Wasps keep getting into my bedroom. Where are they coming from?

One wasp is a visitor. A steady stream of them usually comes from a nest close by, often in the roof space above, inside a wall cavity, behind a soffit, or in an air vent or chimney. They get in through a small gap: round a ceiling light, a loft hatch, a window frame or the vent itself. Find the nest, close the way into the room, and leave the nest to a professional.

Worrying about a sting in bed is completely fair. You can make the room safer tonight while you work out the rest.

Tonight: make the room safer

• Keep the window shut, or fit a fly screen if you need the air.
• If one is in the room, do not swat it. In daylight, open the window wide, close the door and leave the room for a while. It will usually find its way out. Or trap it under a glass with a card and let it go outside.
• Shake out the bedding before you get in, and look before you step barefoot.
• Keep sweet drinks and food out of the bedroom.

Find where they come from

1. Watch from outside on a warm, sunny day. Stand well back and watch the walls and roof near your bedroom. A nest has a steady stream of wasps flying in and out of one spot: a gap under a tile, a hole in the soffit or fascia, an air brick, a vent cover. That is the flight line. Binoculars help you see it without getting close.
2. Check inside the room. Wasps tend to appear near the same spot each time. Look at the gaps round ceiling lights and downlights, the loft hatch, window frames, the chimney breast and any vents.
3. Listen. A nest in a wall or ceiling can make a scratching or papery crackling sound, often loudest on warm afternoons.

Do not block the outside hole yet

It is tempting to fill the gap the wasps use. While the nest is active, do not. Wasps that cannot get out look for another way, and that is often into the very room you are trying to protect.

Close the gaps on the inside instead: round the light fitting, the loft hatch, the window frame. That keeps the room sealed and leaves the outside entrance to the professional. See sealing gaps for what to use where.

Keep your distance: do not poke, spray or knock the nest, and keep children and pets away from it. If someone is stung and gets swelling of the face, lips or throat, has trouble breathing or feels faint, call emergency services straight away.

When to call a professional

A nest next to where you sleep is worth treating rather than waiting out, especially if wasps reach the room, there are children at home, or anyone has reacted badly to a sting before. A pest professional can usually treat the nest from outside or through the loft.

Ask what they will use, whether you need to keep the room closed afterwards and for how long, and whether a return visit is included. If you rent, tell your landlord in writing first: wasp nest in a shared building covers who usually deals with it and who to ask.

Late in the season, with the nest out of reach and the room sealed, you might choose to wait for the cold. Does a wasp nest need removing? explains when that is reasonable.

Not a nest? Spring and autumn visitors

Single, large, slow wasps in early spring or late autumn may be queens rather than workers. In autumn they look for somewhere sheltered to spend the winter, like folded curtains, a loft or a wardrobe. In spring they wake up and head for the light. That does not mean a nest in the room. Let them out of the window and check folded curtains and blinds.

Once the season is over and the nest has gone quiet, seal the outside hole properly so next year’s queens do not move into the same spot.