Wasp Nest in a Hedge or Bush – What Long Whatton Garden Owners Should Know
Fruit bushes and a vegetable patch draw wasps in late summer, and it can be hard to tell greedy foragers from a nest, so here is how to read the difference.
Foraging wasps or a nest?
In late summer wasps become a regular sight around fruit. They gather on split plums, soft fruit and windfalls, and they will happily share your jam jar and drink. A lot of them around a currant bush does not necessarily mean the bush contains a nest.
Nests, however, can be hidden in exactly the same plants. A thick row of raspberry canes, a gooseberry hedge or an overgrown soft-fruit border has plenty of shade and shelter, and a colony needs very little room to get started.
Long Whatton is a Leicestershire place where many people grow their own fruit and vegetables, so the question of picking safely comes up each summer. Getting the answer right protects your harvest and your hands.
Telling foragers from a nest
Foraging wasps wander. They go from fruit to fruit, hover, land and take off in different directions. Wasps connected to a nest behave very differently: they arrive from one direction, vanish into one spot, and come back out in a stream.
- Many wasps on the fruit, but they leave in all directions: foraging.
- A steady line to a single gap in the bush, hedge or soil: nest.
- Wasps carrying material into a gap, or hovering at a small hole: nest.
- A low, constant hum from inside the planting: probably a nest.
If you are unsure, stand back at a respectful distance for a few minutes in the warmest part of the day. The pattern becomes clear if you simply watch. The next step depends on what you find.
Picking fruit safely
Never reach into a bush without looking first. Check the stems and the ground as well as the fruit. Wasps feeding on ripe berries are usually calm, but one trapped in a handful of fruit will sting. Look at each handful before you close your hand around it.
Where there is no sign of a nest, picking in the cooler part of the day, wearing gloves and moving slowly keeps things simple. Do not drink from open cans or leave sweet drinks about as you work, because wasps crawl in.
If you see signs of a nest, leave the fruit. A crop is never worth a swarm. Fruit in the affected section can wait until the nest has been treated, and the rest of the harvest can often be picked from other parts of the garden meanwhile.
If the nest is in a fruit hedge you pick from regularly, think about the order of jobs. Pick what you can from the other side of the garden first, and leave the affected row for after treatment. Ripe fruit will hang for a few days longer without much harm, and a slightly late harvest is far better than a handful of stings. If a crop is at risk of spoiling, say so on the phone, as it helps us understand how urgent it feels to you, although the price and the approach stay the same.
Keeping the harvest from drawing more wasps
Windfalls and rotting fruit bring wasps from a wide area, and a nest nearby will keep sending foragers to a ready supply. Pick up fallen fruit often, wearing gloves, and seal it in a bin or bag with a lid. Cover compost heaps with soil or a lid if fruit is going in.
Close the lids of the household bins and rinse out jam jars, juice cartons and bottles before putting them out. Sweet drinks and rinsed cans left on the patio will attract wasps just as readily as the fruit, so keep them indoors when you can.
These steps do not remove a nest, but they reduce the number of wasps that visit and make the garden less of an attraction. That makes it easier to see what the real picture is.
Late summer is the busiest time
Wasps are at their most visible from July onwards. The colony is large, the workers have little to do at the nest, and the supply of sugar from fruit and drinks is at its best. That is why gardeners often notice them more in August than at any other time.
This is also when colonies are largest, and it is the point at which many householders decide something needs to be done. It is a better idea to act as soon as you have a clear picture, without waiting for the peak.
If you are bottling, jamming or making wine, keep the kitchen door shut and the windows screened while the pans are on the stove. Wasps follow the smell of sugar into the house and can get trapped against windows, which is when stings happen.
The end of the season brings its own risks. When the colony begins to decline in autumn, the wasps can become more erratic and look for sweet foods more desperately. Keep drinks covered outdoors, and check cups and cans before you sip.
Getting a nest treated
A single nest in your planting is treated at £95 per nest, and any further nest on the same property is £35 each. There is no extra charge for the call-out. We take bookings seven days a week, same-day visits are offered, and each technician is trained and fully insured. Domestic and commercial sites are both fine.
You can reach us on 0116 214 9259 or through the booking form on the contact page. We agree the figure with you by phone beforehand, and the technician does nothing until you have said it is fine.
The technician will tell you when it is fine to go back to picking and pruning. If you would like the empty nest taken down, ask when you book whether that can be done. Fruit from the affected plants should be washed well before eating, as you would anyway.
Wasps on your property in Long Whatton?
Fixed price £95 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.