How refreshing it was to read Michael Ganly’s enlightened attitude to wasps in your letters page recently.
I am the CEO of the BASIS PROMPT register, which is based in Ashbourne and represents more than 5,000 pest controllers across the UK, and they are receiving a record amount of calls asking them to deal with wasps in homes and workplaces all over the country.
However, although wasps have a bad reputation as a scary pest, our members understand that their role is not to eradicate them but to remove their nests in order that they will build a new colony in a more suitable location. Wasps, like any other living creature, have an important role to play in the local ecosystem – their problem is that sometimes they go about their business in places where they are unwelcome!
Wasps, like other animals commonly considered to be pests, are a fact of life, which is why our organisation’s mission statement concerns pest management rather than pest control.
As a result, it helps if people know more about wasps and their behaviour, so that they can take preventative measures in order to reduce the likelihood of being stung or intimidated by a wasp which is only doing what nature intended.
Anyone who needs any advice about wasps and how you can prevent them becoming a nuisance should contact their nearest PROMPT-registered pest controller, who will be able to assist them.
Regards
Stephen Jacobs
Chief Executive Officer
BASIS PROMPT Register
Ashbourne