Irish households and businesses urged to prepare for 'angrier and hungrier' wasps this month

August is the worst month of the year for wasps, and Irish households and businesses are being warned to prepare.

Nests are now at their biggest, with up to 10,000 wasps in a single colony, and the insects are angrier and hungrier than at any other point in the season.

Jerome Finnegan, Managing Director at Fieldmotion, the field service management software used by pest control teams across Ireland, sees this surge play out across the platform every year.

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Households and businesses across Ireland are being urged to take the right steps before the problem escalates.

What should households and businesses be doing right now?

“Keep doors and windows shut as much as you can, and make sure bins have lids and are emptied often, so there's nothing lying around to draw them in.

“Clear away fallen fruit, spilled drinks and food scraps, and keep an eye on quiet spots like sheds, eaves and roof spaces, where nests can go unnoticed,” says Jerome.

The reason August is so bad comes down to the nest. During the summer the worker wasps feed the grubs and get a sugary reward in return.

But by late summer the queen stops laying; the grubs are gone, and that sugar supply dries up.

Thousands of wasps are suddenly left with nothing to do and a serious, sweet craving, so they go hunting for sugar wherever they can find it. It's why the wasps you see in August seem so much angrier than the ones back in June.

What's the biggest mistake households and businesses make?

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Trying to deal with a nest yourself. Shop-bought wasp killers are easy to buy but easy to get wrong, and a botched attempt usually makes things worse, not better.

“From our client's perspective, the risks of a DIY approach are all too real. Eastern Pest Control told us the worst case they had seen was someone trying to use petrol on a wasp's nest, and they ended up burning the side of their house out.

“Even shop-bought wasp foams frequently cause problems, because people don't know how to use them correctly, meaning the nest isn't properly dealt with, which only creates bigger problems later.

“Something a lot of people don't realise is that a killed wasp actually attracts more of them. When a wasp is killed, it releases a scent that signals danger and calls the rest of the colony in. So, it's best not to kill them near their nest, as this can trigger a stronger, more defensive reaction,” adds Jerome.

Which businesses are most at risk?

Pubs and bars are hit hardest, especially those with beer gardens, followed by cafés and restaurants with outdoor seating. They give wasps the three things they want most, which are sugar, food waste, and people eating outside.