Wasp nest removal in London

Common wasp colonies hold more than 3,000 workers by late summer, each 12 to 17 mm long with a queen of about 20 mm. The queen founds the nest in April in a wall cavity, roof space or hollow tree and the colony dies around October; nests are never reused.

Insecticidal dust puffed into the entrance is the professional method: workers walk it through the nest and the colony collapses. Until 25 January 2025 that dust was bendiocarb. Its replacements are pyrethroid dusts, which BPCA notes are faster-acting and often repellent, so spray-and-walk-away no longer works, and a 2025 trade trial found most inaccessible nests needed two visits and some three. Sprays and foams suit an exposed nest in a shed; physical removal only makes sense where the nest is fully visible.

One accessible nest is the simplest job. The price rises with height and access; with each additional nest; and with a cavity or roof-void nest that may need a second dust since bendiocarb went. Removing the physical nest is extra work.

For comparison, Hounslow charges £87.50 per nest from 1 April 2026, £30 per extra nest, with a free re-treat if the nest is still active after 48 hours. Wandsworth charges £86 from 1 April 2026, and Kensington and Chelsea £101.90 per nest on its 9 July 2026 list, with a £63.90 refund if bees are found.

We start with a free inspection survey, give a fixed written quote and charge no call-out fee.

Before we arrive:

• Note where the wasps enter and leave
• Keep children and pets indoors and shut the windows nearest the nest
• Do not block the entrance or spray the nest beforehand; that makes the colony aggressive

After the visit:

• Stay away from the entrance for the rest of the day
• Leave the dust in place and do not seal the hole until all activity has stopped
• If the nest is still active after 48 hours, call 020 3411 2329 and we return under the written six-month guarantee, subject to the site survey

NHS advice for stings is to scrape the sting out sideways with a fingernail or card and hold a cold pack on it for at least 20 minutes; to get urgent help from 111 or a GP if you were stung in the mouth, throat or near the eyes, stung more than once, or have reacted badly before, and to call 999 if the lips, mouth, throat or tongue swell or breathing is difficult. See NHS insect bites and stings.

Nothing in the sources we rely on restricts destroying a wasp nest in England. In a rented home, Shelter's guidance, updated 1 May 2026, makes the landlord responsible for pests present at move-in or let in by a repair they owe, and a nest in a roof void or communal area goes to the landlord, agent or freeholder.

All bats and their roosts are fully protected: GOV.UK lists disturbing a bat in a structure as an offence, and wasp control in a loft can affect a roost, so if we find signs of bats we stop and refer you to the National Bat Helpline. Bees are not treated; the BBKA's volunteer swarm collectors take honey bee swarms. The European hornet has no specific legal protection in any source we rely on and is less aggressive than the common wasp, so we treat it only where it is a real risk. A suspected Asian hornet is reported through the Asian Hornet Watch app and never treated privately.

Wasp calls peak in July and August. Across central, west, north-west, north and south-west London and the TW postcodes, the busiest wasp nest removal work is in the roof voids and soffits of Edwardian terraces in Wimbledon, Streatham, Tooting and Balham, and in the wall cavities of Victorian houses in Chiswick, Acton and Hammersmith. Mansion-block bin stores in Westminster and Kensington bring late-summer calls when foraging wasps swarm outdoor tables. The TW postcodes around Hounslow, Isleworth and Richmond, where neither Richmond nor Kingston runs a wasp service, produce most of our hornet nest removal work, and Sunbury TW16 was on the 2026 Asian hornet sightings list: 201 credible sightings and 66 nests nationally to 17 September 2026, with Greater London monitored but no confirmed London nest. Pub gardens and terraces are covered by our commercial contracts, and if you searched wasp nest removal near me from any of these postcodes we can usually attend the same day.