Found a Wasp Nest in Your Loft in Sutton? Here's What to Do

While you wait for a technician, a few simple household habits keep children, pets and anyone allergic to stings safe, and none of them involves going near the nest.

Start with the people in the house

The most important thing about a loft nest is not the nest at all, but who is in the house while it is there. A household of adults who can avoid the loft and the landing has an easy time of it. A house with toddlers, a dog that follows everyone upstairs or someone who has previously reacted badly to a sting needs a slightly more careful approach.

Begin by deciding where the exposure is likely to be. That generally means the rooms immediately below the nest, the landing with the hatch and any outside space near the entrance. Everything else is probably fine, and you do not need to leave home. The aim is to reduce the chance of an accidental encounter.

Speak to everyone in the house, including older children, and explain simply that there are wasps in the roof, that the hatch stays shut and that nobody goes up for any reason until a technician has been.

If you are unsure how worried to be, a good rule is that a nest left alone is quiet and a nest that is disturbed is dangerous. Most of your safety comes from avoiding any contact, which is easy once everyone knows the rules.

Children

Young children are curious and quick, and they are also the least likely to understand why a wasp should not be swatted. A few practical points make a big difference:

• Keep the landing hatch out of reach and make it clear that it is not to be opened.
• Close the doors of rooms beneath the nest during the day, and use a different room for play if you can.
• Keep children indoors, or away from the part of the garden under the entrance, for the time being.
• Do not let them chase, flap at or squash wasps.
• Rinse sticky hands and faces after snacks and drinks, and cover cups and beakers.

If a child is stung, stay calm, wash the area, take out the sting if it is visible and apply a cold pack. Watch them for a while afterwards.

It also helps to give older children a role. Asking them to remind younger ones, or to tell you if they see a wasp indoors, makes them part of the solution and cuts the chance of a scare.

Pets

Dogs and cats are often more at risk than people because they investigate and snap at anything that moves. A wasp sting on a nose, paw or mouth is painful, and a swelling inside the mouth can be serious.

Keep pets out of the room under the nest and away from the outside area where the entrance is. Walk dogs on a lead past that part of the garden, and bring cats in if the wasps are particularly active. Do not let animals pick up or eat dead wasps after treatment, since the sting can work even after death.

If your pet has been stung and shows swelling around the face or difficulty breathing, contact a vet immediately. Do not try to treat it yourself with remedies from the internet.

Fish tanks, hutches and aviaries near the nest entrance should be kept away from the area where the wasps are flying, with covers kept in place so that nothing falls in or lands on the food.

Anyone with a sting allergy

If someone in the house has a known allergy to stings, speak to their GP about their plan in general and make sure that anyone who needs to carry medication has it to hand. This is not something to manage by guesswork, and nothing here replaces medical advice.

Where the risk is greater, treat the wasp problem as more urgent. Book the visit as soon as possible, and consider staying out of the top floor until it has taken place. Make sure other adults in the home know the signs of a serious reaction.

Dial 999 straight away for swollen lips, face or throat, wheezing, trouble breathing, dizziness or a widespread rash. For an ordinary sting, wash the area, remove the sting if you can see it and apply a cold pack.

Tell other adults in the household where the nest is and which rooms to avoid, so that nobody walks into trouble while you are out. A short written note by the loft hatch is a simple precaution.

Getting the nest treated

Treatment is a fixed £70 for a nest, with a second one on the same property at £25 more. There is no call-out charge, and the price is confirmed on the phone before the technician comes. If special access equipment is needed for a hard-to-reach nest, the price might be higher, and you would be told first. Nothing happens until you agree.

Technicians are fully insured and qualified, and visits can happen seven days a week, including the same day. Domestic and commercial customers are both covered, and the technician covers Sutton and the surrounding villages. Use the booking form or the contact page, and mention any allergy or young children when you do so, since it helps the technician plan the visit.

The technician will not need you to be in the loft, and you will not be asked to move anything. A short description of what you have seen is all that is required. If wasps are already appearing in the rooms, say which ones, because that tells the technician where the nest probably sits. It is also worth saying whether anyone in the home has been stung recently, whether any member of the household is allergic and whether there is a pet that tends to follow people around the house. These details let the technician pace the visit sensibly and give you straightforward advice about what to keep clear.

The treatment itself is over quickly and leaves you with a quieter house.

Frequently asked questions

More wasp advice for Sutton