How to Eliminate Wasps
Pest expert Matthew Hess
May 12th, 2023
Summer is a time for enjoying longer days, pool parties, vacations, and spending time with family. However, it’s important to be aware of wasps, as they can pose a threat to our enjoyment. While most wasp species won’t bother us, it only takes one sting to ruin the day. Knowing how to eliminate wasps just might help you take back the summer!
There is a lot of misinformation about wasps, likely because many species can sting humans. Unprovoked attacks can happen when people accidentally get too close to a nest. To prevent this, it’s necessary to take proper control measures.
It’s important to note that not all wasp species are aggressive or dangerous. For example, the Ichneumon wasp is beneficial and poses no risk to humans. However, we’re here to discuss the ones that do pose a threat. In order to enjoy your summer in peace, we’ll go over the most effective methods for safely getting rid of wasps.
Wasp Lifecycle
Learning how to eliminate wasps the right way requires a bit of knowledge. The lifecycle of a wasp can help us better understand when control methods should be implemented for the best and longest-lasting results.
As spring approaches, overwintering wasp queens will begin emerging from hibernation. These queens are often noticed as they fly around, searching high areas of homes and businesses as if they are looking for something. And indeed they are – food and a suitable location for building a new nest are their top priorities. A warm and dry spot, such as in an attic, under an eave, inside a wall, or in a tree or bush, is ideal. Once the queen has scouted out a suitable spot, she will start constructing her nest.
Building the Nest
The queen wasp builds her nest by creating honeycomb-like brood cells that are connected to one another. To make each brood cell, the wasps chew wood fibers and glue them together using their saliva. You may have observed wasps landing on wooden objects and scraping off a thin layer from the surface. This is done to collect the wood fibers needed to construct their nests.
The wasps’ nest construction process is similar to the way we make paper mâché. They meticulously construct each cell with multiple layers, and many cells are built to form the nest. As spring approaches, the number of brood cells produced increases, the nest expands, and the workforce grows.
Wasps work hard to manage the eggs and grow the nest until adults emerge.
From Egg to Adult
For each new cell, the queen lays a single egg within, which will hatch into larva within five to eight days. The larva will then feed on bits of insects provided by the queen to gain strength and nourishment for the molting process. Around five molts must be completed before pupation may begin. Once they start to pupate, they spin a silk closure over the cell’s exit.
The pupation period lasts between eight to eighteen days, at which time an adult worker will emerge from the brood cell. During the summer months, the nest also produces drones (males) and new queens that can reproduce. From egg to adult can take as little as twenty-eight days or as long as fifty days, depending on environmental factors. By autumn, newly fertilized queens will begin searching for a place to hibernate as the remainder of the colony dies. Next year, the process repeats.
Tiny eggs are laid in each cell of the wasp nest.
Wasp Behaviors
It’s fascinating to note that wasps are actually vital to our environment, as they play a crucial role in pollination and controlling crop-damaging pests. In the United States alone, there are over 4,000 species of wasps, each with its own unique role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Among the most notable species are the paper wasp, bald-faced hornet, mud dauber, European hornet, and yellow jacket. Interestingly, the paper wasp is likely the species you’ll come across most often.
A blue-winged wasp pollinates a flower.
Red Paper Wasp
Bald-Faced Hornet
Mud Dauber
European Hornet
Yellow Jacket
Social or Solitary?
The majority of wasp species are solitary, and each adult female lives and breeds independently. However, wasps of concern, such as paper wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets, are social wasps. Not only are these wasps social, but eusocial, meaning they have advanced skills of organization and a single female for reproduction.
Social wasp colonies can be found all over the world, ranging in size from 3 to 15,000 members. In urban areas of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, the average colony size is under 1000. Regardless of the size, these colonies have strong defense mechanisms to protect their queen and colony. Depending on where the nest is located, wasps can pose a serious threat to humans and animals that come in close contact with them unintentionally. It is important to be cautious around wasps to avoid potential harm.
Nest Locations
Nests can be found in various locations, whether in the wilderness or urban areas. These include trees, shrubs, outbuildings, modern outhouses, building eaves, immobile vehicles, agricultural equipment, wall voids, birdhouses, and other places. It’s important to take precautions in these areas during peak activity to avoid any unwanted encounters.
In March, homeowners may start noticing newly emerged queens looking for a new place to settle down. As the weather gets warmer, especially in early April, the queens come out of hibernation in search of food and shelter. They will find new homes in cracks, crevices, gaps, holes, and other openings in a building. This is a crucial time to ensure your home or business is pest-free and protected.
At this time, even if measures are taken to prevent wasp infestations, queens will still scout. Expect to see queens from the time they emerge until they find a new home. However, by late April, if proper control measures are in place, there should be no sign of remaining wasps and no visible nests.
Preventing Nesting
To prevent wasp infestations in your home or business, it is important to consider exclusion, pest prevention, and monitoring services. Starting preventive measures as soon as the queens emerge can help prevent new nesting sites on your property. You can also take exclusion measures to prevent newly emerged queens from entering your building and starting a new colony. By October, the majority of the colony is dead and only the future queens remain. Making sure to prevent them from overwintering within you home or business will aid in reducing the chances of new nests being formed come April.
It’s important to keep in mind that even if you manage to keep wasps from nesting on or inside your home or business, pest treatments only last for a short time, and the cycle will start all over again next April. This means that you need to be diligent in your efforts to prevent wasps from returning, even as late as October and November. However, if you’re not up for this commitment, you can always reach out to our offices and speak to our friendly and knowledgeable staff. We’ll be more than happy to help you enroll in a program that is designed to anticipate, eliminate, and prevent pest problems.
What If I See A Wasp Nest?
It’s not unusual to stumble upon videos social media personalities post of themselves bare-handedly grabbing or biting wasp nests, giving the impression that it is a safe and harmless activity. However, it is imperative to understand that this behavior is not recommended, safe, or intelligent. Even if the person in the video appears unharmed, attempting this activity will inevitably result in pain and severe consequences. Even spraying a wasp nest can be risky. Instead, seeking help from a professional and avoiding any potential harm is the best course of action. Many people learn the hard way that they don’t know how to eliminate wasps or are allergic to wasp stings, resulting in costly hospital bills. Prioritizing safety and relying on professional expertise is always the smartest choice.
Should you choose to DIY your wasp nest removal, here are some steps you can take to safely accomplish the goal and know how to eliminate wasps:
- It’s best to remove the nest early in the season when it’s still small and has fewer wasps, reducing your chances of getting stung.
- Perform the task just before sunrise or at dusk. These are their least active times of the day.
- Make sure to plan an exit strategy with a clear and safe path.
- Wear appropriate PPE such as a bee suit, gloves, safety goggles, a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, shoes, and a hat. This will protect you from stings.
- Have a first-aid kit handy, just in case.
- Use quality sprays with non-conductive ingredients, long-distance reach, and a foaming action. This will ensure you won’t get electrocuted, that you’ll be outside their immediate zone, and that the wasps won’t escape the nest-encasing foam action.
- Work with the wind, not against it. By doing so, you’ll be upwind as wasps fall from the nest. They will likely fall in the direction the wind is blowing, minimizing the risk of them coming your way. Avoid spraying against the wind, as this will shorten the stream’s reach and may cause the spray to hit you instead.
- Make sure there are no bystanders near the treatment zone. Keep family, friends, pets, and anyone else a safe distance away. Safety first.
- Use only EPA-approved insecticides labeled for wasps. Avoid using non-insecticidal products such as gas, diesel, WD40, alcohol, or fire. Not only are these potentially dangerous, but they may also fail to eliminate the wasps and cause them to become more aggressive.
- When in doubt, call Four Seasons Pest Solutions. Our staff are trained, experienced, and knowledgeable. We make the work of eliminating and removing wasp nests look like child’s play. Just remember, for most people, it isn’t!
Attempting to treat or remove a wasp nest can be dangerous and even fatal. Allergic reactions can cause anaphylactic shock. Please be sure you’re ready for the worst before you take matters into your own hands.
What Can I Do To Prevent Wasps?
Whether you’ve just removed a wasp nest or hired a pro to do it, or whether you’re getting an early start for the season, there are a few ways that you or Four Seasons Pest Solutions can deter and prevent wasp infestations:
- Blocking points of entry is one of the most productive solutions to pest control. Gaps around plumbing penetrations, cracks in foundations, unsealed or unscreened vents, poor door and window gasket maintenance and other similar concerns must be isolated and repaired. Four Seasons Pest Solutions offers a variety of Exclusion Services aimed at preventing pests.
- Installing Screens on doors and windows that will spend time open is an effective way to reduce wasps and other pests.
- Remove old nests. Even though they won’t be reused, they will attract new scouting queens who will build new nests close by.
- Practice proper sanitation measures. Waste bins, garbage cans, dumpsters and other garbage receptacles are especially enticing to several wasp species. Keeping them regularly changed out, cleaned and well sealed will reduce foraging wasps.
- Keep food covered. Food, including food within a home, in a garden, and bird feeders may attract wasps from nearby.
- Essential oils and citronella candles may produce scents that confuse or repel wasps. Peppermint, lavender, lemongrass, geranium and clove are all possible repellants for wasps.
Need Professional Help?
You don’t have to deal with a wasp nest and you don’t have to know how to eliminate wasps. That’s why we’re here. Our team of experienced pest controllers are equipped with cutting-edge tools, products, and methods that allow them to safely and effectively control all your pests. We do know how to eliminate wasps and how to do it right the first time!
Additionally, we can offer long-term solutions for pest prevention, reduction, and elimination through our many pest control programs. Give us a call and see why everybody says that it’s good to have Four Seasons on your side!
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