Can You Remove a Wasp Nest Yourself? Advice for Farnley Homeowners
A nest in a hedge, tree or shrub can seem easy to reach with a pole or a pair of shears. It is more hazardous than it appears, and worth identifying correctly first.
Garden nests are not simple nests
A wasp nest hanging in a shrub or tucked in a hedge looks like the easy kind, since there is no roof, no wall and no loft. You can see it, you can reach it and it seems to be on your level. That is why so many garden nests are disturbed by accident or on purpose.
The difficulty is that you are physically close to the nest and surrounded by foliage. Branches restrict your movement, a pole or a pair of loppers makes you stay in range, and the wasps are quick to respond. If the nest is in a tree, you also need height. This guide is aimed at gardeners in Farnley, a suburb of Leeds, who have found a nest among plants.
It also helps to remember how thick a hedge can be. What looks like a small entrance in a privet or a conifer may lead to a large nest deep inside the foliage. By the time you find it with your hand or a pole, you may be in the middle of the flight path.
In a tree, a nest might be well above eye level. A nest the size of a football in a hawthorn can look quite harmless from the ground, which is exactly why people underestimate it.
Are they wasps at all?
It pays to be sure. Garden insects are often mistaken for one another, and the right response depends on which you have. Wasps are slim, with a narrow waist and a sharp yellow and black pattern. They build papery grey nests. Honeybees are more rounded and brown with fuzzy bodies. Bumblebees are large, hairy and slow.
We treat wasps only. If your insects look like honeybees or bumblebees, please contact a local beekeeper or the relevant bee organisation. Bees are valuable pollinators and may be dealt with in other ways. If you are not sure, take a photograph from a distance and describe what you see when you call. Never go closer just to get a better picture.
Hornets are larger and are not the same as wasps, and we do not treat them. If what you have looks unusually large, with a rusty brown and yellow colouring, do not approach it, and describe it when you ring so we can talk it through.
The hazards of gardening around a nest
Hedge trimming is the commonest cause of garden stings. Electric shears or a hedge trimmer create vibration and noise that a colony reads as an attack. Pruning a tree or cutting back climbers can have the same effect. A person standing on steps with a trimmer in both hands cannot retreat quickly.
- Do not trim, prune or cut back near a suspected nest.
- Do not shake or tap branches to see if anything is inside.
- Do not stand on steps or a chair to reach a nest in a tree.
- Do not hit a nest with a stick or a pole.
- Do not cut a branch with a nest on it, however tempting.
Dropping a nest to the ground does not solve anything. It breaks it open and releases angry wasps all around you.
Strimmers and mowers can be a problem as well, particularly along the base of a hedge or a boundary where a ground nest may be hiding. Walk the area gently before you start, from a safe distance, and look for a steady stream of wasps heading to or from one spot. If you see one, stop and put the machine away.
What to do in the meantime
Mark the area mentally, or physically from a distance, and keep everyone away from that part of the garden. Pause any gardening in that corner. Keep children and pets out, and remember that fallen fruit or open bins nearby draw wasps in.
Look at the flow of wasps from a safe spot. A line heading to a particular branch or into the middle of a hedge helps a technician find the nest, which can be better hidden than you would expect. If you can, take a zoomed photo.
If someone is stung, wash the area with soap and water, remove the sting if visible and apply a cold pack. Any swelling of the face, lips or throat, any wheezing or difficulty breathing, dizziness or a widespread rash means a 999 call. People with known allergies should speak to their GP.
Leave pruning and cutting back until after the nest has been dealt with, and then ask the technician whether you can resume work in that area. If a branch needs to come down for other reasons, that can wait until the wasps are no longer a risk.
Booking the visit
Pricing is straightforward: £90 per nest, and £35 for an additional nest on the same property. Open 7 days a week, we offer same-day service to domestic and commercial customers and make no call-out charge. Technicians are trained, and the work they carry out is fully insured.
The price is agreed on the phone in advance, and the technician carries out no work without your agreement. Telephone 0113 347 0014, or use the contact page form, to book. Tell us whether the nest is in a tree, hedge or shrub, roughly how high it is, and whether anyone at home is allergic to stings. You can also ask the technician whether the empty nest can be taken down afterwards.
Neighbours often share a hedge or a tree, so a short word over the fence is worthwhile. A nest on a boundary can spread across both gardens, and a neighbour who does not know about it may stroll straight into trouble.
Wasps on your property in Farnley?
Fixed price £90 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.