Wasps Around Your Guttering and Fascias? How to Find the Nest in Old Heath

Where a chimney stack, a dormer cheek or a roof valley meets the gutter line, the joins give wasps extra gaps, and a nest there can be mistaken for one in the gutter itself.

Joins are weak points

Wherever two parts of a roof meet, a join is made with flashing, mortar or sealant, and joins age. A chimney stack gives rise to the junction between brick and roof covering. A dormer or a porch creates valleys and angles, and a lean-to adds a join between the old wall and the new roof. These joins are exposed to sun and rain and can crack, lift or shrink over time.

Gaps there are often partly hidden by the gutter or by the edge of the roof, so a wasp stream near the gutter may be coming from a join slightly above it. Looking only at the fascia and missing the join is easy.

Many people overlook how much of a roofline is made of such joins. A simple terrace of tiles looks continuous, but beneath it there are battens, felt, lead and mortar, each of which can form a gap with age.

A further reason for gaps at joins is movement. Buildings flex slightly with temperature and moisture, and the join between two materials often shows it first. A hairline crack may be enough for a founding wasp to enter in spring.

Looking from the ground

Take a position where you can see the whole slope of the roof at the edge of the gutter. Look at the chimney base, the valleys, any lead or mortar lines and the point where the roof meets a taller wall. Watch each for wasp traffic in the sun.

Binoculars are useful here, since the joins can be some distance up. If you do not have any, use the zoom on your phone camera and take a video.

• Do wasps go in at the junction, or at the board below it?
• Does the traffic emerge from the chimney or from beside it?
• Is the sealant or flashing lifted, cracked or missing?
• Is there a gap between roof tiles and wall?

Take a series of photos from different positions. A junction can look intact from one angle and open from another, and the technician will find comparisons helpful.

Make a note of how tall the stack looks compared with the ridge, because that helps the technician judge the equipment to bring.

Chimneys deserve a note

Wasps can nest in chimneys and in the gaps around them, in a disused flue or in the space beside the stack. A nest in a chimney is hard to see and can connect to a fireplace below. If you find wasps coming into a room from a blocked-off or unused fireplace, tell us when you book.

Do not light a fire or burn anything in a fireplace to try to drive them out. This is dangerous and makes the wasps more defensive.

If no wasps appear from the fireplace but you hear buzzing in the chimney breast, keep the room closed and tell us. Sounds travel along flues in surprising ways, so the nest could be above, beside or behind.

The ladder problem, again

Joins near chimneys are among the highest and most awkward places on a house, and repairs there are for professionals. Treat any attempt to climb as out of the question. A ladder on the roof edge is dangerous with or without wasps, and the presence of a colony makes it worse.

Keep the household away from the affected side, and keep an eye on any part of the garden or yard that sits beneath the chimney. Wasps that fly down the wall will land first on whatever is below.

Remember that the force needed to climb up and the care needed once up there are not compatible with watching for stinging insects. A calm view from the ground is both safer and more informative.

Treatment

The technician for Old Heath will work out where the wasps are entering, using their own access equipment. Roof-level work needs protective clothing and careful positioning, and the technician will decide the safest approach. You can ask whether the empty nest can be taken down at booking.

Treatment is a fixed £90 per nest, with one visit guaranteed, and a second nest on the same property is £35 more. The service runs seven days a week, so same-day service is offered where possible.

Tell the technician whether there is a flat roof or a conservatory roof beneath the chimney, since it may be useful as a place to set up, or may be too fragile.

If the nest is at a chimney, it may be necessary to treat from the roof or from a platform alongside. Please make sure the technician knows about any dormant fireplaces, a loose pot or crumbling brick that might affect safe access.

Repairs and booking

After the wasps are gone, ask a roofer to repair the join. Flashing, mortar and sealant at chimneys and junctions are specialist work, and a neat repair protects the building from rain as well as insects.

To book a visit, ring 01245 327274 or use the online booking form on the contact page. Say where the chimney or junction is in relation to the gutter, and whether wasps have been seen indoors. If anyone has been stung, wash the area, remove the sting if visible and use a cold pack, and call 999 for swelling of the face, lips or throat, wheezing, dizziness or a widespread rash.

Roofers may also suggest renewing flashing or repointing around the stack at the same time. That is worth considering, since access equipment is already in place and the joint will be sealed against water as well as wasps.

Frequently asked questions

More wasp advice for Old Heath