European wasps are the summer emergency in Geelong. A nest the size of a golf ball in November is the size of a basketball by March, and they get more aggressive as the season runs on. They nest in the ground, in wall cavities, in compost heaps and under eaves, and unlike bees they sting over and over. The season peaks February to April. Whatever you do, do not block the entry hole yourself. That pushes them through the wall cavity and into the house.
Honey bees are a different call entirely. A swarm hanging off a branch is house-hunting and will usually move on within a day or two, and a local beekeeper will often collect it for nothing. We only treat bees where the colony is inside a wall or roof and someone in the house is at genuine risk. Where a hive has been in a wall a while, the comb and honey have to come out afterwards, or it ferments, stains through the plaster and draws in every other pest on the street.
