Guide
Most wasp nests are discovered by accident: constant traffic at one point on the façade, rustling inside a shutter box, or a papery grey structure under the roof overhang.
What you do in the first hour matters. The wrong reaction – sealing the hole or spraying it – usually makes the situation worse and increases the risk of stings.
Is this urgent?
Nests at entrances, rodents in food areas or a sting risk for allergy sufferers are treated as urgent.
No. A free-hanging nest well away from paths, doors and seating can often be left until the colony dies off naturally in autumn.
Treatment becomes sensible when the nest sits at an entrance, above a play area, on a restaurant terrace, inside a shutter box or in a ceiling void – or when someone in the household has a diagnosed venom allergy.
Hornets are protected in Switzerland. A hornet nest may only be treated or relocated with the appropriate permission and for good reason. Honey bee swarms are not a pest control matter at all and are handled by a beekeeper.
That is why identification always comes before any treatment decision.
In the city, nests are commonly found in blind boxes and open roof cavities of older buildings. Around Lake Zurich and in the Oberland, garden sheds, log piles and ground nests in embankments are more typical.
We assess the situation with you on the phone, explain what is needed and give you a realistic price range.
