Inb4 ‘move out, the house is theirs now’…
So as the title says, I’ve just found what looks like a ‘new’ wasp nest (I don’t remember the shell of one there before) in my loft.
The loft is quiet, no other signs of life and I certainly can’t see or hear any wasps.
However, the nest is there. It might be occupied, it might not.
What’s my best course of action to:
* Check
* Deal with it if it is occupied?
I don’t want to hysterically call (nor pay) a pest control person if it’s empty.
I also don’t want to prod it with my finger if it isn’t (and I *hate* wasps, but also need to get into my loft). Fire is also not an option as it’s hung from the roof matting, right above some insulation and wooden beams.
34 comments
It’s peak wasp season and it’s warm – if you can’t see or hear any wasps then it’s empty. In which case leave it be, as wasps don’t usually return to nests or build new ones where a nest already exists so it’s the easiest way to keep ’em out of your roof next season!
When I paid someone to remove a wasp nest, they came dressed as beekeepers, put a plastic bag over the nest and pulled it off, sealing the bag with an elastic band.
Always best to get an expert to look at it. You can call the council if renting and they usually have someone if I remember correctly, but that was ~15 years ago so forgive me if I’m wrong.
We bought some fake wasp nests and propped them in the shed and loft, they don’t seem to build near one another so in your case I’d leave it alone if it’s empty. Alternatively for hygiene take it down and put up the fake wood/paper one.
Ignore it till winter when all but the queen will be dead and she will be hibernating then take it down and bin it.
You really, really (and I mean really) do not want to fuck about with a wasps nest this time of year unless you know what you are doing, especially in a difficult to exit quickly space like a loft.
Rent it out?
You poke it with a stick just to check – turn to page 158
You leave it alone and go back to the garden – turn to page 47
Get some wasp powder and spray, do this at night. Sprinkle the powder on and around the best and get out of there. The powder works by the wasps tracking it in and around the colony eventually killing the whole thing. It’s effective against hard to reach nests.
Next day spray the nest with the spray deal. It’s similar but fast. Make sure you can get out quickly. Any wasp touching a sprayed area is affected so if you can spray the whole thing you should be good.
After a couple of days approach with a container that is large enough and has a lid. It should be dead but we play it safe. With the lid held over the container use the lid and container to knock it into the container and immediately place the lid on. If there are any suddenly flying the n put it down and get out. Come back in an hour or two with your powder and spray, apply to container. Next day remove.
With lidded container outside drown the bastards.
I have done the yellow jacket dance before. My favourite escapade was turning a full underground hive into charcoal.
I once got dressed in my motorcycle leathers, helmet and scarves and sprayed an occupied nest with wasp nest spray. The urge to run was more powerful than the awareness of being in an attic with a hatch.
It could be an old one if you can’t see/hear any wasps. If you’re confident that it’s this year’s then you could buy a cheap wasp trap online a yellow dome or wasp bane. These are basically plastic funnels filled with wasp lure.
Leave the trap somewhere nearby and check it every few days. If you find nothing, problems solved, just leave the old nest up.
If you find wasps call in the pest control person. People often try to fix it themselves, panic and fall off buildings or down ladders. The council or local pest control should help. A simple insecticide spray wand around £50.
Raid? Spray some raid in the entrance and get the fuck out of there. Listen for manic buzzing. If any call pest control. If not when you’re feeling brave, kit up in thick jumper wellies garden gloves and one of those white hooded overalls, masses of rain in the nest, massive double or triple wheelie bin bag and go for it. Ties it airtight and leave it for a week. Then get rid.
Good luck, stay safe
I had this issue a couple of weeks ago.
Can you see wasps coming into and out of the loft from outside? If not, it’s PROBABLY empty.
Get some wasp nest spray like this [https://www.screwfix.com/p/zero-in-ultra-power-wasp-nest-foam-600ml/766hv](https://www.screwfix.com/p/zero-in-ultra-power-wasp-nest-foam-600ml/766hv)
It works over several metres.
I then dressed up in several layers of clothes, overalls, gloves, goggles, hat. Went up into the loft. Had my escape route clear to run out and slide down the ladder. Wasps go for light in dark spaces apparently, so used a red light on a head torch to see. does this work? Dunno, but I was crapping myself at this point.
Sprayed the nest with the spray at full arms length and standing as far away as a I could. Good covering of the foamy spray then made my retreat.
Went back up next day, same precautions. Poked a large bin bag underneath the nest, poked it onto the bag. It was a dead, empty nest. Bagged and binned.
I’ve done this a few times over the years. Never hit a live nest, I assume you’d hear the noise, or else see them buzzing around outside. But also prepare in fully paranoid war mode!
I’ve got rid of wasp nests in my loft and shed before. Just get the foam spray. It’s not expensive.. Then so some DIY nest removal
I’m allergic to bees and I saw a bee/wasp next in my garage after pulling down some “soundproofing” the previous owners did, which was just to board the entire thing up with plywood which then got damp and started to smell.
Anyway, I just paid for a professional because fuck going the hospital for being stung, he told me it was just a shell but he sprayed the fuck out of it anyway and told me to remove it with a shovel after a week to make sure nothing is left inside that will sting me. Best £70 I ever spent
The only approach I’ve known is to wait until evening when they’re all in the nest and calming down, and spray expanding foam directly into the nest.
Then run like hell.
Wasps will return to the nest at dusk so the best time to check is at that time but normally if it is active then there will be one or two around during the day bringing food and nest material back. If there are no wasps come the evening then it is certainly empty..
Not sure how they got in there but I had a wasp’s nest in my bathroom’s cavity wall. Believe me, if it’s occupied, you’d know it.
I have two small wasp nests in my garage/converted gym. They look very empty and I’ve just left them for the past 2 months and nothing bad has come of it (I’m too much of a chicken to go anywhere near them with my hands in all honesty).
Put it in a box and pop a quick W on it. The Wasps may have delicious Honey…….or something else that you still definitely will want
Send someone replaceable up to poke it. In-law, wife child etc. If you don’t mind waiting get them insured first.
Hoover it up, my mum does that with a wasp nest that keeps getting built in the same spot on the shed each year.
Come back and check every few days to make sure it isn’t being rebuilt, if you didn’t catch the queen then she’ll come back and try to build again in the same spot.
Ok, this is easy. Get an old boiler suit and soak it in petrol(wasps hate the smell) then very quietly go into the attic leaving the lights out and stand just below the nest. Now take a lighter and use it to check the nest. Wasps will be gone shortly after you do this.
Big can of Ardap.
Buy Raid Rapid Action Fly & Wasp Killer 300ml, on offer right now at Amazon, Pack of 6. It’s been on offer for 3 weeks now. We had a nest of wasps in the roof cavity of our garage. The council didn’t want to know, professionals wanted £125, I said stuff that. It worked bigtime. Wasps all dead and we removed the nest 3 days later. Its inflammable so no smoking, read instructions, wear a mask.
stick your d*&^ in it!!
Keep it! No new wasps will nest in your house if there is a “dead” nest there
I thought I had a wasps nest, called the council services, they charged 40 pounds but when they turned up they said there’s nothing there and they refunded me.
WD-40 is the answer, spray it on and it’s game over for those shit heads
Poke it.
Dynamite
I’d take a gamble. Prod the fucker and run.
Something something “£14 for chicken” something something…
Your name doesn’t happen to be Jane Prentiss does it?
Burn your house down it’s the only solution