Wasp Nest & Hornets nest Identification.

Wasp and Hornets nest identification - what to look for...

When do wasps make thier nests?

Queen wasps start the nest in the spring on their own. There are no worker wasps about at this time.

It varies from place to place and some nests are more progressed than others, this is nature after all, but in general, you will start to see active wasp nests from May onwards. Of course there will be some earlier ones and likewise, some later ones. These nests will continue to increase in size over the summer, until late autumn.

I have a wasp nest!

This may seem ridiculous, "of course I have Wasps" you say, but many times a caller will say “I have a swarm of Wasps in my garden”.
Wasps do not swarm, if you have a swarm of what appear to be Wasps, please take a second look, they are probably Bees, if this is the case then we will be happy to arrange for us or another local beekeeper to come and collect your swarm and re-home them and you will play a part in saving our native Bee colonies.

The first question to ask yourself is "what can I see?"

How can I tell if a wasp nest is active?

During the spring when wasps start building their nests, it is sometimes difficult to know if a nest is old (last year’s nest) or if it is a new one that is being built.
Some guidelines: If you have found a wasp nest in the spring and it is larger than a football with no live wasps walking about on the outside of the nest, it is most likely that the nest is an old one from a previous year.
If you find a golf ball size nest in the spring, just watch it for 10 minutes or so and see if anything returns to the nest within this time. If a wasp arrives at the nest, it’s a new one and is “live”.

As the nests grow over the spring and early summer months, there will be more wasps emerging and by mid June most nests will have wasps walking over the outsides of the nests as they repair and expand the nest size.
Old nests usually look “old and tatty” where as a newly built nest looks bright and fresh.
Please remember that nests grow at different rates, some nests are far more advanced than others. When dealing with nature there are always extreme cases.

Compare the difference between a bee, wasp and hornet

If you can take a close look at your suspected wasps you will very quickly be able to identify if they are indeed wasps or hornets or bees.
Take a look at the four photos below for a comparison.

You will know when you have a wasp or a Hornet nest when you see a constant stream of wasps to and from the nest (please take a moment to watch the video above and this will help you identify if you have a Wasp nest, Hornets nest or a colony of Honey Bees), a Wasp or Hornet nest will resemble Heathrow airport, one lands, one takes off.
Think of us as traffic control.

Both Wasp and Hornets nests are treated using the same method, take a look at our treatment page to see how we will treat your Wasp or Hornets nest

German wasp nest

I have big wasps?

In the spring time, from march until the begining of June, you may see what appear to be larger than normal wasps. These are queen wasps that have emerged from hibernation and are starting to build new nests. The queen wasps are slightly larger than normal worker wasps. From early June onwards the queen stays in the nest and the workers tend to her needs. At the end of the autumn you may see these larger wasps again, these are newly hatched queens that have recently emerged from the nest, have mated and will go into hibernation over the winter.

Where do wasps build their nests?

Wasps and Hornets build their nests in various (sometimes awkward to reach) places, most usually in loft spaces, but very often in garden sheds, air bricks and just about anywhere that they can fit into and where it is dry. They also build their nests underground, in old rabbit burrows or even mouse or vole tunnels.
It is worth noting that wasp nests are not always in the shape of a ball, they can make their nests fit any shape, very often the nests are flat and spread out, for example they can build their nests in the cavities of walls, the nest then fills the cavity and the wasps build the nest within the space available to them.

Why do i get a wasp nest every year?

Very often we get asked “Why do I get a wasp nest every year”?
There is a very simple answer to this question: your property is ideally suited for wasps to build their nests in. It's not personal; you haven’t been singled out to be pestered.
If you have a wasp nest in your loft year after year, it just means that wasps have easy access to the roof space and it’s nice, dry and warm in your loft. The same can be said for sheds or just about anywhere else that they decide to make their home.

If you start to see dead wasps inside your house on a regular basis, this is a sure sign that there is nest close by, most probably on your property or your neighbor’s property. To locate the nest, inspect of the outside of your home paying particular attention to the roof and fascia areas, air bricks and just about any gaps where wasps could gain entry into the building.

The German wasps build their nests in trees, bushes and hedgerows.
Learn more about wasp nest identification, structure and lifecycle of wasps
also the lifecycle of the Hornet and its nest

Please be sure that you have identified the nest and it is active, we don’t want to waste our time and your time attending an empty nest.

Once you are sure you have an "active" Wasp or Hornets nest on your property, visit our Hampshire Wasp area map to find out who covers your area.

Common wasp nest

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Wasp and Hornets nest Identification

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