Find the flight line first
It's the coming and going that usually gives a nest away long before you spot it directly. Watch from a safe distance on a mild afternoon for wasps returning again and again to the same spot on the house or garden - wherever that spot turns out to be decides which part of this guide is relevant to you.
Eaves on the borough's semis and bungalows
Wasp nests in Havering turn up under the eaves of the interwar and postwar semis and bungalows across Hornchurch, Elm Park and Collier Row, where a gap at the fascia or a slipped tile gives a queen a way into the roof space. A single-storey bungalow's eaves are often within easy reach, which makes checking them a quick job in spring.
Sheds and fence lines on the larger gardens
Where gardens are bigger, sheds that are opened only now and then and fence lines along a boundary both shelter nests. A nest low down in a hedge or fence line can go unnoticed until strimming or hedge-cutting disturbs it, so it is worth a look from a distance before either job.
Outbuildings near Upminster and Rainham
Towards the farmland edging Upminster and Rainham, outbuildings, garages and stores standing away from the house give a queen a quiet, undisturbed spot for months. If wasps seem to be coming from a building you rarely open, treat it the same as a nest in the house: leave the entrance alone and do not go in to look.
What to do today
- Keep children and pets away from the flight line
- Keep windows shut on the side of the house or outbuilding where the nest is
- Leave the entrance open and the nest untouched
- Clear sweet drinks and fallen fruit from the garden, which draw wasps in late summer
Why late summer feels worse
The colony peaks in size by August and September, but with the queen laying far less, fewer larvae means less of the sugary secretion workers depend on, much as it does near Upminster, where larger detached and semi-detached houses on the borough's eastern edge. Short of that, the workers go looking for sugar themselves, which is why bins and drinks suddenly attract far more attention and why this is the point in the year a nest is least worth disturbing.
Booking wasp nest removal in Havering
A standard wasp nest removal in Havering is a £90 fixed price, with a free return visit built in if the nest is still showing activity within 30 days. Full terms are on the Havering wasp nest removal page. Book wasp nest removal and tell us roughly where the entrance is and whether it is on the house itself, a shed, or another outbuilding.
