ask the technician when the area is safe to use and whether the empty nest can be taken down.
Keep the stings to a minimum by wearing long sleeves, gloves and boots when working in overgrown areas, though protective clothing is no excuse for working close to a nest.
Jobs to avoid until it is treated
Leave hedge cutting, strimming and mowing near the affected area until the technician has been. The same goes for pressure washing, drilling in nearby walls, moving stacks of wood and tidying a shed. If the lawn must be cut, work well away from the nest and finish before the warmest part of the day, when wasps are most active.
A nest in the ground is easy to trample on by accident. Mark the spot from a distance and keep everyone clear.
Think about timing for the rest of the season. If you want the lawn cut before a family weekend, ask for the earliest slot you can, since same-day service is offered. Tidying a garden is a lot more pleasant without the worry of an unseen nest.
Wasps on your property in Stevenage?
Fixed price £70 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.