Advice
How to get rid of wasps and what to do about a wasp nest
Wasps live in a colony for one season: in spring a queen starts a nest on her own, in late summer the colony is at its largest and the workers are most annoying, and in autumn it dies off. Once you know what happens in which month, you can pick the right approach: prevent a nest in spring, cover food and drink in summer, and have a nest that is really in the way treated by a pest controller or your council.
In this article
Key facts
- The wasps at your table are almost always the common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) or the German wasp (Vespula germanica), the two social wasps you are most likely to meet in the UK (BPCA).
- A wasp nest is used for one season. The workers die off in autumn, only the new queens survive the winter, and wasps do not return to the old nest the following year (NHM, BPCA).
- Not every nest has to go. BPCA advises treating a nest only if it poses a risk to health and safety.
- Do not swat: a wasp in distress gives off a pheromone that calls other wasps from the colony to defend it (BPCA).
- Do not try to remove a nest yourself, and never go near one if you might be allergic to stings (BPCA).
Straight to the solution: a fake wasp nest to hang up in spring, or the Super Ninja Waspinator itself.
What are wasps, and when are they a nuisance?
Wasps are insects in the same order as bees and ants, and the social wasps you see at the table, the common wasp and the German wasp, are mainly a nuisance in August and September, when the workers turn to sweet food (BPCA). The UK has over 7,000 species of wasp, but most of them live alone and you will rarely notice them (NHM).
Wasps are useful too. Social wasps in the UK catch an estimated 14 million kilograms of insect prey each summer, such as caterpillars and greenfly, and they pollinate flowers while they look for nectar (NHM).
Is it a wasp, a bee or a hornet?
A wasp is smooth, bright yellow and black with a narrow waist; a honeybee is browner and hairy; a hornet is much bigger, with brown instead of black. This is how you tell them apart:
| Insect | How to recognise it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Common wasp and German wasp | Yellow and black stripes with a clear waist, up to 2 cm; the common wasp has a black anchor mark on its face (Wildlife Trusts) | Cover food and drink, stay calm |
| Honeybee | Browner and hairy; its barbed sting stays in your skin, so it stings only once (NHM) | Leave it alone |
| European hornet (Vespa crabro) | Up to 3.5 cm, brown thorax and brown and yellow stripes rather than black and yellow (Wildlife Trusts) | Leave it alone; it is unlikely to sting if left alone (Wildlife Trusts) |
| Asian hornet, also called yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina) | Very dark body, a wide orange stripe on the fourth segment of the abdomen and yellow leg ends; smaller than our native hornet (GOV.UK) | Report it with a photo via the Asian Hornet Watch app (GOV.UK) |
More on hornets, with photos and how to report an Asian hornet: hornet, Asian hornet or wasp. Found a hornet nest? Read what to do about a hornet nest.
How does a wasp nest grow through the year?
A wasp colony lives for one season: the queen starts a nest in spring, the colony is at its peak in August and September, and in autumn it dies off. Month by month:
| Month | What happens | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| November to February | Only the new, mated queens survive, hibernating in sheltered places such as lofts (NHM). A wasp you see in winter is almost always a queen. | Put her outside with a glass and a piece of card; an empty nest can stay or go |
| March to May | Queens come out as the weather warms up and start a new nest (BPCA); German wasp queens look for nest sites from mid March (BWARS). An early nest is about the size of a golf ball (BPCA). | Check the loft, garage, shed and eaves; hang up a fake wasp nest |
| May to July | The first workers take over the foraging and the nest grows quickly; German wasp workers are about from early May (BWARS). | Have a nest that is in the way treated now: the earlier, the less aggressive the colony (BPCA) |
| August and September | The colony is at its peak, with up to 5,000 wasps, and the workers turn to sweet food (BPCA). New queens leave the nest in September and October (BWARS). | Cover food and drink, pick up windfalls |
| October and November | As the weather turns cold the workers die off, and the nest is abandoned for good (BPCA, NHM). | Nothing: wasps will not return to that nest next year |
What should you do if you see a queen wasp in spring?
Put her outside with a glass and a piece of card, or leave her be: a queen in spring is looking for a place for her nest, and that is the moment to make your house and garden less inviting. Check the loft, garage, shed and eaves each spring, when nests are still tiny and easy to deal with (BPCA), and keep windows and doors secure or fit fly screens so wasps cannot wander in (BPCA).
Spring is also the time to hang a fake wasp nest by the patio, veranda or shed. The idea behind it: a queen looking for a nest site in spring prefers not to start next to an existing colony.
What attracts wasps?
Wasps are attracted by sugar: adult wasps live mainly on sugars from nectar and honeydew and on a sugary liquid their larvae produce, and they only hunt insects to feed those larvae (NHM). Once the young have been reared in late summer, the workers turn to the sweet food they prefer (BPCA), which is why they land on cake, squash, jam and ripe fruit. Open bins draw them in too, so keep the lid on and the bin away from the house (BPCA).
How do you get rid of wasps?
You get rid of wasps by matching the approach to the situation: in spring you prevent a nest, in summer you keep food covered, and a nest that causes real trouble you have treated by a professional. What helps and what does not:
| Situation | What helps | What does not |
|---|---|---|
| Spring: queens look for a nest site | Check loft, shed and eaves for golf ball sized nests (BPCA), fit fly screens, hang a fake wasp nest by the patio or shed | Waiting until the summer |
| Wasps at the table in late summer | Cover food and drink, use a lid or straw, pick up windfalls, keep lidded bins away from the patio | Swatting (BPCA) |
| One wasp in the house | Open a window, or use a glass and a piece of card | Swatting |
| A nest that causes trouble | A BPCA member pest controller or your council's pest control service | DIY removal: BPCA calls all DIY nest removal guides online very dangerous |
| A nest that is not in the way | Leave it: wasps abandon it after the summer (BPCA) | A fake wasp nest: that is for spring, not for a nest that is already there |
| Smells such as cloves or mint | At most around the spot where you sit (each remedy explained) | Expecting a smell to move a whole colony |
You hang a fake wasp nest in spring, before there is a nest nearby; the idea behind it is that a queen prefers not to start next to an existing colony. It does not help against wasps at the table or a nest that is already there. More in how to deter wasps from your patio.
Do you need to remove a wasp nest?
A wasp nest usually does not need to be removed: if a nest is well away from the house in a part of the garden you rarely use, you can leave it, because wasps abandon the nest after the summer and do not come back to it (BPCA). BPCA advises treating a nest only if it poses a risk to health and safety, for example by the front door, near where children play, or when someone in the house may be allergic to stings. To get rid of the wasps you do not need to remove the nest itself, but you may need to have it treated (BPCA).
How do you get rid of a wasp nest safely?
Have a wasp nest treated by a professional: BPCA recommends a trained pest controller, who uses professional insecticides that are not sold to the public and wears protective equipment. This is how it usually goes:
- Keep your distance and keep children and pets away from the entrance.
- Find the entrance by watching where the workers fly in and out, often a gap under the eaves, an open joint in the brickwork or a hole in the ground.
- Leave the entrance clear. The pest controller treats the nest near the entrance, and the returning wasps carry the insecticide inside; after a couple of days the wasps die (BPCA).
- Leave the empty nest or have it removed. Removal after treatment usually costs extra; you can also wait until autumn or winter, when no live wasps remain, and take it down yourself wearing gloves (BPCA).
| Where the nest is | What to do |
|---|---|
| Garden, well away from the house | Leave it; it is abandoned after the summer (BPCA) |
| Loft, garage or shed | Keep the door closed and have it treated if you need the space |
| Cavity wall, under the eaves or roof tiles | Do not block the hole while wasps use it; call a pest controller |
| In the ground | Keep the mower and children away; have it treated if it is in the way |
| Hornet or Asian hornet nest | Do not disturb it; report an Asian hornet nest (GOV.UK); see hornet nest |
What should you do about a wasp nest in the ground?
Leave it if you can, and have it treated if it is in the way: do not dig it out, pour anything into it or block it, because BPCA calls all DIY nest removal methods dangerous. German wasps mostly nest underground, with entrance tunnels of about 3 to 20 cm, and common wasps sometimes dig tunnels up to 45 cm long (BWARS). Keep the lawnmower, strimmer and children away from the entrance until the colony dies off in autumn.
How much does wasp nest removal cost, and do councils do it?
Many councils treat wasp nests for a fee, which varies by council: Leicester City Council charges £90 plus £30 per additional nest, and Bury Council £70 per nest, or £44 for residents on Council Tax support (council websites, October 2026). Not every council offers the service, and councils usually do not treat bees, so check the pest control page of your own council first. A private pest controller sets their own price; BPCA lists its member companies at bpca.org.uk/find.
Should you kill wasps?
Killing wasps one by one is not worth it: an insect spray kills the wasps you hit, but with thousands of wasps in a nest BPCA calls it probably a waste of time, and a wasp in distress calls others to sting (BPCA). Wasps also do useful work in the garden by feeding caterpillars and other insects to their grubs (BPCA). Cover your food, leave a nest that is not in the way, and have a nest that poses a risk treated by a professional.
Do wasp traps work?
A wasp trap catches workers that come to its lure, but the nest and the queen stay where they are, so new workers keep coming. A trap with a sweet lure also draws wasps to wherever it hangs, so never put one next to the patio. We do not sell wasp traps: a fake wasp nest works on a different idea and contains no lure.
Are wasps aggressive, and can they sting more than once?
Wasps usually only attack when they feel threatened, but they can sting more than once: unlike a honeybee, whose barbed sting stays in your skin, a wasp has a smooth sting it can pull out and use again (BPCA, NHM). One sting is not normally dangerous, but many stings can be, and anyone who may be allergic should never deal with a nest (BPCA).
What should you do after a wasp sting?
Wash the area with soap and water and hold an ice pack wrapped in a cloth, or a cloth soaked in cold water, on it for at least 20 minutes (NHS). Call 999 straight away if the lips, mouth, throat or tongue suddenly swell, if someone struggles to breathe, has a tight throat or difficulty swallowing, or suddenly becomes confused, drowsy or dizzy: these are signs of a serious allergic reaction (NHS).
What do wasps do in winter?
In winter the workers are dead and only the new queens are alive, hibernating in sheltered places such as lofts until they start a new nest in spring (NHM). The old nest stays empty and is not used again (BPCA), so a nest you find in winter can be left or taken down.
Read more: how to deter wasps from your patio, hornet, Asian hornet or wasp and what to do about a hornet nest.
Sources: British Pest Control Association (BPCA), Worried about wasps? PestAware advice sheet; Natural History Museum (NHM), What do wasps do?; BWARS (Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society), Vespula germanica and Vespula vulgaris; The Wildlife Trusts, Common wasp and Hornet; GOV.UK, Chief Plant Health Officer urges increased Asian hornet vigilance (20 May 2024); NHS, Insect bites and stings; Leicester City Council and Bury Council, pest control charges.
