Just sitting at the barbecue, a wasp starts buzzing around your food. Not nice, but fighting is often not necessary, says entomologist and wasp expert Jan Smit. “You can keep them at a distance with simple means.”
What can you do about wasp nuisance?
“The main question is: what is nuisance? Often we panic rather quickly when a wasp is near us, but that is not necessary at all. Wasps can at most buzz around you a bit annoying, because they really don’t sting just like that. The German and the common wasp, the so-called lemonade wasps, are the ones that come close to humans. That usually starts at the end of July or the beginning of August, because then the nesting season comes to an end and the workers start messing around for themselves.”
Where do wasps go?
“Meat and sugar water. The meat is purely for the larvae, because it contains many growth substances. They normally get that from other insects, but they can also target that hamburger on your plate. The workers look for sugar water – nectar – for themselves. Especially when flowers have finished blooming towards the end of the summer, they more often look for that sweetness with us.”
Suppose you are sitting outside with a snack or drink and are bothered by wasps swarming around you. Do you set a wasp trap, or can it also be more animal-friendly?
“Putting a felt over your glass or putting the cap upside down on your beer bottle is often enough. Wasps don’t just sting, but you have to be careful. For example, if you take a sip, she will come into a corner and sting. You prevent that with this. You can also place a saucer with some fruit leftovers, such as apple cores, somewhere in the corner of the garden or balcony. That works well.”
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Do fake nests or certain smells help?
“Putting up a fake nest should prevent wasps from making a nest nearby, because the queen will then look for another territory. I haven’t seen any evidence that this actually works. If you place it, it must be very early, because in April the wasps already start building their nest. According to scientific research, wasps do not like the smell of lemon, cloves and geranium. For example, you can cut a lemon in half and put cloves in it. Or plant a lemon geranium.”
What do you do if you see a wasp nest?
“I would first look at it and ask yourself: are you really bothered by it, or do you think it bothers you? Broadly speaking, I am strongly opposed to combating, because in most cases this is done with poison and that ends up in the environment anyway. I only know of one company, Buitenbedrijf BBZ in Groningen, which fights in an environmentally friendly way by digging out the wasps’ nests. In addition, the Wespenstichting wants to move nests in dire situations. We must not forget that the nests always leave after a year and that wasps have a role in nature: they catch other insects, such as flies and mosquitoes. If you remove all the wasps, we will suffer more from that.”
Expert tips:
Don’t move fast. Don’t hit the wasp. Then she is more likely to sting, because she feels threatened.
Open your wheelie bin with fruit and vegetable waste in a corner of your garden. It lures the wasps away from your patio.
Never remove a wasp nest yourself. First determine whether the nest is really a nuisance and call in an (animal-friendly) expert, for example the Wespenstichting.
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