Wasps Around Your Guttering and Fascias? How to Find the Nest in Millbrook
A few minutes spent taking photographs and writing notes before you ring will make the phone call quicker and the visit smoother.
Why preparation helps
When you phone about a wasp nest, the business needs to know where it is, how high it is, how the technician can reach it and whether anyone is at risk. If you can give those details clearly, the price can be confirmed quickly and the visit planned properly.
In Millbrook, as everywhere, a little preparation turns a vague call into a clear one. It does not need to take long. Ten minutes in the garden with a phone and a notebook is plenty.
The aim is to give the technician a picture before they arrive. Experienced technicians can often work out what the job needs from a few photographs and a short description, which reduces surprises on the day.
Many callers also forget to mention the one thing the technician most needs, which is how to get to the nest. A side gate, a flat roof, a conservatory or a steep slope can change the plan. Include them in your notes and photographs.
A good habit is to keep a note on your phone called wasps, and to add to it every time you see something. Dates, counts and photographs in one place are far easier to read out than scattered memories.
Taking useful photographs
Stand well back from the building. Never lean out of a window or climb to get a better shot. Take three photographs:
- A wide shot of the whole side of the house, showing the roof, walls and ground.
- A closer shot of the roof edge, zoomed in on the area where wasps enter.
- A shot of the ground below, showing paths, lawns, bins and any obstacles.
Keep the phone steady, and take a short video if wasps are moving. Do not use flash after dusk, which attracts wasps. The photographs do not need to be professional. They need to show the spot.
It helps to take photographs at the busiest time, mid-morning to mid-afternoon on a warm day. Wasps are active then and the entrance is easier to spot. A photo that shows several wasps near the gap tells more than one of an empty board.
If the light is poor, wait. A shaky shot in the dusk helps nobody.
Label your photographs on the phone. Add a caption such as front elevation, left side or garden side. When you send them, or describe them over the phone, the technician can match them to your notes.
Writing the notes
Write down what you can see, in plain words.
- Which side of the building, and how high.
- What the entrance looks like: a gap in a board, a vent, a joint.
- How many wasps you see in a minute.
- When you first noticed them.
- Whether any wasps have come indoors, and in which room.
- Who in the household is allergic to stings.
- Anything that affects access, such as locked gates, dogs or a narrow side passage.
These notes also protect you from forgetting something when you are on the phone. They take two minutes and answer most of the questions you will be asked.
If you can measure roughly how high the gap is, say so. A rough guide such as just under the first-floor window is fine, or the height of the eaves compared with a door. Do not measure with a tape from a ladder.
Date and time your notes. If you can say the traffic was heavy at four in the afternoon and light at eight in the evening, you have given the technician useful information about the colony’s rhythm.
Some people prefer to draw a quick sketch of the roof edge and mark the spot with a cross. A simple drawing on paper, photographed, is as good as any description.
Safety while you gather it
Keep your distance at all times. Do not go under the entrance, do not shine a torch into it and do not use a ladder. A nest can hold as many as 2,000 wasps at its August peak, and disturbed wasps can swarm.
If you are stung, wash the area, remove the sting if you can see it, and apply a cold pack. Swelling of the face, lips or throat, wheezing, difficulty breathing, dizziness or a widespread rash needs a 999 call. Anyone with a known allergy should speak to their GP.
Younger members of the household may be curious. Make sure they know the nest area is off limits, and that nobody is to go and take a closer photo.
Do not take risks for a good photograph. A poor picture is better than a fall or a sting.
Remember, too, that the best vantage point is often the street, a neighbour’s drive with permission, or the far end of your own garden.
Making the call
Ring 07852 111 437, or use the online booking form at /wasp-nest-booking-form/ or the contact page. The price is a fixed £70 per nest, £30 for an additional nest on the same property, confirmed before the technician visits, and special access equipment is the only reason it could be higher. Evening and weekend appointments are available. Tell the business about any allergy, so the booking can be prioritised. After treatment, leave the gap open for a day or two.
Keep the photographs. After treatment, take another set from the same spot a day or two later, so that you can compare the activity. That is a quick way to see whether the traffic is fading.
A good call also states the outcome you want, such as treatment within the next day or two, and any times you cannot manage.
Before you hang up, ask the business to repeat back the price, the time and anything you need to do. Write it down, and you are ready for the visit.
Wasps on your property in Millbrook?
Fixed price £70 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.