How to Tell If You Have an Active Wasp Nest on Your Beverley Property
Roof edges, soffits and chimney stacks are favourite nesting spots, and you can check them thoroughly from the ground without ever picking up a ladder.
Putting a ladder against the house
The riskiest mistake with a roof-level nest is getting a ladder out to take a look. It feels sensible, but it puts you at the exact height of the entrance, off balance and with one hand holding on. Wasps that come out to defend the nest will find you very easily, and a sting on a ladder can become a fall.
Fortunately you rarely need to climb. Almost everything you need to know can be learned from the ground with patience, and with a pair of binoculars if you have them.
Binoculars are ideal, but a phone camera on maximum zoom does a decent job, and you can then enlarge the picture on screen to see the gap properly.
The places to look
Roofs offer wasps dry, warm and sheltered gaps. Walk slowly round the house at a distance of several metres and examine each of the following.
- The soffit and fascia boards under the roof edge, where gaps or small holes are common.
- Where the roof meets a gable wall, and the corners at either end of the building.
- Chimney stacks, and the flaunching and flashing where they meet the roof.
- Missing or slipped tiles, and the dark gaps beneath them.
- Air bricks, roof vents and the tops of extractor ducts.
- Dormer windows, bay window roofs and porch roofs.
Look for dark, narrow openings that wasps pass through, not for the nest itself. Most roof nests are not visible at all.
Start at one end of the house and work round slowly, spending at least a couple of minutes on each elevation. A wasp entrance is small, and your eye needs time to pick up the movement.
Check the side and rear of the building as well as the front. Roof nests are just as often found at the back, where nobody looks.
Reading the traffic
From your viewing spot, watch the likeliest gap for several minutes. A constant two-way flow of wasps disappearing into one point under the eaves or alongside a chimney is the classic sign. They tend to approach from below and slightly to the side, hover for a split second, and slip in.
The sun helps and hinders. A bright, warm day brings out more wasps, but glare can make them hard to see against pale brickwork. Moving a few steps so that the sun is behind you, or looking against a dark roof or a shaded wall, can make a big difference.
If you cannot see any entrance but you hear faint buzzing in an upstairs room, or you notice a stain on a ceiling near an outside wall, link it with what you see outside. Roof nests often come out in the open only at one small gap.
Keep a note of the time and weather. A nest that seems quiet in cool, cloudy conditions can look entirely different on a warm afternoon, so a second look at another time is often worthwhile.
Look at the ground below the suspect spot too. Small bits of grey papery material, or the odd dead wasp, can fall from a roof nest and give a hint about where it is.
Chimneys and flues
Chimney stacks deserve special mention, since wasps can enter an unused or capped chimney and build in the space below. A trickle of wasps appearing at the fireplace or in a room with a chimney breast, together with traffic at the stack, is a clear sign.
Do not light a fire to try to drive wasps out, and do not block the flue or tip anything down it. Both can make matters worse. Keep the room closed off, and describe what you have seen.
If you have more than one chimney or a shared stack, note which one the activity is at, using a clear landmark such as the left-hand stack as you face the front of the house.
Wasps seen in an upstairs room might be coming from a loft nest instead, so check the roof space only from the doorway or hatch, and close it again at once if you hear buzzing.
What you can safely do while you wait
Keep windows closed on the affected side where you can, and keep an eye on any loft hatch. If a ceiling shows a growing stain or you hear buzzing, keep people out of that room. Children and pets should stay away from the area under the roof edge, and nobody should be on the ladder, whatever the temptation.
If anybody is stung, wash the area, take out the sting if you can see it and use a cold pack. For swelling of the face, lips or throat, wheezing, difficulty breathing, dizziness or a widespread rash, call 999.
Tell any workers on site, such as roofers, window cleaners or decorators, about the nest. Scaffolding and ladders near an entrance are a bad mix.
At a business with a flat roof or a roof void, it is the same advice: nobody goes up to have a look.
Arranging a visit
Tell us which part of the roof the wasps use and roughly how high it is. Wasp Exterminator Leeds covers Beverley and nearby villages, treating nests at homes and commercial properties. A nest costs a fixed £90 and any additional nest on the same property is £35, with no call-out charge.
The price is confirmed on the phone before any visit, and nothing is carried out until you agree. Ring 0113 347 0014 or use the booking form on the contact page. We are open seven days a week, with same-day service available, and we ask that you mention any allergy in the household when booking.
If the nest sits near a shared chimney or party wall, say so on the phone, and tell the neighbour too, so that nobody is surprised by the visit.
It is always worth asking the technician when you book whether the empty nest can be taken down afterwards.
Wasps on your property in Beverley?
Fixed price £90 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.