Wasps come for sweet food and drink, especially in late summer. Cover food and drinks outdoors, pick up windfalls, keep the bins away from the patio and do not swat at wasps. Give wasps fewer reasons to come and you will sit outside in far more peace. A nest usually does not need to go.
Why do wasps come to you?
In spring and early summer wasps hunt protein, such as meat and insects, to feed their larvae. In return the larvae produce a sugary liquid that the adult wasps live on. By late summer there are hardly any larvae left, so the workers go looking for sugar themselves. That is why they land on cake, squash and ripe fruit. If you swat or squash a wasp, it releases an alarm pheromone that makes other wasps agitated.
Where do wasps build their nests?
In sheltered, dry places: under eaves and roof tiles, in sheds and summer houses, in cavity walls and sometimes in the ground. Every spring a queen starts a new nest on her own, which grows over the summer into a colony of several thousand wasps.
How long does a wasp nest last?
One season. The nest starts in spring, the colony grows until late summer, and it dies off with the first night frost, usually in October or November. Only the young queens survive the winter, and they do so elsewhere. An empty nest is not reused the following year, so an old nest you find in winter can be left or removed.
Should you remove a wasp nest?
Usually not. A nest that is not in the way dies off by itself in autumn, and wasps eat many other insects in the garden. If a nest is in an awkward spot, such as by the front door, do not remove or move it yourself but call a pest control professional.
Wasps in the house but no nest to be found?
If you keep seeing wasps indoors without spotting a nest anywhere, it is usually hidden: in a cavity wall, under the roof tiles, in a roller shutter box or in the loft. Watch where the wasps fly in and out, often through an open joint or a gap. Do not seal that opening yourself while the nest is active, because the wasps will then look for another way out, sometimes into the house. Have the nest checked by a pest control professional.
What is a decoy wasp nest?
A replica nest that you hang in a sheltered spot by the patio or an entrance. The idea behind it: wasps are territorial and prefer not to build a nest right next to an existing one. So hang it early in spring, in April or May, before the queens choose a nesting site, and combine it with the tips below. See the Waspinator under wasp repellent.
How do you deter wasps from your patio?
- Cover food and drinks and drink outdoors through a straw or with a lid on your glass.
- Pick up windfalls, because fermenting fruit strongly attracts wasps.
- Keep lidded bins away from the patio.
- Stay calm and do not swat at wasps.
- Check eaves and sheds in spring for small nests, while they are still easy to spot.
How do you get a wasp out of a room?
Stay calm and do not swat. Wasps fly towards the light: open one window wide and close the curtains on the other side of the room, and the wasp will usually find its own way out. In the evening it works the other way round: switch the lights off indoors and leave a lamp on outside. If that does not work, put a glass over the wasp, slide a piece of card underneath and let it go outside.
What should you do after a wasp sting?
Cool the spot with ice or cold water. For most people a sting is painful but not dangerous. If you notice swelling in the throat, shortness of breath or dizziness, call 999 or 112 straight away, because it may be an allergic reaction.
Want to know more? Our guide explains how fast wasps breed and what to do about a nest.
