Wasp nests
Wasps in the Eaves of a Converted House
Victorian and Edwardian houses near the stations have plenty of roof edge: timber soffits and fascias, gables at the front, small roofs over bay windows and, at the back, the lower roof of the rear addition. After a century, boards shrink and joints open, and a queen wasp looking for a dry cavity in spring finds them. The nest itself usually sits in the roof space or the gap behind the fascia, above the top-floor flat. Where wasps build nests lists the other places they choose.
Whose window the nest is by
The entrance is often beside one flat's window, and that flat gets the wasps indoors. The nest may actually be in the loft above another flat, or behind the fascia over the shared front door. From the pavement it can be hard to tell which. It does not change the price: the nest is £90 whichever flat it seems to belong to, and it is sensible for the household most affected to book once the others know.
Bay roofs, gables and the rear addition
The small roof over a ground-floor bay sits just under the first-floor flat's window, so a nest there affects the flat above rather than the one with the bay. A nest under the rear addition's roof can be beside the kitchen of one flat and the bathroom of the next. Tell us which windows the wasps are coming in through.
Confirming It Is a Nest
Watch from a distance on a warm afternoon. A steady stream of wasps flying in and out of one gap means a nest; a few wasps around the bins in the side passage do not. The signs of an active nest and telling wasps from bees help if you are unsure. Scrabbling in the loft at dawn with a gap in the eaves that keeps growing is more likely squirrels, and winged insects pouring from the garden paving on one humid day are usually flying ants.
In the meantime
- Tell the other flats, so everyone keeps the windows on that side shut
- Do not seal the gap from inside a flat or from a ladder while wasps are using it
- Keep children and pets away from where the wasps fly, including the shared front path if it is beneath the nest
- Do not go into the loft through the hatch to look for the nest
Booking a Wasp Visit for a Finchley Conversion
When you book, tell us where the entrance is, roughly how high, which flat's window it is beside, and how to reach the back if it is at the rear. If the nest might be in the loft, say which flat has the hatch and whether they can give access. Anyone who has reacted badly to a sting before should stay well away, and signs of a severe allergic reaction after a sting mean calling 999.
After the treatment
Wasps may keep flying around the entrance for a while, so keep nearby windows shut and leave the gap alone. The old nest does not need removing. If the nest is still active within 30 days, we come back at no extra cost. Whether wasps return after treatment explains what to expect, and how long treatment takes to work covers the first few days.
Next Spring in a Shared House
Repairs to the soffits and fascias are usually the freeholder's to arrange, and autumn, once the nest is dead, is the time to ask. In April and May, whoever has a view of the eaves can keep an eye out for a small grey paper nest. For wasps in other Barnet buildings, see Wasp Nest Removal Barnet.
