Wasps can be an incredibly frightening insect to have inside your home. They are large, can be aggressive, and deliver painful stings.
You can take several actions to avoid attracting wasps into your home. First, it’s helpful to know that wasps eat sugary liquids and feed meat to their larvae. Also, securing your trash and sealing off foods will discourage wasps from entering and looking for something to eat. Next, seal off wasp entry points like cracks or gaps around windows and doors. Then, use essential oils or plants that repel wasps, such as peppermint. Killing wasps won’t help you avoid attracting them, but it may be necessary in some cases.
If you need to get rid of hornets or wasps, check out my tips on how to do it here. To learn more about avoiding attracting wasps in the first place, keep reading this article. See also my related article: “Carpenter Bee Signs and Identification.”
What Attracts Wasps Into Your Home?
To avoid attracting wasps into your home, it helps to understand what they are attracted to. Some of the items that can attract wasps are:
- Hiding places, like inside walls, crawl spaces, attics, cracks, etc.
- Prey insects such as aphids or caterpillars
- Human food
- Garbage
- Flowers
What Do Wasps Eat?
Like all insects, wasps need food, and certain foods can attract them to your home. Moreover, understanding what wasps eat can help avoid attracting them to your home.
A Wasps Food Preferences Changes During Its Lifespan
When in their larval stage, young wasps consume insects their parents have hunted and prepared for them. Later, adult wasps, whether social or solitary, primarily feed on sugars. In their natural environment, they source these sugars from flower nectar and honeydew, a sugary secretion produced by aphids.
The reason behind this dietary shift is straightforward: Young wasps require protein, while older wasps have shorter lifespans and prioritize carbohydrates over protein.
The wasps you observe flying around your home or property are typically adult social wasps on the hunt for food. They could be searching for insects to feed their young, or they could be looking for sugars to eat themselves.
Why Are Wasps Attracted to Sugar?
Sugars hold a particular allure for adult wasps, especially as they near the end of their lifespan. The reason behind a wasp’s affection for sugar lies in the secretion of a sweet substance by larvae, which worker wasps eat.
This secretion is the primary food source for adult wasps, particularly during the summer. Then, as the season draws to a close and fall approaches, the larvae produce less of the sugary substance.
Consequently, wasps embark on quests to find alternative sugar sources, sometimes human food. Therefore, you’re more likely to attract wasps looking for sugar in the fall when their other food sources dwindle.
Are Wasps Attracted To Meat?
Wasps are attracted to meat, but not because they want to eat it. Adult wasps only eat liquids, but larval wasps can eat solid foods and need a lot of protein to help them grow.
When wasps swarm for meat, they gather food for the babies in the nest. They will partially digest bites of meat and then give it to the larvae.
When the colony grows fastest, wasps are especially attracted to meat in the spring and summer. As the larvae age, they won’t need as much food, and wasps won’t be as likely to swarm your meat.
Actions You Can Take To Avoid Attracting Wasps
There are several effective strategies to avoid attracting wasps into your home. Putting all these actions into practice will significantly increase your chances of missing a painful encounter with wasps.
Secure Your Trash
Homes with easy access to garbage attract wasps. To deter wasps from searching for your food leftovers, keeping your trash bins covered indoors and outdoors is essential.
Seal the lids of your garbage containers tightly to prevent wasps from gaining entry. Choosing bins with secure locking lids or bungee cords can be highly effective.
If you practice composting, you may notice wasps eating sugars from fruit peels around the compost pile. To avoid attracting wasps with your compost, keep it away from your house or choose a method that won’t let wasps enter.
Protect Your Food
Wasps aren’t just interested in your trash; they also target food. Sweet foods and meats are particularly appealing to them.
Always cover your food to prevent wasps from infiltrating your home or hovering around your yard. Ensure sugary foods and beverages are well-sealed to keep wasps out.
Seal Entry Points
Wasps can exploit tiny openings like cracks around siding, power lines, and holes in window screens to enter your home. Preventative measures to keep wasps out include sealing or patching these cracks, holes, and other entry points.
The best times to do this are in the fall when worker wasps die or early spring before they become active. Using a combination of expandable foam sealants or caulk can keep insects out and improve your home’s energy efficiency.
Important note: Don’t seal a wasp nest inside your wall if you discover one. Wasps can chew through your wall, causing damage.
Utilize Essential Oils
Peppermint oil is one of the best essential oils for effectively repelling wasps. Create a mixture of peppermint oil and water in a spray bottle and apply it to the entry points that wasps use to access your home.
Wasps dislike the scent of peppermint and will avoid it. Also, spray the oil mixture in areas where wasps build nests, such as eaves, crevices, and ledges.
Some other essential oils are nearly as effective if you don’t like or can’t find peppermint oil. Some other oils you might try are:
- Cloves
- Geranium
- Lemongrass
- Citronella
- Lime
- Grapefruit
Water and Soap Solution
A combination of water and soap is a simple wasp-repellent or killer. Soap blocks wasps’ breathing pores and causes them to die.
You can spray with soapy water and aim the liquid at wasps in your home. Also, wasps won’t like the smell of soap and often avoid it.
Hang Wasp Traps
Hanging wasp traps is a popular method to prevent these insects from infiltrating your home. These traps contain a liquid that attracts wasps, causing them to drown.
Place the traps somewhere so that the wasps won’t come into contact with people when they seek out the bait. Avoid placing the traps near doors, and places people gather or frequently travel through.
Choose Wasp-Repelling Plants
Flowers typically attract wasps, but not all plants are equally inviting. To deter wasps from approaching your house, consider planting vegetation that repels them, including:
- Marigold
- Geranium
- Mint
- Basil
- Pennyroyal
- Wormwood
Fortunately, these plants will look amazing on your property, and you might be able to eat them! If you plan your garden well, you can avoid attracting wasps while creating a beautiful atmosphere.
Should I Kill Wasps In My Home To Avoid Attracting Them?
Overall, it might be better not to kill wasps, but do your best to exclude them from your house. If you aim to avoid attracting wasps, killing them won’t help. Also, wasps play a vital role in the ecosystem and benefit humans in many ways, such as:
1. Natural Pest Control: Wasps maintain ecological balance because they are efficient predators of insect pests. They help control populations of harmful insects, such as caterpillars and aphids, which can damage crops and gardens.
2. Pollination: While not as efficient as bees, some wasp species contribute to pollination. They visit flowers in search of nectar and inadvertently transfer pollen from one flower to another, aiding in the reproduction of certain plants.
3. Carrion Cleanup: Certain species of wasps are scavengers and help to decompose dead animals. They assist in recycling nutrients and breaking down organic matter, which is essential for the ecosystem.
4. Aid in Ecosystem Health: Wasps, as part of the food chain, serve as a food source for various predators, including birds, amphibians, and other insects. They contribute to the overall biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems.
5. Beneficial Parasitoids: Some parasitic wasps are valuable in biological control programs. They lay their eggs inside or on the larvae of other pests, ultimately killing the host insect. This is a natural and sustainable method of controlling insect pests.
Is It Dangerous To Have Wasps In Your Home?
Wasps can be potentially dangerous, especially when provoked or when their nests are disturbed. The degree of danger associated with wasps depends on various factors, including the species of wasps and individual circumstances.
Inside your home, wasps pose several threats, and avoiding attracting or coming into contact with them is best. Some of the dangers of wasps include:
1. Stinging Insects: Wasps have stingers, which they use for defense and subduing prey. When a wasp stings, it injects venom into the victim, which can cause pain, swelling, and allergic reactions in some individuals.
2. Aggressive Defense: Some wasp species, such as yellow jackets and hornets, are more aggressive and defensive of their nests. They may attack in large numbers when they perceive a threat, which can be hazardous, mainly if a wasp nest is inside your home.
3. Allergic Reactions: A wasp sting can trigger severe allergic reactions for some people. Symptoms can include difficulty breathing, swelling of the face and throat, and a drop in blood pressure. Anaphylactic reactions require immediate medical attention.
4. Multiple Stings: Unlike honeybees, many wasp species can sting multiple times without losing their stingers. This means they can deliver multiple stings in a single encounter.
5. Nesting Sites: Wasps often build nests inside your home if you accidentally attract them. Disturbing their nests in their home while cleaning or simply moving around can lead to defensive attacks.