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Large wasps in my house
Garden noob
Posts: 260
I've found (and killed - sorry) three large wasps in my house in the past couple of weeks. I assume they're queens and I'm scared of them building a nest (had one in the loft a couple of years ago). They're surprisingly resistant to wasp spray, but it works in the end.
I don't wish them any ill will; I just don't want them building a nest in or around my house. Other than closing windows etc, is there anything I can do to discourage them?
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I think that you already had a nest in your house which is the source of these new queens. It will probably be somewhere in the roof but might not be accessible to you. Far better to catch and release them than kill them, wasps do valuable service for us in pest control in the garden.
I agree Steephill, I think they're already in the house and looking to get out ... they may well be in attic and are crawling into the house via the crack surrounding the loft hatch ... they can squeeze through the tiniest gaps.
Open the doors and windows and gently encourage them out so that they can raise a family who will devour your aphids
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
You don't bear them any ill will - so you killed them!!
My desire is to keep them out of the house. But if they come in, they will be killed.
Surely no one wants a queen wasp to establish a nest in their house?!
To see so many I think you might already have a nest in / near the house.
All you can do is find it and follow the advice above.
Thanks for the comments... We definitely had quite a few wasps in the house last summer (it's always the bathroom...) but I had a thorough search and couldn't find a nest (unlike the previous summer when I found a healthy nest in the loft above the bathroom).
I'd better have another look for a nest, but just the thought of it fills me with dread!
If you know the places they are trying to nest - roof space or wherever - you could put up a waspinator.
They do work - surprisingly - but only if fairly targeted and in reasonably small areas. Hanging one in your porch won't stop them nesting in your roof, for example
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
It's a bit early to be looking for a nest, they're still looking for nesting sites
In the sticks near Peterborough