Whether you’re a gardener, beekeeper, or outdoor enthusiast, having wasps in your garden can create several issues. From stinging to destroying beehives, wasps are a pest that you may want to rid yourself of.
After spraying and removing a nest, it is best to continue the spraying quarterly to avoid the submergence of wasps. Additionally keeping your garden clean and tidy, and having rubbish bins sealed will deter these pests from returning.
Several factors can mean that wasps will continue coming back even after you have sprayed their nests such as pheromones and chemical markers that remain in the area, even after the nest is removed.
Through this article, I will discuss why wasps return to their old nesting sites, how to prevent them from returning, and further steps to eradicate them from your home and garden completely.
How Do I Keep Wasps From Coming Back?
Wasp traps can be an effective method for decreasing the number of wasps around your property.
The traps can be purchased from pest removers, but they are simple to create yourself with the use of just a few basic materials such as an empty bottle, sugar, and sellotape.
Utilizing a two-liter plastic bottle, remove the cap and cut the bottle into two pieces just under the neck of the bottle. Invert the top portion to create a funnel into the lower half and seal the two rims together using sellotape.
What you use to draw the wasps is season-dependent. If you set the trap in spring, wasps are looking for protein. A study concluded that fresh fish and meat are most likely to attract wasps, alongside tinned cat food.
Later in summer wasps are looking for something sweet and a sugar-water mixture will be sufficient to attract and catch passing wasps. Alternatively, you can use jam, fruit juice, or any other sweet substance.
When disposing of wasps that you’ve caught in your trap be careful not to squash them as this will release a scent, which attracts other wasps. We’ll explore the wasp pheromone further down in the article.
Whilst savory traps are unlikely to attract bees, they may find the lure of your sugar-water trap to be fatal. If you want to help in the protection of honey bees, it may be worth investing in a product such as Vespex, which will help to eradicate wasps but is completely safe for bumblebees.
Or, sticking with a natural product, add a teaspoon of vinegar to the water mix. It will continue to attract wasps, but the bumblebees will be deterred from it
A fake wasp nest may sound silly, but as wasps are territorial, this can deter them from hanging around an area that they perceive to be the territory of another swarm. It’s fairly easy to source and buy one, or you can make your own from a crumpled paper bag and some string.
An effective way to hinder a wasp nest dormant without the use of chemicals or poisons is by spraying it with soapy water. This should be done at night, from a safe distance, and whilst wearing PPE.
Why Do Wasps Keep Coming Back?
Pheromones are the chemicals that wasps use to communicate with each other. The nest and surrounding area are saturated with these pheromones and thus, even by removing the nest, you may not remove all traces of the pheromones meaning that wasps will still be drawn back by the attraction of the scent.
Another reason that wasps may return to the site of origin is if you do not manage to exterminate them all. If a few wasps linger at the site, they may start to try and rebuild the nest. As they attract further wasps who aid in this mission, you may find yourself with the same problem you had initially.
To alleviate both of these issues, it is imperative that you completely remove the nest and all of its inhabitants. Ensure you thoroughly spray the nest and give the spray time to complete its work before removing it.
Once the nest is removed also spray the surrounding area to remove traces of the wasp pheromones.
Essential oils sprayed around the area can further deter wasps from returning to the site. Try a mixture of clove, lemongrass, and geranium.
How Do I Get Rid Of Wasps Completely?
If you make your garden unattractive to wasps they are unlikely to want to set up home there.
Plants such as mint, wormwood, lemongrass, citronella, clove, sage, and rosemary are all known to naturally repel wasps and can be a great addition to your garden.
In contrast, sweet foods and meats will attract wasps, so ensuring that all rubbish bags and bins are sealed is a good step in preventing further wasp infestations. If you have fruit trees in your garden, picking up fallen fruit before it rots, is a good step to preventing wasp infestations.
If you’re a keen gardener and want to get a little more adventurous with your plants, you could try carnivorous vegetation such as venus fly traps or pitcher plants.
Regularly spray the exterior of your property and check for cracks or holes in the exterior. Whilst wasp nests themselves may be relatively harmless, an opening into your home could allow a swarm of wasps to cause damage to your building.
As wasps will likely reside in a place where they have a stable food source, it is a good idea to make sure you have any other pest issues under control, such as spiders or greenflies, which are likely to attract wasps to want to habitat in your garden.
Removing a wasp nest effectively can be tricky, but by following the tips in this article you should be able to exterminate the pests from your property and prevent them from returning. By removing all chemical traces of the wasps’ pheromones and replacing them with natural repellents such as mint or citronella, you can maintain a healthy garden that naturally wards off wasps.