The UK wasp season, month by month

The wasp year

Hastings Borough Council and West Lancashire Borough Council describe the same cycle. West Lancashire says the first workers appear four to six weeks after the queen lays her first eggs.

Why wasps pester you in late summer

For most of the summer, the workers spend their days collecting food for the grubs in the nest. West Lancashire Borough Council explains that by the end of summer the queen stops laying, the workers no longer have young to feed, and they are free to look for sweet things.

Hastings Borough Council lists what they turn to: ripe fruit, sugary drinks, jam and honey. That is why August and September bring wasps into gardens, pub tables and bins. Only female wasps sting, but the workers are all female.

When do wasps die?

In autumn every wasp in the nest dies except the new queens, which leave to mate and then hibernate. The first hard frosts finish off the remaining workers. In a mild autumn you may still see a few in October.

The queens spend the winter tucked away somewhere dry and sheltered, and wake in spring to start again. Old nests are not reused, though a queen may build a new one close to an old one, so a spot that had a nest last year is worth watching in May.

When a nest needs dealing with

A nest found in spring is small and easy to treat. By August it is large, busy and defended, so the season changes the answer.

• Near a door, window, path or play area: have it treated, at any time of year it is active.
• In a loft, wall cavity or roof space: call a professional; do not try it yourself.
• Out of the way at the end of the garden in September: you can often leave it. It will die in the autumn and will not be used again.
• Found in winter: it is empty and harmless.

See wasp nest removal for what a visit involves and what it costs. Many councils treat wasp nests for a fee, though some, like Hastings, treat them only from April to October. Check your council first.

Wasp, bee or something else?

Before booking, make sure it is wasps. Honey bees and bumblebees are pollinators: a swarm of honey bees should go to a local beekeeper, and a bumblebee nest can be left alone. A large brown and yellow insect may be a hornet, and a dark one with yellow legs should be reported as a possible yellow-legged hornet. Swarms of flying ants on warm summer days are a different thing again, and are over within hours. Our wasp identification guide shows the differences.

If you are stung

Most stings are painful but minor. The NHS says to call 999 if the lips, mouth, throat or tongue suddenly swell, if someone is breathing very fast or struggling to breathe, if the throat feels tight, or if they become very confused, drowsy or dizzy. These can be signs of a serious allergic reaction. Call 111 if symptoms get worse, if you were stung several times, or if you have had a serious reaction to a sting before.