Do Wasps Return to the Same Nest Every Year? A Guide for West Park Gardens
A small hole in the lawn or flower bed can mean an underground wasp nest last year. The nest has died, but the soil is still an inviting place for a new queen.
The hole the mower kept missing
Midway through August, a steady line of wasps appears over the lawn, all heading to a small dark hole at the edge of a flower bed. By the end of the month the traffic stops and the hole looks like any other patch of bare earth. Come next April you find yourself staring at the same patch, half expecting the whole business to start again.
The underground nest is dead, in the same way as any other wasp nest at the end of the year. The workers have died, the old queen has died and the chamber they dug has collapsed or been left empty. What remains is soil that is dry, loose and undisturbed, which can look just as attractive to a queen in spring.
Why wasps nest in the ground
Wasps do not dig out whole burrows from nothing. They very often take over an existing hollow, such as an old rodent hole, a gap under a stone, a space beneath a shed base or a slump in a bank. They then enlarge it, and the nest hangs in the chamber.
These are the clues to look for in the garden.
- A round hole, about the width of a thumb or a little more, with fine loose soil around the entrance.
- A line of wasps entering and leaving at one point, especially on dry, warm days.
- A steady humming from the soil if you stand quietly at a distance.
- Wasps coming from under a paving slab, step or edging stone.
- Mowing or strimming disturbs the area and makes a lot of wasps appear.
Because the nest is below the ground, it can be much larger than the entrance suggests. By August a colony can hold 2,000 to 10,000 wasps or more.
Do not fill the hole in summer
The urge to pour something in or block the entrance is understandable and a bad idea. A blocked hole does not stop the wasps; they dig around it, or turn up somewhere new. Heavy-handed methods can also send agitated wasps towards the nearest person.
Instead, keep children and pets away from that part of the garden, mark the spot with a cane (from a distance), and avoid mowing near it. Wasps can swarm and sting if they sense a threat, and vibration through the ground is enough to provoke them.
Spotting hidden ground nests early
Many people only find a ground nest when something goes wrong: the mower rolls over it, a child plays near it or a dog digs. Spotting it earlier makes life much easier.
In late spring and early summer the colony is small and the traffic at the entrance is light, perhaps a wasp every few seconds. That is the best time to find it, because it is easy to pinpoint and easy to mark. Look for wasps flying low across the lawn in a straight line, since they tend to use the same flight path to and from the hole each time.
A good method is to sit still some distance away on a warm afternoon with a drink and watch the garden. Do not walk towards a suspected entrance. If you see a pattern, keep people away from it and note the position by reference to something fixed, such as a fence post or a corner of the patio.
Remember that wasps in the ground are not always in a hole you can see. They can be using a gap under a slab, a crack beside a kerb or a path edge. If you see them vanishing into the ground, the cause is the same, and the approach is the same: keep away and ask for help.
What to do with the spot afterwards
Once the season is over and the ground has been cold for a while, the area is safe to work on. A few sensible measures cut down on what the next queen finds.
- Fill and firm the old hole with soil so there is no open hollow to move into.
- Level out slumps in banks and lawn edges where the earth has dropped.
- Check under paving, steps and the base of any shed for gaps and fill those too.
- Leave the soil raked and compact rather than loose and crumbly, which is easier for a queen to dig.
- Look out for rodent holes, since wasps often occupy them.
These steps do not give a guarantee, but they remove the easiest openings. A queen has plenty of other places to go, so do not be surprised if the garden still sees a wasp or two.
Checking the garden in spring, and getting help
From late April, when the weather allows, take a slow walk round the garden once a week and watch for single large wasps flying low, landing and walking over the ground. A queen exploring a hole may spend a while going in and out.
Our fixed price is £90 for the first nest and £35 for any further nest at the same address, with nothing to pay for the call-out. A price is agreed on the phone before anyone comes out, and the work only goes ahead once you say yes. Domestic and commercial customers in West Park and the wider area can book any day of the week, and same-day visits are offered. Ring 0113 347 0014 or send the booking form from the contact page. Our technicians are trained and the work is fully insured.
If someone in the home is allergic to wasp stings, let us know when you book.
Keep children and pets in mind as you plan the garden for the season. A ground nest is easy to step on or mow over, and the sting risk is highest when wasps are at their most numerous in August. A quick word with everyone who uses the garden about where not to go is worth a minute of anyone’s time.
Wasps on your property in West Park?
Fixed price £90 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.