Wasps vs Bees – How to Identify Them Before Arranging Pest Control in Sissinghurst
Planting for pollinators brings bees into the garden, so it helps to know which visitors are welcome guests and which suggest a nest that needs professional attention.
A busy garden is a healthy one
Gardeners who plant for pollinators are often pleased to see their borders humming. Lavender, foxgloves, borage, sedum and other nectar-rich flowers draw honeybees and bumblebees in numbers, and that is a good sign. Bees visiting flowers are doing precisely what you hoped.
For those in Sissinghurst with a garden full of blooms, the sudden arrival of a wasp can feel like a betrayal. In reality, the two insects have different jobs, and learning to tell them apart lets you protect the bees while dealing with a genuine nest.
Wildlife-friendly gardens are valuable, and nothing in this article is a reason to stop making yours more welcoming to pollinators. The point is simply that a good garden will have more insects of all kinds, and some of them will occasionally need professional attention. Learning to separate the two is part of being a confident gardener.
If you are new to gardening, it is natural to feel a flutter of concern every time something with a sting appears. Take a breath, look at the shape and the behaviour, and remind yourself that most of the insects in a flowering border are friendly. A little knowledge goes a long way towards enjoying the garden.
Who visits the flowers?
Bees are the regular customers. They land on a bloom, crawl into it, gather pollen or nectar and move on to the next. Honeybees pack pollen into baskets on their back legs, and bumblebees emerge dusty and fuzzy. They are unhurried, and they pay little attention to people.
Wasps visit flowers less often and with a different manner. A wasp may take a quick drink of nectar, but it generally moves faster, looks sleeker and spends more time on fallen fruit, bins and other food. Its smooth, crisp, boldly banded body is quite unlike the fuzzy softness of a bee.
Watch the behaviour of the insect on the bloom. A bee will stay for several seconds, pushing into the flower, and then move on to the next in a calm progression. A wasp is more likely to hover, land briefly and fly off, or to pass over flowers without stopping. Even a few seconds of watching can tell you which you have.
Garden habits that help the bees and not the wasps
- Plant flowers that open at different times, to keep the bees fed from spring to autumn.
- Avoid leaving sweet drinks, fruit and sticky food on garden tables.
- Cover compost and keep bins closed.
- Pick up windfalls promptly.
- Leave some wild corners and long grass, but keep an eye on them for ground nests.
Think about the positions of your tables and seats too. A seating area right beside a bed of nectar-rich flowers will attract bees, which is lovely but may worry guests who are nervous. Placing seats a few metres away gives you the pleasure of the planting without the proximity.
Late-flowering plants such as sedum, ivy and Michaelmas daisies keep bees active into the autumn. Do not mistake the sudden busyness around them for a nest. A cloud of bees on a single plant is usually just a rich nectar source being worked by many insects at once.
When the garden holds a nest
Wasp nests begin in late April, depending on the weather, in eaves, wall gaps, chimneys, trees, bushes or underground holes. The nest gets busier week by week with the August peak bringing anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 or more wasps.
Look out for insects flying in a straight line to a particular spot, rather than wandering from flower to flower. A shrub, hedge, fence panel or hole in the ground with constant traffic is worth watching from a distance. Give a nest a very wide berth, since the wasps will swarm and sting if they sense a threat.
If you are about to cut a hedge, prune a tree or strim long grass, check first for traffic around the area. Cutting into a nest hidden in foliage is one of the most common ways people end up with multiple stings.
Bird feeders, fat balls and sugary hummingbird-style feeders also draw insects. If wasps are visiting a feeder, move it to the far end of the garden or remove it for a short time until the traffic dies down. This will not solve a nest problem but it reduces unwanted visits to the places you sit.
Many gardeners find a notebook helpful. Record the date you first notice unusual traffic around a hedge or tree, and the weather at the time. If the activity increases over a fortnight, you will have a clear timeline to give us.
Bees in the garden
Bumblebees and honeybees are useful pollinators, and should be handled by a local beekeeper or bee organisation. Our work deals with wasps only, and we will say so honestly if your description sounds like bees.
If you are unsure whether a swarm is on the way, remember that honeybee swarms tend to cluster on a branch or post for a short time. That is normal and temporary. A local beekeeper or bee organisation can help, and they will usually be glad of the call.
Arranging help for wasps
To get a visit organised, dial 01622 410 019 or send an enquiry through the booking form at any hour. The cost of dealing with a nest is £120 flat, with one visit guaranteed and no extra for location or time of day. Each extra nest at the same address is £60 extra.
The company takes domestic and commercial jobs, with same-day service and seven-day opening. Weekend and evening visits are there if daytime is awkward, and the technicians are fully insured and qualified.
When there is a sting allergy in the family, say so when you book so the visit can be prioritised.
Whatever the outcome, there is no harm in asking. We would always rather help you confirm that your visitors are bees and welcome than leave you worried, and the call costs nothing.
Wasps on your property in Sissinghurst?
Fixed price £120 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.