How much does wasp nest removal cost in the UK?
A pest controller costs £70 on average in the UK. Most jobs fall between £45 and £130 per nest. Nest location and access: Ground level £45 to £95, First floor £65 to £100, Loft £100 to £130. Prices reviewed September 2026.
Wasp nest removal cost calculator
Use the calculator to price your pest controller in 2026. Adjust the options and area for a UK cost range. Nothing is sent anywhere.
A pest controller charges roughly £45 to £130 to treat a single wasp nest, with most homeowners paying about £70 per nest for a booked visit.
Wasp nest removal cost breakdown
Typical pest controller costs, by option:
| Nest location and access | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Ground level, easy reach (garden, low wall, shed) | £45 to £95 |
| First floor, eaves or garage, reachable by ladder | £65 to £100 |
| Loft, roof, chimney or awkward high access | £100 to £130 |
Council wasp nest charges
Many councils still treat wasp nests for residents, and each sets its own price. Of the 64 councils below, one charges nothing for it and the other 63 charge £40 to £151.80, half of them £85 or less.
From each council's own website, checked October 2026. Standard charges for a home, before any concession rate. Most councils treat wasps only in summer and autumn, and some charge more for high nests or extra nests, so check your own council's page before you book.
What's included in the price?
Typical pest controller prices include:
- Call-out and inspection to find and confirm the active nest
- Application of a professional insecticide dust or spray directly at the nest
- Treatment of one nest at the quoted price (extra nests usually cost less on the same visit)
- Protective equipment and safe working, including reachable nests at height
- Advice on keeping the flight path clear while the colony dies off
- A free return visit if the first treatment does not fully clear the nest, offered by many firms within a set period
What changes the price?
The things that move pest controller prices most:
Height and access, with ground-level nests cheapest and loft, roof or chimney nests dearest
How many nests are treated in one visit
How hidden the nest is, for example inside a cavity wall, under a floor or behind a fascia board
Your region, with London and the South East running higher
Weekend or out-of-hours call-outs, which some firms charge extra for
Whether a ladder is enough or high, awkward nests need extra access equipment
How the price is built up
Most firms charge a standard fee that covers one accessible nest, commonly £45 to £95. Some add to that for a nest that is hard to reach, pushing first-floor or eaves nests to around £65 to £100 and loft, roof or chimney nests to £100 to £130, while others charge the same fee wherever the nest is. Extra nests treated on the same visit usually add only £15 to £30 each. Many firms offer same-day visits at their standard fee, although some charge extra for weekend or out-of-hours call-outs. Almost all of the cost is labour and the call-out, not materials. The insecticide used is inexpensive, so you are paying for the controller's time, travel, protective equipment and the expertise to treat the nest safely. That is why a hard-to-reach nest costs more even though the same small amount of product is used.
Ways to keep the cost down
- Book a weekday visit if the nest can wait, since some firms charge extra for weekends or out-of-hours call-outs, while many offer same-day visits at no extra cost
- If you have more than one nest, get them all treated in a single visit for a lower per-nest rate
- Check whether your council offers a subsidised wasp service, especially if you receive certain benefits
- Leave old, empty winter nests alone, as they are never reused and do not need paid treatment
Does where you live change the cost?
In London, a pest controller typically costs around £85 per nest, about 20% above the UK average of £70. In the North, Scotland and Wales the guide figure is nearer £70.
| Region | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midlands / East (UK average) | £45 | £70 | £130 |
| London | £55 | £85 | £160 |
| South East / South West | £45 | £75 | £140 |
| North / Scotland / Wales | £45 | £70 | £130 |
Guide prices per nest, scaled with the same regional multipliers as the calculator. Not quotes.
Wasp nest removal cost in major UK cities
| City | From | Typical | Up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | £45 | £65 | £120 |
| Birmingham | £45 | £70 | £130 |
| Bristol | £45 | £75 | £140 |
| Cardiff | £45 | £70 | £130 |
| Edinburgh | £45 | £70 | £130 |
| Glasgow | £45 | £70 | £130 |
| Leeds | £45 | £70 | £130 |
| Liverpool | £45 | £70 | £130 |
| London | £55 | £85 | £160 |
| Manchester | £45 | £70 | £130 |
| Newcastle | £45 | £70 | £130 |
| Sheffield | £45 | £70 | £130 |
City guide estimates, scaled by local labour costs. Indicative averages for pest controller, not quotes.
Prices in London and the South East typically run above the national average, reflecting higher labour and travel costs. Some councils still treat wasp nests, but in 2026 most charge £70 to £105 for one nest, much the same as a private firm. The cheaper council rate is a concession for residents on certain benefits, often around £35 to £55. Availability has shrunk and waiting times of one to two weeks are common at the July to September peak.
Common questions
How much does wasp nest removal cost in the UK?
Most single nests cost £45 to £130 to treat, with a typical booked visit around £70. Easy ground-level nests sit at the lower end, while nests in a loft, roof or chimney reach the top of the range because of the extra access and risk.
What changes the price the most?
Access is the biggest factor. A nest you can reach from the ground or a short ladder is cheap to treat, while one high up or hidden inside a wall or roof takes longer and needs more care. Number of nests, your region and whether you need a weekend or out-of-hours visit also move the price.
Is it worth paying a professional or can I do it myself?
Shop-bought sprays and powders exist, but wasps defend a nest aggressively and stings while up a ladder or in a loft are a real risk. For anything above head height, hidden in a cavity, or if anyone nearby is allergic, a professional treatment for £45 to £130 is the safer and usually more reliable choice.
How soon does the nest die after treatment?
The pest controller leaves an insecticide at the nest entrance, and returning wasps carry it inside. Activity drops within hours and the colony is usually dead within 24 to 48 hours. You should not block or knock down the nest until it has gone quiet.
Do councils remove wasp nests, and is it cheaper?
Some still do, and it is rarely cheaper. Of the councils in the table on this page, most charge £70 to £110 for one nest, much the same as a private firm, from £40 in North Tyneside to £151.80 in Oldham, whose price is for a three-bedroom home over two visits. Sunderland treats nests free. Many others have stopped pest control for private homes altogether: 29 of the 108 councils we checked in October 2026. Where a council is cheaper it is usually through a concession rate for residents on certain benefits. Waiting times can stretch to a week or two in peak summer, so a private controller is often quicker if the nest is a problem now.
What if the wasps come back or the treatment fails?
A single nest is a one-season colony and the same nest is not reused the following year. If your treated nest is still active after a few days, most firms return and re-treat at no extra charge within a set period, so check that guarantee before you book.
What if the nest turns out to be bees, not wasps?
Honeybees are normally left alone rather than treated, and you may still pay for the visit. HSE guidance says that because of their role as pollinators, honeybees are not considered pests in the vast majority of circumstances and insecticide should be used on them only as a last resort. A local beekeeping association can advise and can sometimes remove an accessible nest without chemicals. Many councils will not treat any kind of bee, and Leeds, for example, charges a callout if the insects turn out to be bees, so check what you have before you book.
What do pest controllers' own price lists show?
In September 2026 we read the published wasp prices of 44 UK pest control firms, from Glasgow and Newcastle to Devon and Kent. Forty-three listed a standard fee for one nest, from £45 to £189, typically about £70, and seven in ten charged between £60 and £90. Seventeen published a price for each extra nest treated on the same visit, typically about £20, and all but one charged between £10 and £50. Nine advertised same-day visits at their standard fee. Six said the price depends on where the nest is or how easy it is to reach, while two said their fee is the same for any nest.
Official guidance and sources
The rules and schemes referenced on this page come from these official UK sources. The price figures are Costwise's own; see how we price.
- Honey bees and biocides HSE · Honeybees are not considered pests in the vast majority of circumstances, insecticide should be a last resort, and beekeeping associations can sometimes remove a nest without chemicals.
- How we treat wasps and hornets for pest control Chelmsford City Council · A current council fee example: £78 for one wasp nest in 2026-27, halved to £39 for residents who claim benefits.
- Pest control Leeds City Council · Another council example: £76 for a wasp treatment, no treatment of bees, and a callout charge if a booked nest turns out to be bees.
- Wasps Knowsley Council · Wasps build a new nest each year and never return to an old one, so an old or treated nest does not need removing or paying for.
Cite this data
These figures are free to use in articles, reports and research under a CC BY 4.0 licence. All we ask is a credit to Costwise, and online a link. Where your style allows, please make "Costwise" the linked word so readers can check the figure for their own region.
Costwise (2026): A pest controller typically costs £70 per nest in the UK, ranging from £45 to £130 per nest. Reviewed September 2026. costwiseuk.co.ukSource: Costwise (costwiseuk.co.uk)Costwise (2026). Wasp nest removal cost. Costwise UK cost data, version 2026-10-23. https://costwiseuk.co.uk/wasp-nest-removal-cost/2026-10-23 (158 jobs)Dataset DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21159943 · also on Kaggle, Hugging Face and Figshare. Method: how we price. Downloadable CSV.
These are independent guide prices based on typical UK jobs in 2026. Your actual cost depends on your property, spec, access and where you live. Always get at least three written quotes before committing.