Have the fire brigade remove the wasp nest: overview of costs

Wasps, even if we don't like them, are beneficial. There are several hundred species, of which only 11 form states. In Germany, it is usually the common and German wasps that bother us in the warm season. Wasps also like grilled food or desserts.

wasp nest

The wasp's nest is home to the colony species. It is therefore not surprising that the insects protect their "house" against attacks and intruders defend, because after all, the young queens develop there, who will be responsible for the survival of the next year kind worry. The queen begins building a wasp nest in the spring. It builds about ten to twenty combs in a suitable place, from which the first workers soon hatch. They expand the nest and take care of the larvae. The colony grows to three to four thousand wasps over the course of the summer. And these then become a nuisance in late summer because they are looking for something sweet. When the temperatures drop, the entire colony dies except for the young queen, who in spring goes back to looking for a suitable place for the nest.

Locations

Wasps like it as dry and dark as possible. In the wild, for example, this is a hollow tree trunk. In the living area of ​​​​people, the following places are optimal for nest building from the wasp queen:

• attics
• shed
• partitions
• rain gutters
• house walls
• nooks and crannies under the roof
• roller shutter boxes
• Therefore, the specialist also distinguishes between:
• free-hanging wasp nests
• Wasp nests under the roof in the attic
• Wasp nests in the roller shutter box

Removed

If you have discovered a wasp nest near the house, then you must under no circumstances remove it yourself or even destroy it, because wasps are protected in Germany. In addition, the danger emanating from an aggressive colony of wasps - after all, it is their home - should not be underestimated. That's why you should too

• don't poke around in the wasp's nest
• do not try to plug the entry holes
• do not try to drive away the wasps with smoke or anything similar
• don't try to poison the wasps

Since wasps are protected in Germany, if the worst comes to the worst, the colony is primarily resettled and not destroyed. However, this only applies if there is an objective threat. This means that there is a danger for children, allergy sufferers or people with restricted mobility. If this is the case, you can apply for a permit from the nature conservation authority. The nest can therefore only be removed once this has been approved.

request help

For your own protection, you should not remove the wasp nest yourself, but seek professional help. If you now think of the fire brigade, you are wrong, because they are only responsible for removing wasp nests in exceptional cases. This includes:

• acute danger to people in public areas
• Hospitals, old people's homes and day-care centers

for resettlement or the removal of wasp nests in the private sphere, a beekeeper, an exterminator or a nature conservation organization are the right people to contact. They have the professional equipment and can deal with the insects properly. The fire brigade will only help in the private sector if it can be proven that the nest is removed as quickly as possible must be, and there is no alternative, such as a professional pest controller. Another requirement for the fire service is that the wasps cannot be kept in check until a specialist arrives.

Costs

The cost of removing the wasp nest depends on several factors:

• size of the nest
• Location of the nest (difficult or easy to access)
• effort for removal

As a guideline, costs between 130 and 350 euros (pest control) and around 100 euros for resettlement by an environmental protection organization are given. If a roofer has to be called in for places that are difficult to access, then the costs increase. If a ladder is not enough to get to the nest, then there are other costs, such as for cherry pickers.

Learn more about beneficial insects