Find the flight line first
A nest tends to be given away by the coming and going around it, well before it's spotted directly, much as it does near Holloway, where dense terraced housing and larger ex-GLC estates along the Holloway Road corridor. From a safe distance, on a calm afternoon, watch for wasps returning again and again to the same spot, wherever that turns out to be decides which part of this guide applies - the same pattern holds near Holloway, where dense terraced housing and larger ex-GLC estates along the Holloway Road corridor.
Eaves on Islington's Georgian and Victorian terraces
Wasp nests in Islington turn up under the eaves of the borough's Georgian and Victorian terraces, including the grand terraces around Highbury Fields, where a gap at the fascia or a slipped tile gives a queen a way into the roof space in spring.
Courtyards, sheds and garden squares
Behind those terraces, the small courtyards, sheds and garden squares typical of Canonbury and similar streets shelter just as many nests as the roofs do. A nest low down in a hedge or fence line can go unnoticed until clearance work or hedge trimming disturbs it.
What to do today
- Keep children and pets away from the flight line
- Keep windows shut on the side of the building where the nest is
- Leave the entrance open and the nest itself untouched
- Clear sweet drinks and fallen fruit from the garden, which draw wasps in late summer
Why late summer feels worse
A colony reaches its full size by August and September, but with the queen laying far less, there's far less of the sugary secretion the workers normally get from the larvae - the same pattern holds near Archway, where terraced streets and estates on the borough's northern edge. They go looking for sugar themselves instead, which is why bins and drinks suddenly attract far more attention and why this is the worst point in the year to disturb a nest.
Booking wasp nest removal in Islington
A standard wasp nest removal in Islington 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 Canonbury - where georgian squares and terraces close to the Regent's Canal - or anywhere else nearby, so book wasp nest removal and tell us roughly where the entrance is, with the full terms on the Islington wasp nest removal page.
