Why Are Wasps Flying Into Your Little London Home? Common Causes and Solutions
Hot weather means open windows, and open windows mean uninvited guests; this guide covers keeping wasps out while keeping the house cool, and spotting a nest.
The hot week and the open window
It has been a warm few days, so every window in the house is open and the back door is propped. By the second afternoon a wasp has wandered into the living room, and by the third there is another one on the kitchen ceiling. Nothing else has changed except the weather, which is exactly the clue.
In summer we stop treating our homes as sealed boxes. We leave sashes open, drink outside and carry plates through doors. To a wasp, that is a long invitation. This article looks at why warm spells bring more of them indoors, how to keep fresh air without the visitors, and the point at which an open-window problem is really a nest problem.
The advice applies equally in Little London and anywhere else where houses and flats get hot and stuffy.
Why warm days bring more wasps in
Wasps are most active when it is warm, and a worker's job is to bring food back to the colony. Warm air also carries smells further, so the scent of a barbecue, a sweet drink or a bin lid left ajar reaches a wider area. A wasp follows the scent trail until it finds a source, and an open window can be a short cut to one.
Late spring and early summer wasps hunt mainly for protein to feed the developing grubs. Later in the season the colony turns towards sugar, which is why wasps become more pestering around jam, fizzy drinks and ice cream as the weeks go on. The same household can therefore see different behaviour in June and in August.
Heat itself plays a part. A window on the sunny side of the house warms up and can draw in a wasp that is cold or tired, much as it draws a fly.
Keeping the air flowing without the wasps
You do not need to shut yourself in. A few small changes help:
- Fit fine mesh screens to the windows you open most, and check the edges for gaps.
- Open windows on the shaded side of the house for longer, and the sunny side only briefly.
- Keep a door screen or bead curtain in place across the back door when it is open.
- Stop food and drink being carried across the threshold uncovered.
- Open bedroom windows only slightly at night if there is a light on inside, since lit rooms pull in flying insects.
- Draw blinds or curtains on the sunniest windows in the afternoon, which keeps rooms cooler and makes them less attractive.
If the weather is too hot for a closed house, a fan set near an open window can push air outward and make it harder for insects to drift in.
For a flat with a balcony door, a simple routine works well. Open the door for a short spell to cool the room, close it while you cook or eat, and keep anything sweet well away from the threshold. Small habits like this cut the number of wasps that come in far more than chasing them out one by one does.
Food, drink and bins close to the door
Open doors and windows matter most when something attractive sits within a few metres. Look at what is near your doorway: an uncovered bin, a compost caddy, a stack of cans waiting for recycling, a pet bowl or a washing-up bowl full of sticky plates.
Rinse cans and bottles before they go into recycling, keep lids closed and move the bins a little further from the door if possible. When you eat outside, cover plates and keep drinks capped or in a glass with a lid, because wasps will crawl inside a can. Check before you take a sip.
After a meal, wipe the table and sweep up crumbs straight away. Leave nothing sweet on the windowsill.
Fallen fruit is another quiet attraction. If you have an apple or plum tree, or even a neighbour who does, windfalls soften and ferment in the heat and bring wasps to the area in numbers. Clear them regularly and bin them rather than leaving them in the border.
When it is more than the weather
If wasps are arriving in numbers, or keep appearing in a room even with the window closed, think about a nest. Colonies are founded from late April depending on the weather, and by August the nest may hold between 2,000 and 10,000 wasps or more.
Telltale signs include a stream of wasps going to and from the same crack above a window or under the eaves, a buzzing sound in a wall, or wasps emerging from a light fitting, air vent or loft hatch. Do not seal the gap, since trapped wasps will look for another way out, and that way could be into the house.
Keep everyone away from the area. A threatened nest can send out a swarm that will sting.
A useful test is to close the window for a day. If the wasps stop, you were seeing visitors attracted by the open window. If they carry on appearing inside, they are coming from somewhere within the building, and it is time to have a professional look.
Booking, and what we need to know
Treating one nest costs a fixed £90, and a second nest at the same property is £35. There is no call-out charge, we work every day of the week and same-day service is offered. We confirm the price on the phone before the technician comes, and we do nothing without your agreement.
You can phone 0113 347 0014 or book through the form on the contact page. Say which window or wall the wasps use, how high up it is and whether anyone at home is allergic to stings. Our technicians are trained and fully insured, and we work for both homes and businesses.
Wasps on your property in Little London?
Fixed price £90 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.