Despite being beneficial to the environment because they eat other pests and work to pollinate your garden, wasps and hornets are in fact an unwelcome and potentially dangerous interloper to have buzzing about your yard. Wasps are a tiny, trim-waisted flying insect that represents a family of insects, which includes hornets and yellowjackets. Regardless of species, they are an unwelcome and uninvited nuisance at any outdoor gathering.
Wasps are a highly aggressive insect, so when threatened, any type of wasp will sting and can leave humans with an array of uncomfortable side effects that may even be deadly. And with summer on the horizon, so are wasps. They come primarily seeking food, so outdoor BBQ season is when they are out in high numbers.
Deterring Wasp Activity
Believe it or not, there are a handful of ways that landscaping can play a role in both attracting and deterring wasps to and from your property. Here are a few tips Salt Lake City homeowners should be cognizant of:
Plants such as citronella, eucalyptus, thyme, and wormwood have shown to be effective and natural repellents. Similarly, homeowners might find that peppermint oil and some other essential oil blends like clove and geranium are also said to be useful at keeping wasps away.
Plants like spearmint, sweet fennel, and yarrow are actually highly attractive to wasps due to the myriad of other pests they attract. Avoid planting these at all costs, unless you want an infestation.
When maintaining the greenery on your property, be sure to keep shrubs, trees, and hedges properly trimmed. Unseemly and unkempt areas are a common spot for wasps and other pests to seek shelter and build their nests. Traditionally, wasps build their nests approximately three feet off the ground, so keeping greenery trimmed will allow Salt Lake City homeowners to better spot any growing nests.
Wasp Prevention Tips
Though wasps are thought of as helpers, Salt Lake City homeowners want to prevent the development of a nest and therefore, a growing wasp population, on their property at all costs. Here are a few tips for preventing wasps from getting too comfortable in your home:
Store food and trash properly. Wasps have a sweet tooth and love people food, so while spending time outdoors, make sure to store your food properly and don’t leave trash uncovered and out for long periods of time. Be sure to empty garbage bins regularly and clean them out thoroughly at the end of a gathering, removing any potential sweet or sticky residue that may be left behind from garbage.
Fill in holes in the ground properly. Some wasps, like digger wasps, build their nests in the ground and they can be up to two feet deep. To avoid multiple nests from being built next to one another, which tends to happen, homeowners should seal these up properly with professional help.
Play mind games. It might sound silly, but because wasps are so territorial, if they suspect that another posse of wasps has already started building a nest on your property, that might be enough to deter them. Try hanging an inflated brown paper lunch bag in an area that you want to scare wasps away from and watch them flee.
Wasps are a potentially dangerous pest to encounter, and removing them should be handled by professionals, for safety's sake. So for preventive assistance or for the safe removal of an active nest, contact the professionals at Pest Pro Pest Control today.