This usually happens because there is a nest closer than you think. The presence of indoor wasps points to a colony in a wall void, attic, soffit, or chimney, which they are entering through gaps in siding, trim, and vents.
A single wasp finding its way into your kitchen is not a huge mystery. It happens often when a door is left open or a window screen needs to be replaced. It could come in as you’re bringing in groceries. But if you’re seeing wasps come in on a regular basis, a few every day, then something else is going on. That pattern means the colony is not in the yard. It’s in the building.
Wasps treat houses like they’re large, strange hollow trees. They find the gaps they need to build nests. With homes, that means spaces around siding and trim, openings along soffits and rooflines, torn vent screens, weep holes in brick, and unused chimney flues. All of these give them access to the best places to build nests: wall voids, attic corners, and spaces behind shutters. A wasp queen slips into one of these gaps in spring and starts building. By midsummer, the colony inside is producing steady traffic through its entrance hole. Most workers commute outside, but with a large enough infestation, some indoor wasps are going to mistakenly go the wrong way. Then you see them—sluggish and window-obsessed. They’re lost commuters.
Finding the nest requires you to watch the outside on a warm day. Wasps enter and exit the same spot on the siding or roofline every few minutes.
This is important: don’t try to block the entrance. Don’t use caulk or foam. Sealing the exit won’t end the colony. It will simply redirect it. Trapped wasps chew and push toward light. And that might very well send them into your home by the hundreds, which is a nightmare. If you have an indoor wasp colony, you really need to call a professional who has the right equipment and expertise to get rid of them.
If you think you have an indoor wasp problem, Mosquito Squad of Leominster can help. Mosquito Squad locates and treats structural nests and the entry gaps behind them, helping protect your home from this year's colony and next year's scouts.
