Does it seem like you have wasp nests on your property every summer? You may not be imagining the pattern. Some homes and businesses across Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan attract wasps year after year, while a neighbour has none. Wasps return to the same places for specific reasons. The good news is that there are things you can do to make the battle easier.
Why Wasps Return to the Same Property Year After Year
A common myth is that wasps reuse the same nest each year. In most cases they do not. The colony that built last summer’s nest dies off in the fall, and only new, fertilized queens survive the winter in sheltered spots. When spring arrives, those queens look for a place to start, and they are drawn to the same features that made your property appealing in the first place. Old nests left in sheds, attics or under decks show the spot already met a wasp queen’s standards.
Wasp queens build their nests where they can find shelter, food, water, and nest-building materials. Wasps chew bits of trees, plants, wood, and paper products, mix it with their saliva, and use the pulpy material to make their nests. Nesting sites such as roof eaves, soffits, wall cavities, attics, sheds, tree branches, and dense shrubs give queens exactly what they need to establish a colony.
Easy access to food helps feed the wasp nest from sources such as open garbage bins, unwashed recyclables, fallen fruit, pet food, sugary drinks, and outdoor dining areas. Commercial properties can experience more wasp activity because dumpsters, loading docks, patios, and waste bins behind busy kitchens offer a steady food supply that keeps wasps interested. Our wasps information page explains how these insects nest and feed.
As long as attractants remain, your property can support the next generation of wasps.
How to Make Your Property Less Attractive to Wasps, Find Their Nests, and Get Rid of Them
Reduce the reasons wasps keep choosing your property.
As long as there is no active wasp nest present, seal the gaps and cracks in siding, soffits, stairs, and around utility lines that give wasps a way in. Keep garbage and recycling in bins with tight lids, clear fallen fruit, and move pet food and waste away from buildings. Paint, seal, or treat unfinished and exposed wood surfaces to make it difficult for wasps to chew. Set up fake wasp nests early on in the year on the outside of structures to try and convince competitive wasp queens that there is a much stronger nest already present.
Some wasp nests are easy to see, but to find hidden nests, watch for a steady stream of wasps coming and going from the same point on the outside of a building or on your property. Getting rid of wasps yourself and disturbing an active nest can be dangerous. Professional wasp control addresses the nest safely.
Do you have an active wasp nest? Call Poulin’s Pest Control to get rid of wasps at your home or business.