Wasp nests
Where Wasps Nest on a Burnt Oak Estate House
Queens leave hibernation in spring looking for a dry cavity with wood nearby to chew into paper. An estate house offers several. A fascia or soffit that has come away from the brick, a lifted tile at the edge of the roof, the space where a lean-to roof butts against the back wall and the hollow behind an old vent all lead into sheltered spaces. Where wasps build nests around houses gives the full list.
Low eaves and bedroom windows
Because these houses are two storeys, the roof edge is only just above the first-floor windows, and a nest there can send wasps into a bedroom whenever the window is open. A nest behind the soffit may also be growing up into the loft, out of sight. A wasp nest in the loft explains what to do until it is treated.
Sheds, fences and the rear footpath
The far end of an estate garden goes quiet from spring onwards: a shed with a felt roof, a stack of spare fence panels, a compost bin and a hedge along the back fence. Wasps build in all of these, and a nest by the back gate is a nest beside the footpath, where neighbours, children and dogs pass within a metre of it. Weathered fence timber is also where workers scrape wood for the nest, which is often the first thing people notice.
Finding the Entrance
On a warm afternoon, stand well back and watch for a steady line of wasps using one gap. A few round the bins or on fallen fruit do not mean a nest. Note whether the entrance is in the roof edge, a wall, the lean-to, the shed or the ground, and how high it is. The signs of an active nest and wasps or bees help if you are unsure. Scrabbling in the loft at dawn beside a hole that keeps growing is more likely a squirrel in the roof, and a sudden cloud of winged insects from between the path slabs on one humid day is usually flying ants.
Until the nest is treated
- Keep the windows on that side of the house shut
- Do not block the hole, as trapped wasps look for another way out, sometimes indoors
- Do not spray the nest or knock it with a stick or a hose
- If the nest is by the back gate, warn the neighbours who use the footpath
- Anyone who has reacted badly to a sting before should keep well away, and signs of a severe allergic reaction after a sting mean calling 999
Booking a Wasp Visit
When you book, tell us where the entrance is, roughly how high, and how to get into the back garden: through the house, a side passage or a back gate off the footpath. If you rent, let your landlord or agent know about a nest in the roof, as the gap it uses may need repairing later.
Afterwards
Wasps may keep flying round the entrance for a while after treatment, so keep nearby windows shut and leave the gap alone. There is no need to dig the old nest out, since wasps do not reuse it. If the nest is still active within 30 days, we come back at no extra cost. Will wasps return after treatment? explains what to expect.
Fewer Nests Next Year
- Once the nest is dead, have the gap in the soffit, fascia or lean-to roof repaired
- Look under the eaves and inside the shed in April and May for a small grey papery ball, and call rather than knock it down
- Keep the shed door shut and look through stored things before summer
- Keep bin lids closed by the back gate and pick up fallen fruit in late summer
- Cut back hedges and climbers that have grown up to the roof
For wasp nests across the whole borough, see Wasp Nest Removal Barnet. Where gardens meet woodland, as in neighbouring Mill Hill, nests in trees and hedges are a bigger part of the story.
