If you’ve spotted a wasp nest in your loft, shed or garden this month, now is the worst time of year to ignore it. By late August, a wasp nest that started as a golf-ball-sized cluster in May has usually grown into a colony of several thousand workers – and their behaviour is changing fast. Here in Sherwood, Arnold, Woodthorpe, Bulwell and Old Basford, we’re getting more wasp nest call-outs right now than at almost any other point in the season.
Why late August wasps are more aggressive
Through spring and early summer, worker wasps are busy feeding grubs back in the nest, which keeps them relatively focused and less interested in you or your picnic. From late August onwards, the queen stops laying new eggs and the colony has no more larvae to feed. That means thousands of worker wasps suddenly have nothing to do – except forage for sugar, which makes them far more likely to turn up at your bins, barbecues and drinks, and far more likely to sting if they feel threatened. A nest that seemed manageable in July can become a genuine hazard to kids, pets and anyone with a wasp sting allergy by the first week of September.
Where we’re finding nests locally
In Sherwood and Woodthorpe, older semi-detached homes with soffit gaps and mature gardens near Woodthorpe Grange Park are a favourite spot for nests in roof voids. Arnold’s mix of 1930s bay-fronted houses and newer estates near Arnot Hill Park gives wasps plenty of cavity walls and shed roofs to nest in. Over in Bulwell and Old Basford, we’re regularly called to nests in garden sheds, garage eaves and the gaps around bay windows on the Victorian terraces near Bulwell Riverside and the Leen Valley – as well as commercial units on the Old Basford industrial estates, where a nest behind signage or in a loading bay roof can go unnoticed until it’s huge.
Signs you actually have a nest, not just a few wasps
- A steady stream of wasps flying in and out of one spot (a roof vent, air brick, shed corner or hole in the ground) at a fairly constant rate, especially in the morning
- A faint papery, rustling sound from inside a wall cavity or loft space on a warm day
- A grey, papery structure visible in a loft, shed or hollow tree – nests can range from tennis-ball to football-sized by now
- More wasps than usual around bins, fallen fruit, or anywhere sugary drinks are left out
Why DIY removal is a bad idea in late summer
Supermarket wasp foam and smoke bombs are designed for small, early-season nests. By late August, a mature nest holds thousands of wasps that will swarm defensively if disturbed, and an incomplete DIY treatment often just makes them angrier without killing the colony. We treat wasp nests properly – getting insecticide directly into the nest void so the whole colony is dealt with, not just the wasps you can see – and we wear the right protective equipment to do it safely, which most households simply don’t have lying around.
What to do if you’ve found a nest
Keep windows and doors near the nest closed, don’t block the entrance hole (a trapped, agitated colony is worse), and keep children and pets away from that part of the house or garden. Then get in touch and we’ll usually be able to treat it within a day or two – most nests are fully dealt with in a single visit, with wasp activity dying down within 24 hours.
Covering Sherwood, Arnold, Woodthorpe, Bulwell, Old Basford and the rest of Nottingham. Call NestBusters on 0742 984 9483 or visit nottinghampest.co.uk to book a wasp nest treatment.
