Council does not remove European wasps from private property. However, property owners can control them by destroying the nest themselves or by calling a pest control agency.
To destroy the nest, first locate the entrance. Beware, wasps return to their nests in the evening.
Next and most importantly, wait until dark, wear protective clothing and use a torch covered with red cellophane which won’t attract the wasps. Have a tin of fly spray with you and some Baygon Dusting Powder.
Liberally spray the fly spray around the entrance and then buff the powder onto the fly spray so that it sticks to it and coats it.
In the next few days as the wasps leave and return to their nest they will take the powder into their nest and this will eventually kill them.
The procedure may need to be repeated again in three to four days, but after 7 to 10 days they should be eradicated. Nests need not be destroyed as they are not recolonised and will gradually rot away.
The European wasps are about the same size as a bee but are less hairy and have brilliant yellow legs, wings and abdomen. The abdomen also has distinctive black V shaped markings down the middle.
Wasps nest in sheltered areas, either in the ground, rockeries, rubbish heaps, or in buildings making their way into a roof, walls or foundations. Nests are usually the same size and shape as a football.
As the sun comes up in the morning the workers will fly within 50-250 metres from the nest in search of food. During the day they scavenge anything containing protein or sugar such as meat, soft drink or fruit and return to their nests in the evening.
