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I think I have a wasps nest in my loft and i’m worried and don’t know what to do about it

clairedavison143402clairedavison143402 Posts: 5
in Wildlife gardening
I have what looks like a wasps next on the front loft beam of my house inside the loft. I have asked the pest control people about it and they have told me know one will come out unless my loft is boarded. I don’t know what to do and are feeling really anxious now as finding it extremely hard to get any help about it. Any advice from anyone would be mist grateful
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  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I assume you're in the UK? In winter all wasps, except queens, die off. The queens will hibernate in the coldest months and won't be interested in nesting until the spring. Your nest is likely to be an old one and can be removed now it's empty. Your main action is to seal up any access points to prevent nesting in the future. Although if you didn't notice the wasps using the nest before then it's probably safe to say that they weren't a problem.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • clairedavison143402clairedavison143402 Posts: 5
    Thank you for your reply and useful comments I really appreciate that as thought it must have been an old nest. Just needed reassurance that it is as didn’t want to run the risk of attempting to remove a live nest. Can you confirm by the pictures that it’s definitely in your opinion a wasps nest? And a used one?..  and yes I do live in the cold UK at the moment!.. Like I said I have tried to get help on this matter and asked the pest control to remove it but they are saying they will not do unless my loft has boards to and from the nest so now attempting to contact someone that is willing to board my loft with a wasps nest in it!.. if I can reassure them that the nest is no longer in use it may help the situation. 
  • clairedavison143402clairedavison143402 Posts: 5
    I was really rather hoping as a pest control company they really should have known that the nest is dormant and that poses less of a risk.. would you still recommend a professional is needed to remove the nest? Thank you  
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I have asked the pest control people about it and they have told me know one will come out unless my loft is boarded.


    I can't imagine why any decent company would refuse to come out. a) they would know that the nest wouldn't be active in the winter b) even in the summer the wasps' nest might be fine to leave if the wasps weren't bothering anyone c) surely dealing with bothersome nests is their job at any time of year.

    They sound pretty rubbish to me. But at least you haven't been charged for a removal job you didn't need and didn't pay to have the loft boarded up.  But still ...

  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    If you can get to it, Claire, it should be possible to hold a strong plastic bag over the whole nest, and then slide a broad paint scraper to dislodge it from the timber.  Seal quickly.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    How big is the nest and how far from the loft hatch is it?
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • McRazzMcRazz Posts: 440
    edited December 2023
    nick615 said:
    If you can get to it, Claire, it should be possible to hold a strong plastic bag over the whole nest, and then slide a broad paint scraper to dislodge it from the timber.  Seal quickly.
    This sounds like a sensible approach. Alternatively, if you have a workshop vacuum or a Henry Hoover (basically the same thing) then you can just mash up the nest whilst concurrently sucking it up the vacuum - this is what the pest control guys often do. 

    We had some roofing works done last spring and I watched our roofer rip a nest apart with his bare hands, locate a hibernating wasp (queen i assume) and dispatch of it! I usually adopt a live and let live approach myself but it was in their way. 
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    And one further point, the wasps will not return to the old nest either. The queen will build a new one somewhere else next season.
  • clairedavison143402clairedavison143402 Posts: 5
    Thank you so much for your informative replies. All this information has been extremely useful and 100 times more helpful than the pest control company!!
    I am actually feeling a lot less anxious about the whole thing and thinking with some help from a friend with some organised lighting in the loft could actually sort it myself.. The nest is not near the loft hatch, its across towards the front of the house/roof attached to a beam fairly low down so awkward but manageable and think the pest control people were not going to come out as is not easy access to get in/out as only have the rafters/beams to stand on. Think for them it was more about health & safety insurance reasons and them putting their foot through my ceiling I think! anyway, now I have all your valid info, and now I know it’s not an emergency situation with what looks like an oversized football full of angry wasps will relax a bit more and as someone pointed out, as not been bothered by it at all option b would be just to leave it there if it’s not going to be used again.

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