Two flying insects that strike fear into many people are the wasp and the bee.

Delivering a sting which at best is painful but, at the worst can be life threatening, many people find sharing their home, garden or outbuildings with a wasp or bee nests an uncomfortable and unwelcome thought.

Bees – many people wrongly believe that bees in the UK are protected. This is not the case but bees are known to be ecologically important; in other words, their presence is useful and, with bee numbers declining, many pest controllers are loathed to exterminate a whole bee colony. However, it is recognised that a bee nest right outside your front door is not something you can easily live with. Bee colonies or nests, therefore, are placated with a chemical and then removed to a more apt location, such as a local gardener who needs bees for their land.

Wasps – on the other hand, wasps are larger in numbers and can be far more aggressive than bees. Capable of delivering several stings at once, they release a chemical that calls for their colleagues to join in the defensive attack. Unhappy being disturbed, wasps will often make their nests in warm dry places, away from human interference. Occasionally, they will choose a place which means constant interruption from humans, with the consequences being obvious. They will vacate their nest in late autumn, rarely returning and so once you are confident that they have left, you can simply remove and destroy the nest.

If you cannot wait until autumn and want the bee or wasp nest removed, do NOT try and treat it yourself. The stings can be incredibly painful; the best solution is to call in the experts, Pest Control Cornwall.