Wasp Nest in a Hedge or Bush – What Deal Garden Owners Should Know
For an allergic household, a wasp nest in the hedge is not a nuisance but a risk to plan around, and the first step is telling us.
When a sting is more than a sting
For most people, a wasp sting hurts for a while and then fades. For someone with an allergy, it can be far more serious. If a member of your family reacts badly to stings, a colony in the hedge changes the way you use the garden. The colony may hold from 2,000 to 10,000 wasps or more by August, and the chance of an accidental encounter rises with every week.
This article is about how to cope while you wait, and about why you should always say so when you book. We are not able to give medical advice. What we can do is explain the sensible, general precautions.
Think about visitors too. If someone allergic is coming to stay, or a child with an allergy is coming for a playdate, tell us the date when you ring so the nest can be dealt with beforehand. It is much easier to plan around a visit than to rush in an emergency.
Tell us when you book
Our advice is simple: if anyone in your household, a visitor or a neighbour is allergic to wasp stings, say so when you book. It means the booking can be prioritised. We cannot promise a particular response time, but we can make sure it is treated as a priority.
When you call, be clear about it. Say who is allergic, whether they have had a reaction before and where in the garden they spend time. That helps the technician plan the visit, and it means everyone knows to be careful.
People with a known allergy should speak to their GP about their situation. That is the place to discuss any medication or an emergency plan. We cannot advise on that.
Do not allow anyone to take risks to save time. A well-meant attempt to trim the hedge, or to spray, can put the whole household in danger. Leave everything alone and ring.
If you are allergic yourself, ask someone else to watch the hedge and make the calls. Standing near the hedge to describe what you can see is an unnecessary risk.
Keeping the household away
Until the visit, remove the risk as far as you can.
- Keep the allergic person indoors if the garden is the problem, or at least well away from the hedge.
- Close windows on the hedge side of the house.
- Check rooms for stray wasps before the allergic person enters them.
- Keep food, drink and bins covered, since wasps are drawn to them.
- Ask others in the household to watch for wasps near the person.
- Make sure everyone knows where the phone is and what to do in an emergency.
If the allergic person is stung, treat it as an emergency if there are signs of a serious reaction.
Everyone in the household should know the plan. Adults, older children and regular visitors should know who is allergic, which door to use, where the phone is and what the signs of a serious reaction are. A calm plan, discussed before anything happens, is worth far more than a rushed one afterwards.
Be careful with outdoor meals and drinks while the nest is active. Sweet drinks, fruit and ice cream attract wasps, and a cup left on the table can hide a wasp. Check cups and cans before drinking, and keep lids on bins. For an allergic person, it is safest to eat indoors until the nest is treated.
Recognising an emergency
Signs of a serious allergic reaction include swelling of the face, lips or throat, wheezing or difficulty breathing, dizziness and a widespread rash. If any of these appear, ring 999 without delay. Do not wait to see whether it settles.
For an ordinary sting without those signs, wash the area with soap and water, take out the sting if you can see it and apply a cold pack.
The visit and the price
One of our fully insured, qualified technicians will treat the nest in one visit. The cost is a fixed £120 per nest, and an additional nest on the same property is £60 extra. There is no call-out charge. We cover Deal, on the east Kent coast, and nearby areas, seven days a week, with same-day service and evening and weekend appointments.
Book on 01622 410 019 or through the online booking form on the contact page, which also works for emergency requests outside normal hours. During the visit, the allergic person should stay indoors with the windows shut on the hedge side.
If you work from home or care for the allergic person during the day, you may want to choose an appointment time when someone else can be around, or when the person is out. Evening and weekend appointments exist for exactly this kind of juggling.
Afterwards
Ask the technician when it is safe for the allergic person to use the garden again, and whether the empty nest can be taken down. Take extra care for the first few days, since a few wasps may still hover near the old nest. From late April next year, someone else in the household can do the hedge check.
Neighbours should be told too. If the hedge is shared, they may have an allergic person at home as well, and a short word could save a lot of worry.
In the days after the treatment, stay alert. A few wasps may linger around the old entrance, and the allergic person should keep clear until the technician says the area is safe. If you notice wasps in unusual numbers after the visit, ring again.
Finally, keep a note of the booking details and the technician's advice on a card by the phone, so that any member of the household can find them quickly if wasps return.
Wasps on your property in Deal?
Fixed price £120 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.