But insect experts have warned that there is likely to be a mass invasion of the airborne tormentors later in the year.

"Usually at this time of year, we receive around 20 calls every day from people who've discovered a wasps' nest in their home or garden, " says Darren O'Toole of Pestguard in Rathcoole, Dublin. "This year that figure is down to 20 call-outs in a week."

However, wasps haven't buzzed off into oblivion, he said. After a cold wet spring, the insects were slow to start nest-building, but the long hot summer will mean more wasps emerging from bigger nests later in the year.

Nests are composed of slivers of wood collected by worker wasps and are often located in garden sheds, attics and under fascia boards.

The reproductive potential of queen wasps depends on the quality and amount of food available when they emerge from winter hibernation. An exceptionally large nest could house up to 30,000 insects.

"The persistence of wasps depends largely on the developmental stage of the nest, which is directly controlled by the weather conditions during the entire reproductive season, " said Dr Colm Moore, technical manager with Rentokil. "The most direct method of wasp control is to destroy the nest. But a nest should only be approached when wearing full protective equipment including a beekeeper's hat."

According to O'Toole, destroying a nest is a job for the professionals.

"Some people try drowning the wasps using a garden hose or they attempt to burn the nest. But we pump insecticide power right into the nest's access point. That way, you kill off the wasps in a matter of a few hours."

According to wildlife expert Eanna Ni Lamhna, dying wasps seek out sugar substitutes when nests break up.

"If you are wearing a sweetsmelling shampoo or have just drunk Coke they will buzz around you, but if you don't start trying to swat them, they will go away, " she said recently.

Wasps are at their most dangerous at the end of summer, after they've gorged themselves on overripe fruit.

"At that stage they're drowsy from too much sugar, " says O'Toole.

"They buzz around dustbins and empty drinks cans and their mood is nasty because at that stage they know they're dying off."