Found a Wasp Nest in Your Loft in Wollaton? Here's What to Do
Most loft nests are found when someone goes up for a box, and the stored clutter around the eaves makes the situation harder, so here is how to handle it.
The trip to fetch the suitcase
A good number of loft nests are discovered by accident. Someone climbs the steps to fetch a suitcase, the Christmas tree or a box of old books, pushes the hatch up and finds a grey papery mass in the corner and a cloud of wasps. If that has just happened, the most important thing is to get down, close the hatch, and leave.
Wollaton, a suburb of Nottingham, has plenty of homes where the loft is a store room, with boxes stacked right to the edges of the roof. That clutter gives wasps ideal cover and makes the nest harder to see and to reach.
It is natural to feel embarrassed about a loft that has been neglected, or to worry that the mess will get in the way. Please do not. Technicians see cluttered lofts all the time, and the nest is the thing that matters.
If you are looking at it right now
Move away slowly. Do not wave your arms or run; wasps react to sudden movement.
- Back down the ladder without dropping anything or slamming the hatch.
- Close the hatch gently and keep everyone away from it.
- Shut the doors to the rooms below and leave windows closed.
- Check yourself and others for stings, and wash any you find.
- Ring for treatment once everybody is calm.
Do not go back for the box. Whatever is in it can wait.
If you have been stung, wash the area with soap and water, take out the sting if you can see it, and apply something cold. Swelling of the face, lips or throat, wheezing, difficulty breathing, dizziness or a widespread rash is a reason to call 999. If one of the household has a known allergy, tell us when you book.
Leave the hatch closed and, if possible, put something heavy and soft, like a rolled towel, along the edge on the landing side to discourage wasps from drifting into the house. Do not use any of the stored items as a barrier by pushing them up into the loft.
Why the boxes make it harder
Stored items cut off the technician’s view and routes. A nest tucked behind a stack of boxes against the eaves may have an entrance you cannot see, and reaching it may need things to be moved. That is the technician’s job, not yours, and moving boxes beside a live nest is a classic way to be stung.
Cardboard, old fabric and soft furnishings are also easy for wasps to chew, so if the nest is close to your belongings, they may be affected. Do not try to rescue them yet.
A stack against the eaves is also a stack that has probably not been moved in years. Wasps often choose precisely such a spot, because it offers a sheltered corner, a short flight to a gap at the roof edge and no interference. By the time you find it, the nest may be larger than you expect, as many nests are in August when the colony is at its peak with thousands of wasps.
Telling us what is up there
When you ring 0115 937 5117, describe the loft as best you can:
- how the hatch opens and whether there is a fixed ladder
- whether the floor is boarded
- where stored items are stacked, and whether the nest seems to be behind them
- how much clear space there is around the hatch
This helps with planning. The price is a fixed £95 for the nest, with £35 for an additional nest on the same property and no call-out charge. Same-day slots are offered, though they depend on the day.
If you are not certain what is up there, say so. A description like "a big cardboard box stack on the left, and I think I saw grey paper behind it" is enough. You do not need to know the species or the size.
What the visit involves
The work is done by a trained technician and is fully insured. They will assess the nest, how to reach it and the safest approach. You are asked to stay away from the hatch and the rooms below. Nothing is done without your agreement. If anyone in the household is allergic to wasp stings, tell us when booking.
Many people ask whether they need to empty the loft first. They do not. Clearing it is not a job to do beside a live nest. Leave everything where it is and let the technician decide what, if anything, needs to move.
Sorting the boxes afterwards
Once the technician has said the loft is safe to enter, you can go back up to sort things. Expect to find dead wasps, perhaps a few lingering insects, and the paper of the old nest. Wear long sleeves, gloves and a mask if you are clearing it, and bin the paper rather than leaving it. Ask at booking whether the empty nest can be taken down by the technician.
Check boxes for wasp damage or contamination before bringing them down. A tidier loft is also a better loft for spotting a new nest early next year.
Take the opportunity to look at how the loft is organised. Keeping a clear gap between boxes and the eaves, and putting items in lidded plastic tubs rather than open cardboard, makes any future problem easier to spot and easier to deal with. It also reduces the chance that stored belongings get chewed or contaminated.
In spring, a quick look in the loft before the weather warms up, with a torch and a steady ladder, is a sensible habit. If you ever see a small, new nest the size of a golf ball, do not touch it; ring and describe it.
Wasps on your property in Wollaton?
Fixed price £95 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.