Medieval idea creates a buzz in overseas markets

When two friends from Ilkley decided to put a medieval solution to tackling wasps to the test they didn’t realise just how much of a buzz it would cause.

Entrepreneurs Hugh Brumfitt and Richard Piddocke only launched their product – The Original Waspinator – at the middle of January, but have already been inundated with orders and enquiries from across Europe.

The Original Waspinator is a cloth bag which looks like a wasps’ nest and can be hung up outdoors. It works by fooling wasps into thinking that it is an enemy nest so they stay away for fear of being attacked. Many years ago people used to make such nests from bits of cloth.

The idea of reproducing the invention came to Hugh and Richard last autumn when they heard a radio programme about how people kept wasps at bay in medieval times. After carrying out research they found that two ladies in Canada had already come up with the idea and launched the product in 2005. Because of this Hugh and Richard could not patent the product, but instead decided to import it from Canada and sell it on.

The pair founded their company Waspinator Ltd and launched the product at the DIY and Garden Show at Earls Court in London on 13 January. It caught the eye of TV gardener David Domoney, who featured it on ITV’s This Morning programme the following day.

Since the programme aired the company has received well over a thousand orders and enquiries from individuals and retailers. European trade enquiries have come from Spain, Greece, Belgium, Poland, Denmark and Germany. A large number of British expats living in Spain and France, who are plagued by wasps by their pools and barbecue areas, have also placed orders.

Richard said: “We thought it would be a fairly slow process, but it has taken us by storm.”

The Original Waspinator is made of recycled polypropylene. It is weatherproof and can be easily squashed down to carry to picnics or parks. It uses no toxic chemicals and does not kill wasps – it just deters them.

To find out more about the Original Waspinator, visit the website at www.waspinator.co.uk.