How to Tell If You Have an Active Wasp Nest on Your Belchamp St Paul Property

One nest does not rule out another, and a careful look around the property before the technician arrives means both can be dealt with in a single visit.

Why there can be two

Wasp queens are plentiful in spring, and a property that suits one is likely to suit another. A house with a loft and a shed, a garden with a bank and a hedge, or a business with several outbuildings can easily host two or three nests in the same season. They will not be at the same stage, and may not be visible at the same time.

Sometimes the second nest is quite close to the first. At other times it is on the other side of the property, and the household only notices when numbers do not fall after the first is dealt with. Looking for a second nest before treatment is a sensible precaution.

How to look for another

Use the same techniques you used to find the first, working systematically around the property from a safe distance. Check the main building, the roof edges, the ground floor walls and any outbuildings. Look at hedges, trees, banks and lawns. Note any other point where wasps seem to come and go.

• Walk the boundary on a warm afternoon and watch for separate flight lines.
• Compare flight paths: wasps heading in different directions to different places.
• Check outbuildings and sheds as well as the house.
• Ask neighbours if they have seen activity on their side.

Large properties, farms and sites with many buildings are the most likely to have several nests. Barns, stables, workshops, sheds and yards each offer a different set of sheltered spaces. Walking the whole site in the same way, building by building, is the best way to find them. A good approach is to divide the site into zones and spend a few minutes at each.

Signs of separate flight lines

The best clue to two nests is two distinct flight paths. If wasps leave from the eaves and fly west, but others come from the hedge and fly east, they are probably different colonies. Wasps from one nest will use a consistent route, so a second route points to another source.

Also look at timing. If activity at one site is high in the morning and another in the afternoon, it may be because they face different directions and warm up at different times. Note these differences down, as they help the technician decide where to look.

If wasps from two nests are on your property, the combined numbers can be alarming. A garden that seems to have far more wasps than a single nest would explain may be hosting two colonies. If numbers do not seem to fall after one nest is treated, assume there is another and keep watching.

Take note of where wasps appear to be at different times of day. Two colonies often show different peaks, because they face different directions or sit in different types of structure. Pass on all of this to the technician.

Is it one nest with two exits?

Sometimes what looks like two nests is a single colony with two entrances. This is common in cavity walls and lofts, where the nest is large and the openings are some distance apart. The way to tell is by observing both entrances. If wasps appear to be exchanging between them, or if both are equally busy at all times, they may belong to the same nest.

The technician will judge this on arrival. You do not need to be sure. Describe both entrances and let them work it out. The price for a nest is fixed, and an additional nest on the same property is £35 only, so the cost is clear whichever way it turns out.

Ask the technician to check the whole property while on site if you think there could be another nest. It is much easier to deal with both in a single visit than to arrange a second one later, and it avoids the problem of one colony continuing to trouble you after the first has gone. Make a list of places you have seen wasps, however minor, and hand it over.

Tidying up afterwards

After treatment, watch for any further activity over the following days and report it. Wasps may still be seen near the entrance for a short time. If new traffic appears at a different spot, it may be another nest that was hidden. Keep a note of where and when.

It is also worth checking the same areas in late April the following year, since a property that has had one nest often attracts another. A short look each spring, and repairs to obvious gaps once all activity has ceased, are the best precautions.

Do not assume that a nest in a neighbour’s garden is the same as yours. Sometimes two properties each have a nest, and sometimes one nest sits on the boundary. If you are not sure, speak to the neighbour in a friendly way and compare notes. Each property’s nests are charged on the same fixed basis, so there is no need for a dispute about size or position.

If you notice more nests across the neighbourhood, mention it when you book. It may suggest that conditions suit wasps in the area this year, and that further checks around your property are sensible.

Booking

Wasp Nest Removal Essex treats a first nest for a fixed £90 only, and each additional nest on the same property for £35 only. Booking brings fully insured work, and one visit is guaranteed. Our technician covers Belchamp St Paul and nearby villages, with same-day service seven days a week for domestic and commercial customers.

Telephone 01245 327274 or submit the booking form on the contact page. If you think there may be a second nest, tell us when you book so that everything can be planned together.

Frequently asked questions

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