When Is Wasp Season in Staplehurst?
Late summer is when many people feel wasps have turned nasty, and there is a straightforward seasonal reason for it that also tells you what to do about it.
The wasp that will not leave you alone
Plenty of people swear that wasps get meaner at the end of the summer. A wasp that hardly noticed you in June now circles your drink, lands on your arm and returns again and again after being waved away. It is not your imagination.
What changes is not the wasp's temper so much as its priorities. After the August peak, wasps become strongly drawn to sweet things, and the people, tables, bins and fruit trees of a Staplehurst garden or any other become the best source for miles. The colony is still large, so a lot of wasps are doing the same thing at once.
This is why September, rather than August, is so often the month people complain about.
Understanding this helps you respond sensibly. A wasp that is after your lemonade is not out to attack you, and treating it calmly nearly always ends with it flying away. Trouble starts when people swat, run or crowd round the table, and those are all habits that can be changed.
What the calendar looks like from June to October
It helps to see how the pattern builds.
- Nests are started from late April, depending on the weather, and grow through early summer.
- The colony continues to grow and peaks in August, with a nest able to hold from 2,000 to 10,000 or more wasps.
- In late summer, wasps seek sweet food and drink, and become a nuisance wherever people eat and drink outside.
- Through autumn, the colony declines and the number of wasps falls away.
The third stage is the one that causes the most friction. The wasps are numerous, they are looking for something specific, and people are outside enjoying the last warm days. The ingredients for a bad afternoon are all there.
Where the late-summer wasps come from
A common assumption is that wasps in September mean there must be a nest in your garden. Sometimes that is true, and sometimes it is not. The wasps at your table may be coming from a nest several gardens away, drawn by a strong smell.
There are ways to tell the difference:
- If wasps arrive at food and then fly off in one consistent direction, a nest is probably in that direction.
- If numbers build day after day, even when you clear everything away, a nest is probably close.
- If wasps keep entering the house through a particular window, eave or air brick, the nest may be in or on your property.
- If they only appear when you put sweet food out, they are more likely visitors.
If you suspect a nest on your property, keep clear of it and do not try to block it up. The wasps may look for another way out, and that can lead indoors.
Neighbours are worth a conversation too. If wasps are bothering several gardens in a row, it is quite possible they share one nest, and a quick chat can help you work out where it is. If the nest turns out to be on someone else's land, tell them, but keep your own distance and do not go looking for it.
Keeping wasps off your sweet things
You cannot stop wasps being attracted, but you can make your garden less rewarding.
- Cover food and drink, and use lids or straws on children's cups.
- Take a good look in a can or bottle before you drink from it.
- Wipe sticky spills and children's hands straight away.
- Pick up windfalls and fallen fruit regularly.
- Put the bin lid down, and rinse recycling before it goes out.
- Move bins and compost away from the places where people sit.
Panic makes things worse. If a wasp lands on you, stay calm and move away slowly. Swatting or flapping can provoke a sting, so it is best to leave it alone.
Think too about what you are serving. A fruit salad, a jug of squash or a bowl of ice cream is more of a magnet than a plain salad. If you are hosting, serve the sweet items last and clear them first, and keep a small cover over the bowl in between.
When it is time to call someone in
Wasps at a table are a nuisance. Wasps heading in and out of a wall are a nest. Once you can see a pattern, it is better to act than to put up with a season of annoyance.
Call for help when:
- You can see a regular flight path to a single spot on your property.
- The wasps are coming into the house in numbers.
- A nest is close to a door, a window, a washing line or a play area.
- Someone in the household has had a bad reaction to a sting.
Autumn will bring the decline in numbers, but the nest does not stop being a hazard overnight. If it is in a sensitive place, there is no reason to wait for it to peter out.
Do not wait until someone has been stung twice. A wasp nest is the sort of problem that is much easier to deal with on the day you first identify it than after a week of small incidents.
How Wasp Exterminator Kent can help
A treatment is priced at a fixed £120 per nest, with one visit guaranteed, and an additional nest on the same property is £60 each. There is no call-out charge, and the same price applies whatever time you need the visit. The technicians are fully insured and qualified, and they treat wasps at both domestic and commercial premises.
The team is open seven days a week and offers same-day service, with evening and weekend appointments available. You can phone 01622 410 019 or use the booking form on the contact page. If anyone at home is allergic to stings, tell the team when you book so that it can be prioritised, and ask whether the empty nest can be taken down once it has been treated.
Wasps on your property in Staplehurst?
Fixed price £120 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.