September 1st, 2020 by Sarah Miles

We all love the warm weather that summer brings but nobody is a fan of the flying insects that also accompany the season. Least of all wasps. Wasps sting, can be very aggressive, and cause big problems for anyone who is allergic to their stings. We all have to put up with a few of the pesky critters over the summer months but a wasp nest on your property is really on another level.

Knowing what to look for

Fortunately, wasp nests don’t just appear overnight. They take quite a while to build so, if you know the signs to look for, you could be lucky enough to notice them before they become a big problem. Be especially vigilant in the early spring, as this is when the process of building a nest usually starts.

Here's how to check for wasp nests:

Monitor eaves, guttering, wall cavities and sheds

The queen wasp’s checklist when seeking a good location for her nest is somewhere that has shelter but easy access to the outside. They also prefer high places, but they can be found in low areas too. Just check these kinds of areas from the spring onwards for round shapes with papery walls. As already mentioned, it will start off quite small and slowly grow over time as the wasps build it up. The smaller it is, the fewer wasps will be in it so it’s much easier to deal with when spotted early.

Look for marks on wood around the garden

The walls of a wasp nest look like paper and that is because they are constructed from wood that is chewed and mixed with saliva to make a pulp. The wasps will source the wood from the area around the nest so that will commonly be fence panels, sheds, and garden furniture. If you see small scrapes (these usually look like white stripes) on these items, it could be a sign that wasps are collecting wood pulp for their nest.

More than the usual number of wasps

Wasps are everywhere in warm weather but if you notice more than you would normally expect then this could indicate there is a nest nearby. In spring and early summer, they will mostly be scavenging for nest material, but you may find that they start coming into your home in late summer and autumn, as food becomes harder to find.

If there seem to be a lot of wasps, pay some attention to their comings and goings. If there is a nest there will be activity back and forth from the same location. This will alert you to where the nest is.

What to do if you have a wasp nest

Nobody wants a wasp nest so if you find one, you will need to remove it. Wasps will leave their nest in the autumn so if you don’t actually notice it until late in the season, you may not need to do anything but the chances are, they will have become a pest well before then.

You may be able to remove it yourself but you will obviously need to be careful. One thing you should never do is try to knock it down as this will just anger them (not surprisingly) and you risk being stung quite badly. (The average nest can contain around 1000 wasps!). Do not block the entrance up either. This will agitate the wasps and they will just chew out a new exit. This could actually make things much worse as they could create an exit directly into your home (if it’s been built under eaves, for example).

The best way to get rid of the nest is to treat it with a pesticide. You can use long tools such as a Dustick to reach high areas. Once you have treated it, stay well away as pesticides can be toxic, especially to children and pets. After a safe period (see the manufacturer’s instructions), when the wasps are dead, you can remove the nest. That said, new wasps would not use the nest and the queen would be dead so cannot recolonise the nest. Therefore, if it is difficult to reach, it’s quite safe to leave it there.

If you don’t feel confident doing it yourself, you can call in a pest controller.

Removed the nest but still have wasps?

Don’t worry if you still see a number of wasps around for a few days. The worker wasps that have been out scavenging for food or wood will return to where the nest was for a while, but they will leave once they realise it is gone. Stay out of their way until then!