Buckinghamshire Pest Control

t looks like summer has finally arrived and that means picnics, BBQs, drinks with friends in pub gardens and a plethora of insects; lady birds, butterflies, bees and…..wasps.
The bane of many a summer activity, wasps are among the most feared and hated of insects. However before you try to swat one, (I really wouldn't if I were you), or reach for the fly spray, (you will also kill a lot of OTHER beneficial insects too), take a moment to read about this most maligned and miss understood insect.

• Wasp venom contains a pheromone that causes other wasps to become more aggressive. Try not to swat one near its nest or other wasps. Told you so
• Wasps live in colonies that form self-contained communities, each following a caste order of queens, males, and workers.
• A male wasp is called a Drone. The job of the Drone is to mate with the Queen. After they have fulfilled this mission, they die shortly afterward.
• Wasps don’t swarm.
• Wasps feed their young meat (e.g. insect larvae). They hunt and eat almost every insect pest that harms crops. Wasps eat grasshoppers, aphids, flies and even other bees. They also eat nectar, tree sap and fruit.
• The only wasps that survive the winter are young fertilized queens. They emerge from overwintering in the spring to build new nests. Initially, the queen lays up to a dozen eggs and when they hatch into larvae she feeds them until they become workers. The workers then forage for food, feed the new larvae and defend the nest.
• In late summer, the colony produces males and new queens. They fly away to mate and the queens then find a place to hibernate. The cold weather eventually kills the males, workers, and foundation queen
• Wasps don't like herbs that are very aromatic, especially spearmint, thyme, citronella, and eucalyptus. Plant some of these around your patio and outdoor sitting areas to repel wasps.

Perhaps not such a useless, unimportant insect after all?

If you do have a wasp nest problem, please don't try tackling it yourself. Call us for same appointment,(in the majority of cases).

As well as laying traps for rodents, ( we do not use poisons for rodents), we also use trail cameras to help identify and confirm the type of rodent, ( there are only three target species that pest controllers can legally trap or poison), so as not to kill endangered species and monitor their routes, feeding habits and possible nest sites.