Wasp Control for Saffron Walden Restaurants, Pubs and Commercial Premises

Independent shops dress their frontages with planters, baskets and awnings, which look lovely and can also hide a small wasp nest.

A frontage is a habitat

Retailers with an eye for display often make the front of the shop as appealing as the inside. Hanging baskets, window boxes, bunting, signs, a retractable awning and a stack of outdoor stock all help. For wasps looking for a sheltered, quiet spot in spring, they can also be perfect.

A nest in a basket or in the folds of an awning may stay small and unnoticed until midsummer. Then one morning a customer is stung while reaching for a postcard stand, and the shop learns it has a problem.

Shopkeepers who have been trading for years will often say that a nest turns up in the same sort of place each year. That is worth noting, because any sheltered cavity on the front of the shop can be a repeat attraction.

Looking before you reach

Make it a habit to look at the frontage from a few steps away, in the sun, before you handle anything. Check:

• the inside of hanging baskets and the plants in them
• the folds and mounting box of an awning
• the underside of signs and canopies
• the gap behind any fascia or shop sign
• boxes, crates and stands left outside overnight
• cracks in the wall around the door frame

A wasp or two flying around flowers is normal. A line of them going into one spot is a nest.

Take a photograph of your frontage in spring, and compare it with how it looks in July. A new dark patch at the corner of a sign or a gap in a plant bed can show where wasps have been working. The photo does not replace a close look, but it helps you notice change.

Shop windows with a deep sill and dried flowers or fabric displays are another favourite. If the display has not changed for weeks, lift items one by one, with your head back, and stop if you see activity.

Watering, awning and display routines

Daily jobs put staff close to potential nests. Watering baskets, winding out an awning and moving the outdoor display can all bring a hand within inches of a nest. Tell staff who do these jobs to stop if they see wasps entering or leaving, and not to try again until the matter is resolved.

If the awning is the problem, leave it as it is. Moving it can disturb the nest. If it is in a basket, close the area around it and use a different entrance.

Put a sign in the window or on the door if customers need to use another route.

Tell delivery drivers and suppliers about any area to avoid. A van driver leaning on the wall to unload may be inches from a nest, and a short word saves a lot of trouble.

Shared frontages and the street

A high street has many neighbours. A nest in a basket belonging to the shop next door can send wasps into your doorway. Speak to neighbouring traders early and compare notes. If the nest is on a building owned by a landlord, tell them. Who arranges treatment depends on your lease or agreement, but you should protect your customers straight away.

If the nest is over the pavement, the technician may need to consider passers-by. Mention this when you book.

Customers who stop to chat with staff outside are also exposed, as are anyone seated at a pavement table or bench. Make sure nobody stands directly beneath a known nest while waiting for a taxi or reading a menu.

Booking

Domestic jobs and commercial jobs are both part of what this service does. The team is open seven days a week, is fully insured and offers same-day service. You pay a fixed £90 for a nest and one visit is guaranteed. A second nest at the same property is £35 extra.

Ring 01245 327274 or send a request through the online booking form on the contact page. Describe the position of the nest as precisely as you can, including how high above the pavement, and say when the street is quietest. If anyone in the shop is allergic to stings, tell the office when you book so that the visit can be prioritised.

Ask whether the empty nest can be taken down once the technician has finished. If it sits in a visible place at the front of a shop, you will probably want it gone before the next customer notices.

Stings, customers and next spring

If a customer or staff member is stung, help them to sit down, wash the area, remove the sting if visible and apply a cold pack. Go straight to a 999 call for dizziness, a widespread rash, swelling of the face, lips or throat or wheezing or difficulty breathing. Anyone who is known to be allergic to stings should talk to their GP.

Wasps begin nests in late April, depending on the weather. A trader in Saffron Walden, like any other, can include a look at baskets, awnings and signs in the opening routine from spring, so that a small nest is found early.

Imagine a gift shop with a row of baskets above the door. In late June the owner notices a customer ducking as they step inside. A minute of watching shows two wasps leaving a basket and one returning. The owner stops watering, tapes off the area, puts a note on the door pointing to the side entrance and phones the same day. Within days the basket is no longer a hazard, and the shop has lost little trade.

Now picture the same shop in August, after a month of ignoring the problem. The nest is far larger, and customers have been stung. The difference lies in how soon someone looked up.

Frequently asked questions

More wasp advice for Saffron Walden