Wasp Nest in a Hedge or Bush – What Herne Bay Garden Owners Should Know
A nest box or tree hollow that was meant for birds can be taken over by wasps, and leaning in to look is the worst thing you can do.
A home built for birds
Nest boxes, hollow branches and old woodpecker holes are designed to be cosy, dry and sheltered. So it should not surprise anyone that wasps sometimes take them over. A box that stood empty through the winter, or that was abandoned by a bird pair, can fill with a wasp nest from late April onwards. By August it may hold from 2,000 to 10,000 wasps or more.
Many gardeners in Herne Bay, on the north Kent coast, enjoy feeding and watching garden birds, and a nest box on a tree or a fence is common. The danger is that people go to check or clean a box without suspecting anything.
It is a good habit to note when you put a box up or last cleaned it, and then add a note to the calendar for the first week of April, before wasps get going. A quick look from a distance in April and again in May will show whether anything unusual has moved in.
Signs that a box has been taken over
Look from a distance, ideally with binoculars.
- Wasps flying in and out of the entrance hole instead of birds.
- No birds visiting, though they were there earlier.
- A hum from the box or tree, especially on a warm afternoon.
- Grey paper fragments poking out of the hole.
- A trail of wasps leaving in one direction, carrying chewed material.
One wasp landing on the box does not mean a nest. A regular, purposeful stream does.
Keep any bird feeders near the box topped up with seed but not with fat balls or sweet foods, which can attract wasps. If wasps are visiting a feeder, move it away from the nest area.
Birds are not the only users of such holes. Small boxes on walls and fence posts can become wasp nests too, and so can the hollow end of a cut branch. Learn to check from a distance every spring and you will usually catch a new nest while it is small.
Do not clean it out
It is natural to want to open the box and see. Do not. Opening the lid, lifting the box off its hook or tapping it to see if anything is inside will release the colony. The box is small, the wasps are packed in, and you are holding it in your hands.
Leave it in place, leave the entrance alone and do not block the hole. If the box hangs from a tree, tell anyone who is going to prune the tree about the wasps.
If you find that birds have already built a nest in the box, leave them be. Wasps and birds rarely share, so you will not usually find both. Active bird nests are best left alone in any case.
Other tree hollows
The same applies to knotholes, splits in a trunk and gaps where a branch has been cut. If you see wasps going into one, stay clear. Climbing a tree to look into a hollow, or lopping off a branch that has a hole in it, are two of the quickest ways to meet a colony at close quarters.
If a bird box is on a post or a shed, check the roof and wall around it too, because the nest may extend into the gap behind it.
Wasps can use other man-made spaces in the same way: an old letter box on a post, a gap behind a plant pot, a stack of bricks, or a hole in a wall. If you have a nest box at the edge of the garden, be aware that other holes in the same area might also be occupied.
Treatment and booking
An insured and qualified technician will deal with the nest in one visit. The price is fixed at £120 per nest, with £60 for any additional nest at the same address, and there is no call-out charge. We work seven days a week and offer same-day service for domestic and commercial customers, with evening and weekend appointments available.
Bookings can be made on 01622 410 019 or send the booking form from the contact page. Tell us it is a bird box or tree hollow, how high it is and whether it is on your land. Say if anyone at home is allergic to stings so that the booking can be prioritised.
Boxes high on a tree or on a wall may need a ladder to reach, and a ladder is the wrong tool when there are wasps nearby. Describe the height and position, and the technician will advise. The price is the same however high the box is.
If you are not sure the insects are wasps, take a photograph with a zoom lens. Honeybees will sometimes move into a hollow or a box too. We treat wasps only, so if you think you have honeybees or bumblebees, contact a local beekeeper or the relevant bee organisation instead.
Putting the box back to use
Once the technician says the nest has been dealt with, ask whether the box can be taken down, cleaned and reused. Do not do this yourself before you are told. Next year, check boxes from a distance from late April, and clean them out in the colder months, when no colony is living in them.
If you are fond of the birds that used the box, do not worry. Birds can nest elsewhere and will use a replacement box next year. A treated nest is no reason to stop feeding and watching them, as long as you keep clear of the old site until it has been checked.
Wasps on your property in Herne Bay?
Fixed price £120 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.