Wasps in Winter
Wasps in Winter:
Even now in December we are still taking calls and treating live wasp nests.
Some are still flying and others are found where either Queens and Drones are present (mainly Queens) in the house. The Queens are ready to leave the nest and hibernate for the Winter while the workers and Drones are dying off. The original Queen has probably already died.
High temperatures coupled with artificial lights and central heating can confuse hibernating Queen wasps in Winter to come out of hibernation. This can lead to problems in a house with wasps and even people getting stung!
I have enclosed a picture of a wasp nest that Haydn Philips of PEST UK dealt with recently. You can just about make out live wasps on the outside of the nest. To treat this he pierced the nest and injected an insecticide dust (Ficam D) under pressure that filled the nest with insecticide and killed the wasps inside and also any returning wasps.
At this time of year it is advisable for the technicians to treat the nests from the inside where possible, rather than the usual method of injecting the entrance of the wasp nest. The reason for this is that in the Autumn/early Winter wasp nests take much longer to die out and piercing the nest and injecting directly works more quickly than injecting the entrance only. A nest treated either way in the Summer may be dead within a couple of hours.
If you have problems with wasps in January, February or March there they will almost certainly be Queen Wasps with no actual nest. The fertile Queen wasps leave the old nest, hibernate and each Queen Wasp will start a new nest in April.
Wherever we are in the year wasps nests should always be treated by professionals. Give us a call if you have a wasp problem: 0330 100 2811 (local rate) or 0800 026 0308 (free from landlines & some mobiles).
