The Beewrangler Bee and Wasp Removal
European wasps and a wasp nest behind weather boards
The European Wasp was first found in Australia in 1959 in Tasmania and are now firmly established throughout most of Victoria.
European wasps can sting several times in an attack and stung victims can require medical attention. Fatalities have been caused by reactions in allergic patients and by multiple wasp attacks where nests have been disturbed.
European Wasps are found in large communal nests, normally only visible as a small entrance hole. They are normally built either underground or in cavities in walls, ceilings, logs or trees. A European wasp nest commonly contains from several thousand to tens of thousands of individual wasps. By the end of the season, a mature nest can produce up to 15,000 new queens (average about 8,000 queens per nest) - each a potential new wasp colony the following year. In the warmer climate of Australia, one of the new queens may stay in the nest and begin laying eggs, without the usual over-wintering period being observed. Over several seasons, this can result in giant and potentially dangerous nests of over 100,000 wasps. Wasps aggressively defend their nest, swarming out to attack if disturbed. It is strongly recommended that you hire experts to destroy any wasp nests on your property. This is particularly important if you have experienced an allergic reaction to a wasp sting in the past or if you have never been stung and are unsure of your allergy status to wasp venom. The destruction of their nests is the only effective way to reduce the impact of the European wasp in the community. If there are wasps in your area, try and locate the nest entrance, talk with your neighbours and raise awareness of the wasp problem. After collecting food or wood fibres for building, worker wasps generally return directly to their nest - try and follow the 'wasp line' and establish the direction back to the nest. Once found wasp nests are best destroyed by a professional pest controller. If you attempt to destroy a nest without suitable experience and protective clothing, be warned - European wasp nests in Australia can be twice as big, with many times more worker wasps, than their counterparts in Europe!