Watch before you search
Rather than being visible outright, a nest usually gives itself away by the repeated traffic heading to one spot, much as it does near Temple, where legal chambers and historic buildings set around quiet courtyards and gardens. Watch from a distance on a calm afternoon, the wasps' repeated trips will point you to the right place, true near Temple too, where legal chambers and historic buildings set around quiet courtyards and gardens.
Roof voids on older buildings
Among the City's historic livery halls and older office buildings near St Paul's and Temple, roof voids and window recesses that see little maintenance traffic give a queen wasp a sheltered spot to start a nest, well above the street.
The Barbican's raised walkways
The Barbican Estate's elevated walkways and podium-level planting create sheltered, rarely disturbed pockets that a queen wasp can use in spring, quite unlike the shed-and-fence sites typical elsewhere in London.
What to do today
- Keep people and pets away from the flight line
- Keep windows shut on the side of the building where the nest is
- Leave the entrance alone rather than blocking or spraying it yourself
- Clear food waste and sweet drinks from outdoor areas, which draw wasps in late summer
Why late summer feels worse
By August and September a colony has reached its full size for the year, but the queen has largely stopped laying, leaving fewer larvae producing the sugary secretion workers normally rely on - the workers go looking for sugar themselves instead, which is why outdoor eating areas suddenly draw far more attention.
Booking wasp nest removal in the City of London
A standard wasp nest removal in City of London is a £90 fixed price, guaranteed: if the nest is still active within 30 days we come back at no extra cost, and that applies equally whether the nest turns up near Bank - where the financial core - or anywhere else nearby, so book wasp nest removal and tell us roughly where the entrance is, with the full terms on the City of London wasp nest removal page.
