How to Tell If You Have an Active Wasp Nest on Your Aberford Property
A neat hole in the soil with wasps streaming in and out is the classic sign of a ground nest, and knowing what to look for keeps you and your family out of harm's way.
Ground nests: the answer is in the soil
If wasps are repeatedly flying in and out of a hole in the ground, a bank, a lawn, a rockery or the base of a hedge, you almost certainly have an active ground nest. Many people expect a nest to hang from a roof, but a good number of colonies are built underground in an old burrow or a hollow where the soil has settled.
The giveaway is the entrance. It is usually round, about the size of a coin or a little larger, and the wasps pass through it in both directions with a purposeful, steady rhythm. A few wasps walking over the grass are not enough. A flow of traffic at one point is.
Ground nests also tend to go unnoticed for longer than nests on a building, because nobody looks at their lawn the way they look at a roof edge. The first anyone knows may be a dog sniffing at a hole, a child playing near a border, or a gardener turning the soil. A little awareness of what a nest entrance looks like turns a nasty surprise into a calm phone call.
What the entrance and its surroundings look like
- A clean round hole, often with a small apron of loose, crumbly soil around the edge.
- A slight dip or worn path in the grass leading to the hole, where wasps land and walk in.
- Bare patches of soil, sometimes with a few specks of paper-like material.
- Wasps hovering low and slowly around the same patch of ground before dropping in.
These can sit among ordinary lawn or in the bed of a border, and a hole can be partly hidden by long grass or plants. If you see one wasp disappear into the ground, stay still for a minute and watch whether more follow.
The traffic is the best test. On a warm, bright day an active ground nest can look like a tiny airport, with wasps lifting off and landing at the hole every few seconds. On a cool or damp day the same hole can look nearly dead, so judge by what you see in good weather, not on a grey morning.
How to look without getting stung
Ground nests are the ones where people most often get caught out, because the entrance is at foot level and easy to walk past or mow over. Be sure you are well away when you check. Use binoculars or the zoom on a phone camera and keep to the side of the lawn or path.
Wasps react strongly to vibration, so footsteps, a mower, a strimmer or a heavy wheelbarrow close to the entrance can send them out in numbers. That is the reason many ground nests are discovered by accident, when someone cutting the grass suddenly finds themselves surrounded.
If you think you have found one in Aberford, in the Leeds area, or elsewhere, mark the area off with a visible barrier that is placed at a safe distance, such as a garden chair or a pair of canes and a length of string positioned from far back, rather than by walking right up to it.
Do not be tempted to test the nest by tossing a stick or a pebble towards it, however small. Even a light thud in the soil can be felt by the colony. Once you have marked a safe distance, there is nothing more to learn by staying nearby.
Look-alikes that are not wasp nests
Not every hole in the ground is a wasp nest. Ants, solitary mining bees and small mammals can all leave a neat opening in the soil. A few clues help you tell them apart.
- Ants make a small heap of fine soil, and their traffic is a trail of tiny insects on the ground, not flying insects.
- Solitary bees dig lots of little holes in a patch of bare soil, each with a small volcano of earth, and each bee works on her own rather than as part of a stream.
- Rodents and rabbits tend to leave much larger entrances, often with droppings or flattened paths.
If what you are looking at is a bee, contact a local beekeeper or the relevant bee organisation rather than us. We only deal with wasps. If you are unsure whether you are looking at wasps or bees, a photo from a distance can help you decide.
Keeping the area safe until it is treated
Keep everyone away from the entrance, particularly children, dogs and anyone who might want to mow. Close doors and windows on the side of the house nearest to it if the nest is close to the building. Do not pour anything down the hole, flood it, block it or cover it with a slab or a bucket, because disturbed wasps can come out in force or dig a new exit.
If someone is stung, move away calmly, wash the area, remove the sting if it is visible and use a cold pack. Signs of a serious reaction, such as swelling of the face, lips or throat, wheezing, dizziness or a widespread rash, mean calling 999 straight away.
If the hole is beside a path, a gate, a washing line or a play area, let anyone who uses that route know which way to go instead, and put a note on the gate if you have regular visitors, such as a postal worker or a delivery driver.
Booking a visit
Wasp Exterminator Leeds treats ground nests as well as those in roofs and walls, with trained, fully insured technicians covering Aberford and nearby villages. A nest costs a fixed £90, and an additional nest at the same property is £35. We confirm the price on the phone before the visit, charge no call-out fee, and do not start work until you agree.
We take bookings seven days a week and offer same-day service, for homes and for businesses with grounds. Tell us when you book if anyone is allergic to wasp stings. You can ring 0113 347 0014, or use the online booking form on the contact page and describe where the hole is.
Wasps on your property in Aberford?
Fixed price £90 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.