Why Are Wasps Flying Into Your Beckett Park Home? Common Causes and Solutions
When the wasps in the house seem to arrive from the garden, the garden itself is the place to start looking, from the compost heap to the lawn edge.
From the lawn to the lounge
The patio doors are open after lunch, and over a couple of weeks you realise the wasps in the house are coming in from the garden side only. The front rooms are untouched. Nobody has seen where they start, but the line between the grass and the back door is plain enough.
When wasps enter a house from the garden, three explanations account for most cases: something in the garden is feeding them, something in the garden is hiding them, or both. A fruit tree, a compost bin, a shed or a bare patch of soil can each make the back of a house the busiest side.
Walking the garden with a critical eye, from a safe distance, tells you a great deal. If you are in Beckett Park or elsewhere with a good-sized garden, there is more ground to check, and more places for a nest to be.
Food sources outside
Start with what is on offer. Wasps are drawn to anything sweet or rotting, and a garden has plenty of it:
- windfall apples, pears, plums and damsons lying in the grass
- open compost heaps, especially with fruit peelings in them
- bird feeders with fat balls or sugary mixes
- barbecue grills with grease still on them
- outdoor dining tables with glasses and plates left out
- pet food and water bowls on the patio
Clearing these does not just reduce garden wasps. It reduces the number that follow you indoors when you carry a plate through the door. Pick up fallen fruit often, keep compost covered with a lid or a layer of dry material, and bring bowls in after meals.
Think about where you sit, too. A table directly beside the back door means every plate is carried a short distance and every wasp that investigates is a step from the kitchen. Moving the table to the far end of the lawn, away from the house, keeps most of the attention away from your doorway.
Nests in the garden
Many wasp nests are not in buildings at all. Queens often choose a hole in the ground, such as an old rodent burrow or a gap beneath a path or lawn edge. Others build in hedges, bushes, trees, sheds, garages and the space beneath decking.
A ground nest can be hard to spot. The sign is a small hole with wasps landing and leaving at a steady rate, sometimes with a little loose soil around it. Because it is at ground level, it is easy to step near it by accident, or run a mower or strimmer past, which is when people get stung. Some householders discover a nest only when the mower goes over it.
If you suspect one, note the spot, keep children and pets away and consider marking it from a distance with a stick or cane placed well back. Do not pour anything into the hole or cover it.
Following the route into the house
Wasps that learn a route keep using it. If you have been feeding them by accident with a drinks table on the patio, they get used to flying that way. As soon as the back door opens, the scent of the kitchen draws them over the threshold.
The simplest solution is to break the habit. Close the door behind you, use a mesh door screen, and move food preparation and eating away from the doorway. Clear the patio after each meal, so there is nothing to find.
If wasps are also coming in from vents, soffits or gaps in the roofline, the route may begin in the building itself instead of the garden. Watch the walls for a few minutes from a safe distance. A flight path that goes into a hole in the brickwork is a nest, and the garden is just where you see them first.
Sheds, garages and garden rooms deserve a look as well. An old shed with a warm, dry void under the roof is a very attractive spot, and wasps leaving it can head straight for the house. Check from outside and do not open a door if you can hear a hum from within.
What not to do
Some well-meant ideas make things worse:
- Do not block a hole in the ground or in the wall; the wasps will find another way out.
- Do not dig around a suspected nest.
- Do not mow or strim near it.
- Do not stand close to look; keep a few metres back.
- Do not leave windfalls and food for another day.
A colony can hold 2,000 to 10,000 or more wasps by August. It does not take much disturbance for a group of them to come at you, and they can sting more than once.
If anyone is stung, move away from the spot at once, wash the area, remove the sting if it is visible, and use a cold pack. Seek help by calling 999 for signs of a serious reaction such as swelling of the face, lips or throat, wheezing, difficulty breathing, dizziness or a widespread rash.
Getting it dealt with
A wasp nest treatment costs a fixed £90 per nest, and an extra nest on the same property is £35. We do not charge a call-out, we are open seven days a week, and same-day service is available. We confirm the price on the phone before the visit, and we start nothing until you agree.
Ring 0113 347 0014 or use the online booking form on the contact page. Tell us where in the garden you saw the traffic, how far it is from the house and whether anyone is allergic to wasp stings. Our technicians are trained and fully insured, and ask at booking if you would like to know whether the empty nest can be taken down.
Wasps on your property in Beckett Park?
Fixed price £90 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.