Wasp Nest Removal

How can I tell it’s a nest and not just a few wasps?

A few wasps round the bins in August are just wasps being wasps. A nest gives itself away with traffic: a steady line of them using the same spot, over and over, on a warm afternoon. Stand back and watch the eaves, the bottom row of roof tiles, the airbricks and the corners of the soffits. If wasps keep landing at one point and vanishing, the nest is behind it.

Other clues:

• a faint papery crackle inside a wall or ceiling, which is wasps chewing as they build;
• wasps in the same bedroom every day, often a sign of a nest in the loft above;
• a grey, papery ball in a shed, bird box or compost bin, golf-ball sized in spring and as big as a football by late summer;
• wasps coming and going from a hole in the lawn, often an old mouse hole.

If you find one in the loft, close the hatch gently and give us a ring.

Why do wasps pick Manchester houses?

A queen that has spent the winter tucked up somewhere sheltered wakes in spring and looks for a dry, dark cavity with a small way in. Our housing has plenty. The Victorian terraces of Levenshulme and Chorlton are well over a century old, so a slipped slate or crumbling mortar soon leaves a gap. In some older terraces the loft isn’t fully walled off at the party wall, so a nest can sit above next door’s bedroom while the wasps use your eaves. The 1930s semis in Burnage, and the semis that make up most of Didsbury East, have long runs of soffit and fascia; once a board warps or splits, that’s a ready-made front door. West Didsbury’s flats and converted houses add dormers and old vents, and flats anywhere can get wasps through gaps round balconies and extractor vents.

Gardens that back onto green space, from the Mersey meadows to Fog Lane Park and the old railway lines through south Manchester, offer fence posts and dead wood to build with and insects to feed the grubs.

Then there’s the calendar. The queen starts a tiny nest alone in April or May. Through June and July her workers take over and the colony grows to several thousand wasps. By August and September the nest is raising new queens, the workers have fewer grubs to feed and go hunting for sugar instead, and that’s when wasps gatecrash pub gardens and picnics. The new queens then leave to mate and find somewhere to hibernate, sometimes in the same loft, and the old queen and her workers die off as the weather turns cold.

Is it wasps, bees or hornets?

Worth being sure first. Wasps are smooth, shiny, bright yellow and black. Bees are hairier and rounder, and we don’t routinely treat them; our bees and bumblebees page explains the gentler options. European hornets, our native species, are much bigger than a wasp and can be treated if they’ve nested somewhere awkward. If you think you’ve seen an Asian hornet, keep away and report it rather than calling a pest controller.

What happens when you call us?

We’ll ask where the wasps are going in, roughly how high it is, whether anyone at home is allergic to stings, and whether there are children, pets or a pond nearby. A photo of the entrance, taken from a safe distance, lets us check it’s wasps before we set off. We’ll offer the earliest slot we have, often the same day.

When we arrive, we start by watching, because the spot where you see wasps isn’t always where they go in, especially on terraces with a shared roof space. Once we’ve found the entrance, we puff an approved insecticidal dust into it, usually with an extension lance from the ground. Wasps walking in and out carry the dust into the middle of the nest, which is why it goes into the entrance rather than being sprayed around.

Expect the wasps to be busy and cross for a few hours as the foragers come home, then to tail off over a day or two. Please don’t block the hole meanwhile: wasps that can’t get out may chew their way indoors instead.

Most nests are left where they are once they’re dead. They won’t be used again, and digging one out of a cavity means lifting tiles or boards. If it’s in a shed, garage or bird box you use, we can take it away once it’s quiet. An old nest you can reach easily in the loft is worth clearing, because the dead wasps inside can feed carpet beetle larvae.

Is wasp treatment safe with children and pets in the house?

Yes, with care and a few simple rules for the rest of the day. The treatment goes into the nest entrance, not into your rooms, lawn or garden furniture, and we’ll show you exactly where we’ve worked. While we’re treating, keep children and pets indoors with the windows on that side shut, because disturbed wasps can sting. Afterwards, keep them away from the entrance and any dust you can see until the next day.

Cats deserve a special mention. Some insecticides are particularly harmful to them, and they’re the ones who’ll sit on a warm windowsill right next to the nest, so keep them in if you can. Tell us about ponds, veg beds or a neighbour’s hive and we’ll keep well clear.

If anyone is stung and has trouble breathing, swelling of the face or mouth, or feels faint, call 999.

How many visits will it take?

One, in most cases. A second visit is usually only needed if wasps are still flying in steadily a couple of days later, which can happen when the nest sits deep in a cavity, or if there turn out to be two nests along a row of terraces. A nest in an awkward spot, such as a high gable, may need a different approach, and we’ll explain that on the day.

How do I stop wasps nesting here again?

You can’t make a house wasp-proof, but you can make it far less inviting. Once the nest is dead in late autumn or winter, close the gap the wasps used: refit slipped tiles and slates, repair split soffits, fit fine mesh over airbricks and vents, and repoint loose mortar. In April and May, check the shed, the bird box and the underside of garden furniture, when a new nest is golf-ball sized and the queen is on her own. Lidded bins and picking up fallen fruit make late summer more bearable. Jam-jar traps catch a few workers but do nothing about the nest, and can draw more wasps in.

When does DIY stop being enough?

Shop-bought wasp powder can deal with a small nest at ground level, such as one in an empty plant pot, if you treat at dusk, cover up well and keep everyone else indoors. Call someone in when:

• the entrance is above head height, because a ladder and a cloud of angry wasps is a dangerous mix;
• the nest is inside a wall, loft or chimney, where a spray can’t reach;
• wasps are getting into the house;
• anyone at home is allergic, very young or elderly;
• you’ve treated it and it’s still busy a few days later.

Never pour petrol or boiling water into a nest, set fire to it or knock it down with a stick. That’s how people get badly hurt.

Is it my job or my landlord’s?

It depends on your tenancy and on why the wasps are there. In many private lets, dealing with the nest itself falls to the tenant unless the agreement says otherwise. If wasps are getting in through disrepair, such as a missing slate or a broken airbrick, the repair is normally the landlord’s under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which covers the structure and exterior of most rented homes. Serious or recurring pest problems can also be assessed by the council under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, and the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 lets tenants act where a home is unfit to live in. In a block of flats, a nest in the roof or a communal area is usually for the managing agent. Either way, report it in writing with a photo.

For small shops and cafés, a nest in the building matters more, because the food hygiene rules enforced through the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 require food businesses to have proper procedures for keeping pests out. Treat it promptly, keep food covered and bins lidded through late summer, and note what was done for your records. Our commercial pest control page covers regular visits, and our domestic pest control page covers whatever else is living under your roof.