How to Tell If You Have an Active Wasp Nest on Your Halling Property
A garden shed or garage is quiet, sheltered and rarely visited, which makes it an ideal site for a colony, and the signs are easy to miss until it is large.
The place nobody looks
Think about when you last went into your shed or garage. In summer, many of us go in only for a mower or a bike, and quickly leave. A small gap in the roofing felt or a loose board is all a new colony needs, and the space then goes unnoticed for weeks.
By the time someone opens the door to a loud hum, the colony may already be substantial. Wasps start building from late April, and by August there can be thousands of them.
This guide is for outbuildings in Halling, in the Medway Valley, but applies anywhere. It helps you check the building from outside, before you open anything.
There is another reason outbuildings are chosen. They often have unlined roofs, with gaps and tiny holes, and in the quiet interior the colony is sheltered from wind and rain. A shed that has been closed up for months is as good as an empty house to a wasp.
Walk the outside first
Before going near the door, do a slow circuit of the outbuilding at a respectful distance. You are searching for places a wasp could slip in:
- gaps under the roof edge or along the barge board
- splits in felt or corrugated sheeting
- knot holes and warped boards in the walls
- cable or pipe entry points
- the top of the door frame and the hinge side of the door
Stand still and watch each in turn for a minute. Any gap with wasps going in and out is your answer.
Be especially careful with a pitched roof made of overlapping boards or sheets. Wasps can use the join between two overlapping pieces, and the entrance may be hard to see from the ground.
Take a second look at the base of the walls too. Wasps will occasionally use a gap at ground level, or a hole beneath the floor, so check low as well as high. If you see traffic at a low gap, treat it exactly as you would one at the roof.
What you may notice from inside the doorway
If you have to go in regularly, pause at the threshold. A sudden rise in the number of wasps in the air, a papery smell or a faint but persistent hum is a warning to back out slowly.
A nest in the roof space of a shed is often visible from below as a grey, rounded shape against the timber. If you can see it, do not move closer, and do not reach for tools on shelves nearby.
Close the door quietly, and keep it closed. Disturbance from opening and closing is minimal compared to rummaging about under the nest.
If you have been in recently and nothing seemed wrong, do not assume you are in the clear. A nest can be established in a few weeks, so the shed that was quiet in May may be busy by July.
Items stored near the nest
Outbuildings are full of things that wasps can use or hide behind: stacked pots, old paint tins, deckchairs, sacks and timber offcuts. A nest may be attached to the underside of a shelf or tucked behind a stack of boxes.
If you must remove something urgently, for example a ladder or a bike, wait until the wasps are less active, which is early morning or after dusk, and be absolutely sure there are none flying around the item before you touch it.
Better still, leave it all. Items can be fetched once the nest is dealt with.
What the colony is doing meanwhile
Wasps in a shed forage in the garden around it, so you may see more than usual on flowers, compost bins or fruit. This can tempt people to think the garden itself is the problem.
If the numbers are higher around the outbuilding than anywhere else, and a gap is busy, the building is the likely home. Do not try to smoke them out or seal the door with the wasps inside, as they can chew through softer materials and find a way into the house or the garden.
Remember that anything electrical in the outbuilding, such as a freezer, a charger or a workshop light, is a reason to give the technician notice. Wasps can be drawn to the warmth around equipment, and it is useful to know the power situation before they arrive.
It is also worth thinking about what will need to be moved. Wasp Exterminator Kent treats the nest, but you will want to keep valuables and tools away from the entrance until the technician says it is safe.
Arranging treatment
Wasp Exterminator Kent treats nests in sheds, garages and other outbuildings for a fixed £120 each, with one visit guaranteed and no call-out charge. If a second nest is found at the same property, it is £60 extra, and there is no added cost for location or time of day.
The technicians are fully insured and qualified, and appointments run seven days a week, including evenings and weekends, with same-day service offered. Call 01622 410 019 or use the booking form on the contact page.
Tell them whether the building is locked, who has the key, and whether power is available. Once the nest is treated, you can ask the technician whether the empty nest can be taken down.
If the building is shared, say with a neighbour or a landlord, make sure that whoever is responsible agrees to the visit. What your tenancy or insurance says about responsibility depends on the individual agreement or policy, so it is best to check it directly.
Wasps on your property in Halling?
Fixed price £120 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.