Will a wasp nest die out if I leave it?

Will a wasp nest die out if I leave it? Is a question that is often asked when people ring up PEST UK when they find they have a wasp nest. The question is more often asked towards the end of the wasp season in September, October, November and December.

Below is a link to the wasp page on the Britsh Pest Control Association Website and another to the PEST UK Wasp page

https://bpca.org.uk/pest-advice/a-z-of-pests?letter=W

https://www.pestuk.com/wasps-control.htm#.WYnGctPys3g

The answer to the question: Will a wasp nest die out if I leave it? Is yes, but there will be consequences!

If I had a wasp nest, even in December I would have it treated for the reasons below:

The end of a wasp nest starts about August, sometimes earlier, sometimes later but in most cases August. At this time the Queen stops laying new eggs. She has run out of eggs, in a similar way that some mammals stop producing eggs when they get older. Her last batch go eggs were ‘special’ in a way that they differ from the thousands of eggs she laid previously in that they produce Queens and Drones (fertile females and males). All the previous eggs have produced grubs that hatch into worker wasps that are sterile females. This is the start of the end. The original Queen wasp dies soon after the end of egg laying of old age. The new Queens and Drones mate with other Queens and Drones form other wasp nests and the Drones will then start to die of old age while the new Queen wasps will disburse from the old nest and hibernate once the cold weather comes. The existing worker wasps will eventually die of old age. This may take some time and it is not uncommon for us to treat wasp nests in December!

Will a wasp nest die out if I leave it?

Wasps are more likely to sting people in the Autumn and Winter. They will often get drunk on ripe fruit and act in a bold manor which brings them into contact with humans. The worker wasps also have more time to be outside causing a nuisance as there are no more grubs to feed and the nest is not being maintained. In fact the nest is only used at this time as a place for the wasps to spend the night. The other factor is temperature. Wasps can’t fly at very low temperatures and are likely to crawl into clothes, beds and other areas where they may come into contact with people.

Will a wasp nest die out if I leave it?

In the Autumn and Winter wasps are ‘set off’ by light (and heat). This is because the days are much shorter so the wasps are keen to make the most of the shorter days so they see light they will head towards it. This leads to wasps seeing light from bedrooms and other living areas at night and heading towards the source. This leads to wasps getting into rooms, often bedrooms and causing problems. We get scores of complaints from people phoning up saying they have been stung in bed even though they haven’t had any window open.

Will a wasp nest die out if I leave it?

If a nest is left to die out naturally then potentially that nest may produce up to 500 fertile Queens (depending on the size of the nest) which makes the risk of there person who had the nest and their neighbours having wasp nests the following year much greater.

Wasp nests do take longer to die off after treatment in the Autumn and Winter, mainly due to the lower metabolism of the wasps making the absorption of insecticide slower. It can take 10-20 days for a wasp nest to die off when treated at this time of year compared with a few hours in July or August.

So to conclude. Will a wasp nest die out if I leave it? Yes but don’t!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasp

Above is a link about wasps by Wikipedia