Found a Wasp Nest in Your Loft in Wickhambreaux? Here's What to Do
When wasps cluster at bedroom or landing windows rather than ground-floor ones, they are often trapped insiders from a nest above, trying to reach daylight.
Why windows fill up
Wasps heading for a window are doing what any flying insect does: following the light. If they have come down from the roof space through a gap, they find themselves in a room and fly towards the brightest part of it. They bump against the glass, crawl up and down it and cluster in the corners, unable to work out how to leave.
Seeing a few at a ground-floor window is common in summer. Seeing many at the upstairs windows, especially on the landing or in a room directly under the loft, points to a nest above. The higher the room, the more likely they are coming from the roof.
Glass is a surprisingly effective trap. Wasps do not understand transparent barriers, and they exhaust themselves flying into them. That is why a window can hold a dozen wasps within hours, even though only a few came down from the loft.
Helping them out safely
You can reduce the number indoors without any risk.
- Open the window wide on a warm day and leave the room.
- Close the door behind you so the wasps leave rather than spread.
- Do not swat, spray or crush them against the glass.
- Return after an hour and close the window.
- Check curtains and blinds, where wasps hide.
If you cannot avoid the room, move slowly. Wasps that are not threatened rarely sting.
A cup and a piece of card is a method some people use to carry an individual wasp outside. It works, but only if you are calm and the wasp is alone on a flat surface. With a crowd, the safest way is simply to open the window and give them time.
What the pattern tells you
Note when it happens. A burst in the afternoon, when the loft is hottest, fits a nest. Wasps that reappear at the same window each day strongly suggest a route from the roof space to that room, perhaps via a light fitting, a pipe sleeve or a gap near the hatch.
Look outside, too. A stream of wasps entering a gap at the roof edge, above the same window, is as good as confirmation. Take a photograph from a distance if you can.
If there are wasps at several windows on one side of the house, tell us. It can help the technician work out the layout of the roof space and the position of the nest.
What not to do
Leave the loft alone, and do not try to trace the route yourself by lifting carpet edges or opening ceiling fittings. Do not tape over the gap you suspect. Do not use fly spray on the windows, as it does not solve the cause and can leave you with agitated wasps in a closed room.
If a child's room is affected, move the bed. A trapped wasp can sting if it is squashed in bedding, so shake out the covers before use.
Keep windows closed in other rooms during the day while wasps are about. Open them one at a time, briefly, only where you want wasps to leave. This stops a steady trickle coming in from outside.
There is a practical side to the glass too. Dead and dying wasps collect on windowsills quickly, and they are easy to tread on or brush against with a bare hand. Sweep them into a pan with a stiff card or use a vacuum rather than picking them up, and check the curtain folds before you draw them.
Blinds are another hiding place. A wasp can sit quietly in the folds of a Roman blind or behind a roller for hours, and be disturbed when you pull the cord. Raise blinds slowly, and look first.
If you find the same window filling again after you have cleared it, that is useful information in itself: it tells you the room is still receiving wasps from above. Write it down with the date, and give the details to the technician when they arrive. The pattern helps them work out the route and plan the visit.
Booking
Our technician is fully insured and qualified, and treats a nest for a fixed £120 per nest. An additional nest on the same property is £60 extra, with no call-out charge and one visit guaranteed. We are open seven days a week, with same-day service where available and evening and weekend appointments.
Contact us by phone on 01622 410 019 or the online form on the contact page, which also takes emergency requests out of hours. Tell us which windows are affected. We cover Wickhambreaux and surrounding villages, for homes and commercial premises.
Sweet drinks on a windowsill can attract more insects. Clear them away. A tidy sill leaves nothing to tempt a trapped wasp to linger.
Afterwards
Once the nest is treated, you should see fewer wasps at the glass over the following days. Clear any dead ones from sills with a vacuum or brush and pan, and wipe the glass. Wash curtains if wasps settled in them.
If you still find wasps at the same window a week later, tell us. It may mean there is a second nest or an extra route. Ask the technician at the visit about the empty nest and whether it can be taken down.
If you are worried about the stairs and landing, avoid sitting or lingering there until the visit. Move through quickly and calmly.
If the affected window is in a bathroom or kitchen, take extra care with steam, food and drinks, which attract wasps further. Keep lids on bins and wipe surfaces so that stray wasps have no reason to stay in the room.
Wasps on your property in Wickhambreaux?
Fixed price £120 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.