Why wasps choose your loft
In spring a single queen looks for a sheltered cavity to start her nest. Lofts are ideal: quiet, out of the weather and close to gaps under tiles, soffits and fascia boards. She builds a paper nest the size of a golf ball and raises the first workers herself.
By midsummer the nest can hold thousands of wasps. It hangs from a rafter or sits on top of the insulation, growing to the size of a football or larger. You will rarely need to see it to know it is there.
Signs the nest is in your loft
The earliest sign is usually sound. A faint scratching or ticking from the ceiling is the wasps chewing wood to make paper. Later you may see wasps in upstairs rooms, especially around windows, where they emerge from gaps around downlighters or loft hatches.
Outside, watch the roofline from the ground. A steady stream of wasps entering one point under the tiles or through the soffit, every few seconds, means an active nest close by.
- Scratching or ticking sounds from the ceiling
- Wasps appearing in upstairs rooms
- A steady flight line under the tiles or soffit
- Grey paper visible on rafters or insulation
What not to do in a loft
Do not block the entrance hole. Trapped wasps will chew a new way out, and that route is often into your bedroom. Do not spray into the gap from a ladder, and do not go into the loft to poke or bag the nest.
A disturbed loft nest defends itself fast, and a loft gives you nowhere to go. Keep the hatch closed, keep children away from the room below, and call us.
How we treat a loft nest
In most cases we treat from outside, applying the treatment at the entrance the wasps are using. Returning workers carry it deep into the nest, which deals with the whole colony including the queen.
Traffic usually slows within a couple of hours and the nest is normally inactive within 24. If it is still active after that, your free revisit covers a second treatment. One nest is £125, fixed, with no call-out fee.
Will the nest come back next year?
No. Wasps never reuse an old nest. Once the colony dies in autumn the nest is empty for good, and you can leave it or knock it down in winter.
A new queen may start a fresh nest nearby next spring, because your loft is clearly a good spot. That would be a new nest, not the old one returning, and it would be treated the same way.
Loft nests: common questions
Do you need to go into the loft?
Usually not. Treating the entrance from outside is enough, because the workers carry the treatment into the nest. If we do need access, we will tell you before we start.
Why are wasps getting into my bedroom?
They squeeze through gaps around downlighters, pipes or the loft hatch, then head for the window light. It usually means the nest is close to that spot. Keep the door shut and call us.
Can I just leave a loft nest alone?
If the nest is bothering no one and the loft is unused, you can wait for the colony to die in autumn. If wasps are getting into rooms or the entrance is near a door, treating it is the safer choice.