Warning as wasps get set to go on warpath

And despite a sluggish start due to last year's disastrous summer, wasps are making themselves known with reported numbers increasing dramatically.

From gardens to parks, pubs to restaurants, people are batting the air as the winged critters take to the skies.

No quantitative data is available for wasp numbers in the UK. Unlike butterflies and bees, there is no official recording scheme.

But UKWaspWatch, an internet website has recorded many incidents of large numbers of wasps across the country.

And in Shropshire dozens of huge nests have been reported, with experts saying the late spring and long winter have allowed the stinging insects a long and undisturbed hibernation.

Jim Eaton, who runs Pestforce in Shrewsbury, said: "It has been a very busy summer and I am being called out to wasps nests every week – averaging about three or four a day. And these aren't small nests. The average wasp nest will have about 8,000 wasps in it but some of the bigger ones have up to 15,000 in them.

"The problem we have at the moment is that they are still growing their colonies. Some of the hives I have been to deal with, have in fact split with a new queen setting up a new colony nearby. Often if I am called to one house, I will be called to another within a 10-house radius."

But Mr Eaton said; "The main concern isn't at the moment but will be in three week's time when fruit begins to fall from trees and starts to ferment. Then we will not only have angry wasps, we will also have angry and drunk wasps."

Lucy Foster, assistant manager of The Woodbridge in Ironbridge said: "It has been really bad for wasps this year, perhaps because of the river. But where there's food and beer there's bound to be wasps. We have traps out and they're catching quite a few so we are on top of things."

Ben Labouchardiere, manager of Cromwells bar and restaurant in Shrewsbury, said that customers enjoying a pint on the restaurant's patio hadn't complained about wasps this year.

He said: "I have noticed a few more this year and certainly in the last few weeks the number has increased but to be honest, an increase in wasps hasn't had any affect here."

Tony Gray, from the Shropshire Beekeepers Association in Oswestry, said: "There is no doubt about it, there has been a huge increase in the number of wasps this year. And this is affecting beekeepers in a bad way. The wasps are killing the hives by entering them, eating the grubs and stealing the honey. This kills the bees."

But wasp fan, John Hughes, who is Development Manager at Shropshire Wildlife Trust, said: "Wasps are so important to wildlife and we should celebrate them rather than berate them. They are nature's pesticide eating all sorts of aphids and caterpillars.

"All Summer they have been very busy with their nests and feeding the grubs. Now they have nothing really to do so they are getting in our way.

"In reality, wasps are wonderful and a great indicator of the health of the countryside."

The painful truth - how to avoid being stung by an angry wasp:

• Don’t panic: The calmer you are the less anxious the wasp will be. Avoid the temptation to flap, run around or scream. It is sure to get the wasp angry and increase the chance of an airbound assault.

• Pick your enemies: Not all wasp-like creatures are going to hurt you. There is one giant wasp species – the Woodwasp, sometimes known as the Horntail Wasp, that despite its truly terrifying size, doesn’t sting and is completely harmless. Likewise, bees tend to be less aggressive.

• Watch what you eat: Although wasps do not have teeth, they have a sweet tooth. In the early summer they tend to go for protein-based foods such as meat. But by this time of year, they’ve moved on to pudding.

• Clear your apples: Fallen apples from trees are a feast for wasps. They like fruit, the riper and more rotten the better and they will literally get drunk on the juice.

• Lock up your wine and fizzy drinks: Wasps will be attracted to anything sugary, especially fizzy drinks and wine.

• Wasps love yellow: It is true that the insects are attracted by certain colours, especially white and yellow. Like most insects, they cannot see red, so it’s worth investing in a red shirt, and even some red trousers.

• Don’t splash the perfume: Even the scents in hairspray and hair gel are attractive to wasps.

• Never – ever – poke a nest: A wasp’s nest is his castle, and he will defend it with utmost ferocity – as will his thousands of mates. If you see a nest, leave it well alone. Get expert help, or simply avoid until it dies in the winter.