Found a Wasp Nest in Your Loft in Shadwell? Here's What to Do
Once the nest has been treated, there are dead wasps and paper to deal with. Here is a calm, safe order of jobs for the clear-up.
The quiet after the visit
The technician has left and the house feels very different. The humming has stopped, but the landing carpet has a scatter of dead wasps and there is a fine grey flaking on the window sill. It is time to tidy up, though it is natural to wonder how safe that is.
If this is you in Shadwell, take things in the right order. Do not rush to the loft; deal with the rooms below first.
It is worth setting aside twenty minutes or so for the job rather than doing it in a rush. Gather what you need first: gloves, a bin bag, a brush and pan, a cloth and a bucket of warm soapy water.
Do not feel you must finish everything at once. Several short sessions are fine, and leaving the loft until another day is perfectly sensible.
Start with the technician’s word
Before you touch anything, make sure you have been told that it is fine to do so. The technician will normally tell you when you can go back into the affected rooms and when you can enter the loft. If you were not told, phone and ask.
Keep children and pets out of the area until you have cleared up, since dead wasps can still sting if trodden on or picked up.
If some of the wasps on the floor are still moving, give them time and keep clear. A dazed wasp can still sting, so scoop it up with a stiff card and a jar, rather than your hand.
Open a window in the room for a short while, and keep your face away from the pile as you sweep.
Keep a small container of soapy water handy for any wasp that is still alive. It is a tidy, low-risk way to deal with a straggler, though a glass and card outdoors does the job too.
Clearing dead wasps
- Put on gloves and wear shoes or slippers.
- Collect wasps with a brush and pan, or use a vacuum cleaner.
- Put them in a bag, tie it and put it in the outside bin.
- Empty the vacuum bag or canister straight away if you used one.
- Wipe sills and surfaces with warm soapy water.
- Wash your hands.
Check behind curtains and along the edge of the carpet, where wasps may have settled. A torch helps.
Do not forget the less obvious places. Wasps can end up in the bottom of light fittings, on top of wardrobes and behind radiators, and these are easy to overlook until the next sunny day.
If a wasp has died in a light shade, take the shade off carefully once the bulb is cool and clean it out.
The paper nest
The paper nest is made of chewed wood fibre, and it may be left in place in the loft. Ask the technician, when booking or on the day, whether the empty nest can be taken down. Do not attempt to remove it unless they say it is fine.
If it is left, it is not a danger once the colony has been treated, but some people prefer to remove it. Wear gloves and bag everything. Remember that a loft is a cramped place, so take care on the boards and the joists.
Papery fragments can be vacuumed up. A lightly damp cloth takes care of the fine flakes.
Treat the empty nest as ordinary household waste if it is removed. It is paper-like, lightweight and brittle, so double bagging stops it from crumbling in the bin.
You may find the nest has left a pale stain or a few specks on the rafters or the ceiling lining. These can be wiped or left alone, and they are not usually a concern.
Look for how they got in
After clearing up, it is worth working out how the wasps reached the loft in the first place. Walk around the outside and look for gaps at the eaves, loose or cracked tiles or missing mortar. If you find something, ask a roofer or builder to repair it.
Whether repairs are your responsibility depends on whether you own the property or rent it, so check your tenancy agreement or ask the landlord. Repairing a gap in early spring, before queens start looking for a site, is the best protection.
When you walk round the outside, look up at the soffits and fascia boards, look at the gaps around pipes and vents, and make a note of anything loose. A photograph of each place helps when you talk to a builder or the landlord.
You do not have to fix every gap, but dealing with the obvious ones makes your house a less attractive site for a queen next spring.
Many people ask whether to put poison down in the loft to stop wasps returning. There is no need, and nothing you place there will stop a queen from moving in, whereas a sound roof will.
If you need us again
If you see wasps in the house after the visit, phone us on 0113 347 0014 or use the booking form on the contact page and tell us what you have seen. We cover Shadwell and the wider Leeds area, seven days a week, with same-day service for homes and businesses.
Treatment of a nest is a fixed £90, with no call-out charge, and an additional nest on the same property is £35. The price is confirmed on the phone first and nothing is done without your agreement.
For stings, wash the area, remove the sting if visible and use a cold pack. If there are signs of a serious allergic reaction, such as swelling of the face, lips or throat, wheezing, dizziness or a spreading rash, call 999.
It also helps to leave the hatch properly closed and fitting snugly from now on, so that anything which does get into the loft is less likely to find its way down.
Wasps on your property in Shadwell?
Fixed price £90 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.