FIRST came the flying ants...now it's an invasion of wasps that's got St Helens pest controllers buzzing into action.

After being inundated with calls last month about swarms of ants taking to the air, pest control officers say they are dealing with five times as many call outs to kill off wasp nests.

It is estimated that around 700 wasps nests have been dealt with in St Helens during the past month.

Mild winter conditions are said to have seen larger numbers of queens surviving and more eggs hatch.

Dave Hankin, pest team supervisor for St Helens Council, said: "We have never been as busy in the 13 summers I've worked here.

"I'm putting it down to the succession of mild winters we've had. Many of the wasps are surviving hibernation because we've not been getting the same frosts. The one thing I can say though is that this not specific to St Helens it is a national thing."

Pest experts charge £25 for destroying nests which are being discovered in back yards, houses and offices. Businesses face an extra charge of £10.

Dave, 45, adds: "If you have access to the nest and can actually see it we can spray it with wasp nest destroyer. I wouldn't recommend anyone try this themselves as we always do it with a beehive veil and jacket and know what we are doing.

"The second way is if the nest is in a loft or other inaccessible places then we blow insecticide dust inside."

l If you have a wasp nest that needs destroying contact St Helens Council pest control team on 456377.