Wasps can be aggressive just because they are wasps, as summer ends, however, being hungry makes them more aggressive. In the beginning of spring into summer wasps eat flies, aphids, caterpillars, and other invertebrates, making them an important insect-controlling predator. As a result of feeding aphids to the larvae the worker wasps are rewarded by a sugary sweet substance that wasps ingest. As the summer winds down, the production of the larvae is reduced as the queen is producing less eggs. This means those worker wasps will be hungry and more aggressive and bolder.
What attracts worker wasps:
- Open cans of soda, if you put the soda down and walk away, you may not want to sip from it again as wasps will climb inside.
- Most sweets, including potato salad and condiments will have you ducking from wasps.
- Outside picnics or bar-b-ques on the deck.
- Wasps also love the spoiled and fermented fruits that falls from trees and bushes in late summer and fall. They will become drunkenly aggressive chasing people or pets if they feel annoyed. Wasps in the late summer and fall are often annoyed.
While the life span of a worker wasp is generally only 22 days, while a queen if she hibernates well can live up to a year, the worker wasp’s job is to provide food to the larvae and protect the nest. Let us talk about wasps’ nests. Wasps construct their similarly honeycombed hives out of scavenged materials: leaves, stems, bark and even mud. The so-called paper wasp chews up plant material and regurgitates a kind of paper. If you see black and yellow insects flying around a grayish-brown comb hanging from your porch roof, you have wasps, not bees.
Likely places you may see a nest:
- Garden sheds and (childrens’) playhouses
- Lofts, basements, and attic areas
- Gutters and roof lining
- Cracks, holes, and fissures in walls
These are the reasons why you will want to call Victoria’s Pest Control, as wasps are opportunistic and like safe secure surroundings for their nest. Wasps will also seek an indoor place for the nest if the queen can safely hibernate. Any cracks or holes in plaster or wood can suffice. Removing a nest can be made complicated depending on its location, if it is accessible from the outside or in a wall, or crawl space.
There are three prevalent wasps to consider, these are all considered ‘social wasps’ as they live in large colonies with one queen. Solitary wasps are not aggressive and seldom sting. Hornets, yellow jackets, and paper wasps are all social wasps. They commonly have narrow wings that fold longitudinally, nests made of recycled wood fibers, and, of course, the ability to sting repeatedly. Although these wasps have traits in common, there are a few things that set them apart as well.
Paper wasps are about 1” long, have long legs, and range in color.
- They are reddish-orange to black, sometimes with yellow highlights.
- Their umbrella-shaped nests are often suspended from eaves or window casings.
- Paper wasp colonies usually number fewer than 100 wasps. When they fly, their long legs dangle.
Bald-faced hornets are about ¾” long with black bodies and gray bands.
- Despite its name, the bald-faced hornet is more closely related to the yellow jacket than it is to the less common European hornet.
- Hornets have massive, enclosed nests that hang from sturdy perches like tree branches.
- Hornet colonies contain over 100 wasps.
Yellowjackets are the smallest at ½” in length.
- They can be mistaken for honey bees because of the yellow markings on their bodies.
- Yellowjacket nests are enclosed like hornets nests are, but yellowjacket nests are found below ground.
- In late summer, they will sting if you simply get too close to the nest.
Although you are not likely to remove a yellowjacket’s nest, it is still a good idea to know where one may be on your property. Remember that while one wasp sting is not harmful, it sends out a pheromone that signals other wasps to join the attack.
Having a professional pest control company on your side will help you eradicate wasps’ next from the exterior and interior of your home and making your home and property safer for next summer.
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