Advice
Wasps: why they come and how to keep them at a distance
Wasps are most annoying in late summer: the colony is at its largest and the workers are looking for sugar. If you know what attracts them, you can make your patio and balcony a lot calmer.
In this article
Straight to the solution: Products against wasps.
What attracts wasps and where do they come from?
In spring and early summer wasps mainly look for protein, such as meat, cold cuts and insects, to feed their larvae. In return the larvae give off a sugary liquid that the adult wasps live on. In late summer there are hardly any larvae left, and the workers go looking for sugar themselves. That is why they land on cake, soft drinks and ripe fruit.
A worker usually flies 150 to 600 metres from the nest to find food. So if you see lots of wasps on your patio, the nest is usually nearby, but not necessarily in your own garden.
When are wasps around?
From spring to autumn, in a fixed rhythm. In spring a queen starts a nest of 35 to 60 cells on her own and raises the first 10 to 15 larvae. Then the workers take over and the nest keeps growing until the end of August, when the colony is at its largest. From early September no new workers are added, and the colony slowly dies off into October. Only the young queens survive the winter, and a nest is never reused.
How fast do wasps breed?
In the course of one summer a single queen builds a colony of several thousand wasps, often 3,000 to 7,000 in the German wasp and the common wasp. Development from egg to worker takes about four weeks.
Are wasps dangerous?
Wasps sting when they feel that they or their nest are under threat. For most people a sting is painful but not dangerous. With an allergy, a sting can be life-threatening: if you notice swelling in the throat, difficulty breathing or dizziness, call 999 immediately. Never remove a nest yourself; call in a pest controller.
Is there a nest on your house? Keep your distance and have it removed by a pest controller.
How do you keep wasps at a distance?
- Cover food and drinks. Put a lid or a beer mat on your glass and drink through a straw.
- Keep rubbish sealed. Use a bin with a lid and do not put it right next to the patio.
- Fit fly screens. That way wasps do not get into the house at all.
- Pick up fallen fruit. Fermenting fruit in the garden strongly attracts wasps.
- Stay calm. Do not swat at wasps or blow at them; the carbon dioxide in your breath makes them agitated.
When should you hang up a decoy wasp nest?
In spring, before the queens choose a spot for their nest. The Super Ninja Waspinator looks like a wasp nest: the idea is that a queen prefers not to build her nest next to another colony. Fill it with some light material so it keeps its round shape, and hang it by the loop near the spot you want to keep calm, such as the veranda or the garden shed. If you hang it in the loft or the garage, first check whether there is already a nest there; have an occupied nest removed by a pest controller.
