Why Are Wasps Flying Into Your Welling Home? Common Causes and Solutions
A list of well-meant mistakes, from swatting indoors to sealing a gap, and why each one can backfire when wasps are in the house.
Why mistakes happen
When wasps appear in the house, people want to act at once. That is understandable, but several common reactions make things worse. The following are the ones we see most often.
For a household in Welling, avoiding them is the best thing you can do before a technician arrives.
A calm response is not weakness. It is simply the best way to avoid a sting. Wasps are not out to attack people, and they sting when they feel trapped, crushed or threatened. Anything that makes them feel that way is best avoided.
Swatting and spraying
Swatting a wasp indoors rarely works well. If you miss, you have an angry insect. If you hit, a crushed wasp can release a scent that draws others. Waving a newspaper or a tea towel is the quickest way to get stung.
Spraying a general insect product around a window or a gap may annoy the wasps without dealing with the nest. It can also make a room unpleasant for people and pets. If you can, open a window and let the wasp leave.
Remember, too, that children copy adults. If a parent shrieks and flaps at a wasp, a child will do the same. If the parent quietly opens a window and steps back, the child learns the better lesson. A calm household is a safer household.
A few simple replacements can help. Instead of swatting, open a window. Instead of spraying, cover the food. Instead of blocking a gap, note where it is. Instead of poking a nest, stand back and take a photograph from a distance. Instead of waiting for it to go, book a visit. Each is easier than the mistake and a good deal safer.
Blocking the gap
Stuffing a hole with tissue, foam or filler seems sensible. It is not. Wasps that are trapped behind a blocked entrance will look for another exit, and the nearest alternative may be through a ceiling, a light fitting or a wall into a room.
Leave the gap alone until the nest has been treated, then repair it.
Some people try to disperse wasps with smoke, such as burning a rolled-up newspaper or lighting incense near the entrance. This is risky, can start a fire and tends to agitate the colony. Please do not do it.
Think about the question of cost as well. People sometimes delay because they fear a large bill. The price for treating a nest is fixed, and there is no call-out charge, so there is no reason to wait and hope. A small nest and a large nest are priced the same, and the longer you wait, the more wasps there will be.
Going to look
Opening a loft hatch, taking down a ceiling tile, pulling off a vent cover or shining a torch into a gap places you right next to the nest. By late summer, one colony can reach from 2,000 to 10,000 or more wasps. Disturbed wasps swarm, and stings come in numbers.
Stay back, and watch from a distance if you must.
Another mistake is to go outside at night with a torch and a spray. Wasps are less active at night, but the nest is still full of them, and a light and a vibration at the entrance can bring many out at once. You will not see where you are standing, either.
If anyone has been stung already, treat that as a reason to act sooner. Wash the area, use a cold pack and watch the person for signs of a serious reaction. If there is any doubt, seek medical help.
Hanging traps and bait
Hanging a sweet trap near the door may catch some wasps, but it also draws more of them to the house. It does nothing about the nest, so wasps will keep coming. Remove sweet traps if you have set them, and use covered bins and clean surfaces instead.
Do not leave a plate of jam or juice in the garden as a decoy near the house either.
Don't ask a neighbour or friend to knock the nest down for you. Pulling a nest from a tree or a roof edge can release a large number of angry wasps, and even a person with protective gear can be stung many times.
If the wasps are in a rented property or a shared building, report them promptly to whoever manages it. Keep a note of the date, and check your tenancy agreement, since this article cannot say who is responsible.
Doing nothing
The opposite mistake is to wait. Nests start from late April, depending on the weather, and grow through the summer. A small problem in June is a large one in August.
Rinse the stung skin with water, remove the sting if you can see it and hold a cold pack against it. Call 999 straight away for a widespread rash, dizziness, wheezing or trouble breathing, or swelling of the face, lips or throat. People who know they are allergic are best advised to see their GP.
The fixed price for dealing with a nest is £120 for each one, with one visit guaranteed, and a further nest at the same address costs £60 more. No call-out charge applies, and the price does not change for location or time. Technicians are fully insured and qualified, serving domestic and commercial customers seven days a week. Call 01622 410 019 or fill in the online booking form.
A final tip for any visit: keep the household clear of the area, lock pets away, and let the technician get on with the work. Ask whether the empty nest can be taken down once it has been treated.
Ask the technician at booking whether the empty nest can be taken down. It is a sensible question, and the answer depends on where the nest is.
Wasps on your property in Welling?
Fixed price £120 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.