Yes, most councils around Stockport will treat a wasp nest — but treating a nest is not the same as removing it, and the published price is rarely the £60 a private call-out costs. Council charges for a domestic wasp nest run from £59 in Salford up to £116 in Stockport, and several boroughs add call-out or missed-appointment fees on top. Two charge more for a nest above gutter height, Manchester will not treat one more than 5 metres up at all, and Tameside states plainly that it does not take the nest away. For some households the council is still the cheaper option, and the honest answer below says exactly where.
When the council is the cheaper option
Start with the case where you should not phone us at all. Stockport Council's list price for a wasp treatment is £116, but it offers a 50% discount on production of a valid housing benefit, income support, low-income-related benefit, or Leisure Key Band A card. That brings a wasp nest to £58 — a couple of pounds under our fixed £60. If you qualify, that is the cheapest route in Stockport and you should take it.
Salford is the other place the maths can favour the council: its headline price is £59 for everyone, a pound under a typical private call-out, though you pay up front and the council may keep a £45 administrative fee if it turns out there was nothing to treat. Everywhere else — Manchester, Trafford, Tameside, Bolton — the private £60 is below the council's list price before a single add-on. Put bluntly: if you are on a qualifying benefit in Stockport, ring the council first. The rest of this guide is for everyone else.
Does the council take the nest away?
A council wasp treatment kills the colony; it usually does not physically remove the nest. Tameside Council spells it out: "We do not remove the nest." The officer applies an insecticidal powder or liquid to the nest or its entry point, the workers carry it inside, and the colony dies over the following days. The empty nest is then left where it is.
That is standard practice and it is fine. A wasp nest is single-use and is never reoccupied, so once activity has stopped the old nest can be knocked down and binned at your leisure, or simply left to weather away. A colony of several thousand wasps cannot realistically be moved intact, so treating the nest where it is remains the practical answer. The one thing worth checking is bees: no council here treats honey bees or bumblebees, and nor should they. A honey bee swarm is a job for a local beekeeper, and a bumblebee nest is best left alone to die back on its own in autumn.
The limits that are not on the price list
The headline figure is the easy part. The conditions are where councils and private call-outs really differ, and they are the reason a low council price is not always the bargain it looks.
- Height. Manchester City Council's booking terms say it will only treat a nest up to 5 metres from the ground or gutter height, and that it "no longer treat wasps nests from off ladders due to Health and Safety reasons". A nest under a second-floor soffit or high in a gable can be turned away. Trafford and Bolton do not refuse height outright but charge more above gutter level — Trafford £84 instead of £63, Bolton £89 instead of £74.50.
- Call-out fees baked in. Trafford builds a £51.50 call-out fee into every treatment, and charges it again if you miss the appointment or cancel with less than one full working day's notice. Stockport charges £16.50 for cancelling with under 24 hours' notice.
- Paying when nothing gets treated. Manchester gives no refund if its technician cannot locate the nest, or if the insect turns out to be a honey bee rather than a wasp. Salford warns you "may be charged an administrative fee for wasps if no treatment is carried out", currently £45. Stockport charges a £35 attendance and advice fee if an officer attends but cannot carry out the treatment. Because you pay up front, that risk sits with you.
How long is the wait?
None of the six councils publishes a guaranteed time to attend. What they publish instead is telling. Manchester will only refund you if it cannot offer a suitable appointment within five working days — which is another way of saying that a week's wait is within its own expectations. Fife Council, which keeps its page updated through the season, puts it directly: "During busy periods, such as summer months, Pest Control Services are extremely busy. As a result, any booked treatments may take up to a week to attend." A week is a long time to share a house with an August nest of several thousand wasps, and in peak season it is the main reason people pay for a private call-out.
What each borough charges (checked July 2026)
Every figure below was checked on the council's own page in July 2026. Council prices change — often each April — so follow the link and confirm before you book. All prices include VAT and are for domestic properties.
Stockport Council
- Wasp nest: £116. Includes one revisit or nest removal within 28 days; each additional nest is £10.
- Benefits discount: 50%, bringing it to £58 with a valid housing benefit, income support, low-income benefit or Leisure Key Band A card.
- If they cannot treat: £35 attendance and advice fee; cancelling with under 24 hours' notice costs £16.50.
- Verified on the Stockport Council price list, checked July 2026.
Manchester City Council
- Wasp nest: £84 per nest.
- Height limit: nests treated only up to 5 metres from the ground; no treatment carried out off ladders.
- If they cannot treat: no refund if the nest cannot be located, or if the insect is a honey bee rather than a wasp.
- Verified on Manchester's treatment charges and booking terms, checked July 2026.
Trafford Council
- Wasp nest: £63 below gutter level, £84 above gutter level; £37 for a second nest treated at the same time.
- Call-out fee: £51.50, included in the charge and billed again for a missed appointment or a cancellation with under one full working day's notice.
- Verified on the Trafford Council pest control charges, checked July 2026.
Tameside Council
- Wasp nest: £65 (£54.17 plus VAT). Second and subsequent nests on the same site at half rate.
- Nest not removed: treatment "does not include removal of nest"; a revisit is free if the original nest is not destroyed.
- Verified on Tameside Council pest control, checked July 2026.
Salford City Council
- Wasp nest: £59, paid in full by card at the time of booking.
- If they cannot treat: you "may be charged an administrative fee for wasps if no treatment is carried out", currently £45.
- Verified on the Salford Council pest control booking, checked July 2026.
Bolton Council
- Wasp nest: £74.50; £89 above gutter height; £28.50 for an additional nest on site.
- Payment: up front by debit or credit card.
- Verified on Bolton Council's pests and charges page, checked July 2026.
What we charge, and when you pay
Our price is £60 for a wasp or hornet nest, fixed. There is no separate call-out fee, no charge for a missed slot, and no surcharge for a nest above gutter height. A hornet nest is treated the same way as a wasp nest for the same £60. A bumblebee nest, on the rare occasion one genuinely needs treating, is £70 — though more often than not we will tell you to leave it be, because it will die back on its own by autumn.
Two terms are worth stating plainly, because they are exactly where the council small print bites. First, you pay once the nest has been dealt with, not up front. Second, if the first treatment does not fully clear the nest, the return visit is included at no extra cost. That is the opposite of paying £45 or £51.50 for a visit that found nothing.
The arithmetic
It is only arithmetic — not an average, and not a saving we are promising on every job. Manchester City Council publishes £84 for a wasp nest. We charge £60. On those two numbers, for a standard nest within reach, the council is £24 dearer. In Trafford, a nest above gutter level is £84 against our £60 — the same £24. Your own borough may be closer, and if you qualify for Stockport's benefit discount the council is actually cheaper, so check the figure that applies to you before you decide.
Wasps to deal with today?
£60 fixed, same-day across Stockport and Greater Manchester. No call-out fee, no charge for a missed slot, and you pay once the nest is dealt with. Call 07770 015197 for a straight answer.
Call to BookFrequently Asked Questions
Most local councils treat wasp nests rather than remove them. Tameside Council states plainly that its treatment does not include removing the nest. The insecticide kills the colony over a few days and the empty nest is left in place, which is safe because a wasp nest is single-use and is never reoccupied.
Stockport Council charges £116 including VAT for a domestic wasp treatment, checked on its own price list in July 2026. That falls to £58 with a 50% discount if you produce a valid housing benefit, income support, low-income benefit or Leisure Key Band A card. Our fixed fee is £60.
Sometimes. Salford Council's £59 is a pound under a typical private £60, and Stockport's benefits discount brings its charge to £58. Everywhere else the published council price is higher — Manchester £84, Bolton £74.50, Tameside £65 — before any call-out or missed-appointment fee is added.
Not always. Manchester City Council's own booking terms say it will only treat a nest up to 5 metres from the ground and 'no longer treat wasps nests from off ladders due to Health and Safety reasons'. Trafford and Bolton both charge more for a nest above gutter height, at £84 and £89.
Often, yes. Manchester gives no refund if the nest cannot be located or the insect is a honey bee rather than a wasp. Salford may keep a £45 administrative fee for wasps if no treatment is carried out. Stockport charges a £35 attendance fee if an officer attends but cannot treat.
None of the Greater Manchester councils publish a guaranteed attendance time. Fife Council's own page warns that in summer 'any booked treatments may take up to a week to attend', and Manchester only offers a refund if it cannot provide an appointment within five working days. In peak August, that wait matters.
No. None of these councils treat bees, and they point you to a beekeeper for a honey bee swarm. A bumblebee nest is best left alone to die back naturally in autumn and rarely needs any treatment at all, so it is one job you usually need neither the council nor us for.