Why Are Wasps Flying Into Your Bilborough Home? Common Causes and Solutions
A lone wasp that wandered in is a nuisance, while a steady stream of them points to a nest, and a simple counting test shows which one you have.
Start by counting, not swatting
Most people judge the problem by how alarmed they feel, which is a poor measure. A better one is a number. Pick a quiet moment, sit somewhere safe with a clear view of the room or the window where the wasps keep appearing, and count how many arrive over ten minutes. Write it on the back of an envelope. Do the same again later in the day.
A householder in Bilborough, a suburb of Nottingham, might do this at the kitchen window and find two wasps in ten minutes, each arriving, circling the fruit bowl and leaving again. That is the pattern of foragers that happened to pass by. If the same count turns out to be fifteen or twenty, and the wasps keep arriving from the same direction, something nearby is feeding them in an organised way.
The count matters because wasps are social insects. A single worker out for a snack behaves quite differently from the workers of a colony that has set up within a few dozen metres of your windows.
Keep the tally honest. Count only wasps that enter the room or touch the window, not ones glimpsed across the garden, and note the time next to each figure. Two or three readings across a day, say morning, early afternoon and late afternoon, give a far better picture than one anxious look. If the figures climb in the warmest part of the afternoon, that fits a nest, because the colony sends out more foragers when it is warm.
What a stray wasp looks like
A stray tends to drift. It enters through an open window or door, bumps along the glass, investigates anything sweet, and spends most of its time trying to get back out. It rarely comes back through the same gap within minutes.
- It arrives alone, with long gaps between visits.
- It flies in loose, wandering loops rather than a straight line.
- It heads for sugary or meaty food, drinks and bins.
- It tires, lands on the window ledge and often stays there.
Strays are most common in late summer, when the colony has stopped raising as many young and the workers go looking for sugar for themselves. Seeing a few in the house at that time of year is ordinary.
One more clue is behaviour at the glass. A stray usually spends its time at the window trying to leave, whereas a wasp that has come from a nest will often fly straight past the window and head off along the same wall it arrived on.
What nest traffic looks like
Nest traffic is purposeful. Wasps travel in a straight, fast line, out and back, and they use the same path every time. If you stand still at a distance you will notice the line: the same corner of the roof, the same gap beside a drainpipe, the same patch of ground by the wall.
- Wasps arrive in a repeating stream, often several every minute.
- They leave and return along a fixed route and do not stop to explore.
- They disappear into a small gap, hole or crack and do not come back out the same way.
- You hear a low hum from a wall, ceiling or loft.
Do not walk up to the gap to check. Stay back, watch from the far side of a window if you can, and keep children and pets inside while you do.
What to do in the meantime
If your count says stray, the fixes are simple and cost nothing. Keep windows and doors shut or screened when you are not in the room, clear plates and cups straight away, rinse bottles and cans before they go in the recycling, and put a tight lid on the bin.
If the count says nest, keep the affected room's door closed, leave the wasps alone, and avoid swatting those that come in, because a crushed wasp can attract others. Do not block the gap you think they use. Wasps that cannot get out the way they came in will look for another way and can turn up inside the house.
Anyone in the household who is allergic to stings should be kept well clear of the area, and should be mentioned when you call so that it can be taken into account.
Photographs and notes help the technician
If you can do so without going near the spot, take a short video from a window or from a safe distance and note where the traffic seems to start or end. A photo of the roof edge, wall or ground area where you think they are going is useful. Note whether you have seen them inside only, or outside as well, and which rooms are affected.
Do not take close-up pictures of a gap. A zoom lens from across the garden or an upstairs window is plenty. If you are unsure which gap it is, say so; the technician will check when they arrive.
- Date and time of each count.
- Number of wasps seen in ten minutes.
- Direction they arrive from or leave towards.
- Any sounds from a wall, ceiling or loft.
- Anyone at home with a sting allergy.
When to ring for help
A stream of wasps entering a wall, roof or hole is the point at which to stop experimenting. A fixed price of £95 covers the nest, with £35 for any additional nest on the same property, and there is no call-out charge. The price is agreed on the phone before anyone visits, and nothing is done until you say yes.
You can speak to us on 0115 937 5117, or send the booking form on the contact page if you would rather write it down. Tell us what you counted and where the wasps seem to be going, because that helps the technician find the entrance quickly. The service is open seven days a week and the work is domestic and commercial.
Wasps on your property in Bilborough?
Fixed price £95 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.