Wasp Nests Under Roof Tiles – A Common Problem for Lindhurst Homes
Before booking any treatment, it is worth working out whether the insects at your roof edge are wasps or bees, because the correct help is quite different.
First, what are they?
People often describe any stripy flying insect as a wasp, and it is an understandable mistake. But what lives under your roof tiles makes a real difference. Wasps are a pest-control matter. Honeybees and bumblebees are protected by good sense and by conservation groups, and the right call for them is a beekeeper or a bee organisation, not a pest technician.
We treat wasps only. So a minute spent identifying the insects can save everyone a wasted trip. This is useful whether you live in Lindhurst or elsewhere, and it does not require you to get anywhere near the nest.
Looking at the insect itself
Use binoculars or the zoom on a phone to see the insects from a distance, in good light. Several features help to tell them apart.
- Wasps have smooth, slim, almost hairless bodies with a clear narrow waist and bright yellow and black bands.
- Honeybees are rounder, hairier and a duller brown and gold, and often carry yellow pollen on their legs.
- Bumblebees are large, fat and fuzzy, with soft stripes and a slow, bumbling flight.
- Wasps fly in quick, darting lines, and often return repeatedly to the same hole.
If you cannot tell from a distance, do not move closer. A photo taken from the garden is enough for a call.
Pollen is a useful clue. Bees often return to the entrance with bright balls of pollen on their back legs, and you can sometimes spot this through binoculars. Wasps carry no pollen at all, and are more likely to be seen chewing at a fence post or garden furniture to collect wood fibre for their nest.
Looking at the behaviour
Behaviour offers extra clues. Wasps are drawn to sweet and savoury food, so they often turn up at bins, fruit and picnics, especially from midsummer. Bees are mostly interested in flowers, and you will see them working on borders and blossoms. A bee colony in a roof tends to show a steady but unhurried flow, often with insects hovering at the entrance. A wasp nest tends to show faster, more darting traffic.
The nest entrance can also tell you something. Wasps chew wood fibre to make a grey, papery nest, so you may see a light grey smear around the hole or a sprinkle of papery crumbs below it. Bees use wax, which looks and smells different, and you may see a small amount of honey-coloured residue near the entrance.
If it turns out to be bees
If you decide the insects are honeybees or bumblebees, do not try to remove, block or treat the colony yourself, and do not book us. Contact a local beekeeper or the relevant bee organisation, who will advise you on what can be done. Keep a respectful distance meanwhile, and ask anyone working near the roof to leave the area alone until you have had advice.
Honeybee swarms and nests are sometimes moved by a beekeeper, which is a very different job from wasp control. We do not treat bees, hornets or other pests, so we would simply point you back to the right specialist.
A word about hornets and other insects is also worthwhile. Some people see a very large wasp-like insect and assume it must be something more exotic. If you think the insects are larger than ordinary wasps, or you are unsure, describe them to us honestly, and we will tell you plainly whether it is something we deal with. We treat wasps and we do not claim to treat bees, hornets or other pests.
Timing can help with identification too. Honeybee colonies often swarm in late spring and early summer, which can look alarming as a cloud of insects settles on a tree or fence. That is a separate event from a wasp nest in a roof, and beekeepers are used to dealing with it. A wasp nest, by contrast, produces a steady day-by-day increase in traffic through a single hole, which builds through the summer.
If a ladder is the only way you could confirm what the insects are, then leave the question open and ring us. We would rather talk it through than have anyone go up for a closer look.
If it turns out to be wasps
If the insects are wasps, treat the roof edge as a no-go area. Never use a ladder to look, and never block the gap. Wasps denied their usual route can find another way out, which is often into the house. Instead, note the side of the building and the position of the entrance, and ring for treatment. Keep windows near the roof closed in the warm part of the day, and keep children and pets away from that side of the garden.
Nests begin from late April depending on the spring, grow through the summer and usually peak in August, when a colony can hold between 2,000 and 10,000 wasps or more. So a small number of wasps at a roof edge in June can become a large problem by late summer.
Booking a wasp visit
For wasps, the treatment is a fixed £95 per nest, with an additional nest on the same property at £35 each. There is nothing to pay for the call-out, and the price is confirmed on the phone before the visit. We never go ahead without your agreement. We are open seven days a week, offer same-day service and work with both domestic and commercial customers. The people who attend are trained, and the work carries full insurance.
The number is 0115 937 5117, and the contact page has a booking form too. Describe what you have seen, including the colour and shape of the insects and how they fly, and tell us about any allergy in the household when you book.
Wasps on your property in Lindhurst?
Fixed price £95 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.