Found a Wasp Nest in Your Loft in Bramcote? Here's What to Do
The sound of chewing and fresh paper in a loft are less obvious signs than the wasps themselves, and this explains what they are and how to respond.
How wasps build
Wasps make their nest from paper. Workers scrape fibres from wood, such as a fence, a shed or the timbers of a roof, chew them into pulp and spread it into thin layers. The result is a grey, brittle shell around the combs where the young are raised.
Bramcote, a suburb west of Nottingham near Beeston, has houses of all ages, and in any of them, a loft with accessible timber is a convenient source of material. If a nest is in the loft, the workers may be taking fibres from the rafters themselves.
Wasps do not eat wood; they use it as raw material. That means a nest is not the same as a woodworm or rot problem, and it does not generally weaken a roof. What it does mean is that a loft with a nest has a lot of activity going on in it.
What you might hear
A fine, dry rasping or scratching, like fingernails on cardboard, is the sound of many mandibles at work. It is clearest in a quiet house on a warm day, and different from the knocking of pipes or the pattering of a mouse.
Alongside the rasping there is usually a hum. If both are coming from the same spot above a ceiling, particularly with wasps appearing in the room, a nest is likely.
- Rasping that comes and goes with the temperature.
- A hum that gets louder in the afternoon.
- No sound at night, when the colony is quieter.
- Wasps on the ceiling by day.
A mouse or a squirrel is likely to be heard at night or early morning; a wasp nest is louder in the middle of the day. If you are uncertain, note the time of day you hear it for a few days and tell us.
A phone video of the sound is surprisingly useful. Recording from the landing, with the phone held up towards the ceiling for half a minute, lets you play it back to the person on the phone when you ring.
What you might see
Fresh chewed marks on exposed timber, small piles of pale shavings under a rafter, or grey papery flecks on the loft floor are all possible. You will not usually see them without going up, which is not recommended.
From below, a brownish patch on a ceiling can have many causes, such as a leak, so it does not prove a nest. Judge by the wasps: look for traffic through a gap outside, and wasps indoors.
If you have an exposed rafter close to a hatch, you might notice a pale scar on the timber where fibre has been taken. This is something to mention to the technician, not to investigate yourself. A torch shone through the hatch for a quick look is also a bad idea; light draws wasps and may provoke them.
What to do
Treat it as a live nest.
- Keep the hatch shut and keep children and pets away from it.
- Close windows nearest the spot you hear the sound.
- Look from the garden for a steady stream of wasps entering the roof edge or a small gap.
- Do not tap the ceiling or poke at it. Disturbing the nest can send the colony towards you.
- Ring and describe the sounds, the location and anything you have seen.
Think about who is in the house during the day. If somebody works from a room under the loft, they may want to move to another room for a while; the hum, together with stray wasps, can make for an anxious working day.
Also consider the wider property. Garden sheds, fences and decking all supply wood fibre, and wasps may be collecting from there too. A line of wasps on a fence post, scraping at the surface, is a sign a nest is nearby, even if you cannot see where.
Booking and cost
Phone 0115 937 5117, or fill in the booking form on the contact page. Wasp nest treatment is a fixed £95 per nest, with £35 for an additional nest on the same property and no call-out charge. The price is confirmed before the visit, and no work is done without your agreement.
Same-day service is offered, but cannot be promised for every call. Fully insured and trained, the technician works only with your agreement.
If the house is rented, the tenancy agreement may say who is responsible for pests, so check it before you ring. If a landlord or agent is involved, let them know today. Domestic and commercial premises are both covered by the service.
Afterwards, and protecting the timber
After treatment, the rasping should stop. Wasps do not harm structural timber seriously by taking fibres, but a nest can leave marks. If you are worried about the condition of the roof, ask a roofer or surveyor rather than guessing. Once the technician says the loft is clear, you can look at the damage and clear the paper nest, or ask whether it can be taken down.
Wasps return to nest in the same sort of place each year, so a little maintenance helps. In spring, look at roof edges and soffits for gaps and fix them once you have been told the nest has been dealt with. A sound roof is the best defence against a repeat.
Dead wasps and the old paper nest may remain; wear gloves and a mask if you clear them, and bag the paper. You can ask when booking whether the empty nest can be taken down, so the technician can tell you what is possible.
If you share a roof line with a neighbour, a quick word helps. A nest in one loft can have an entrance in the shared eaves, and the other household may be hearing the same noise.
Wasps on your property in Bramcote?
Fixed price £95 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.