What Do Wasps Eat?

Why are wasps so active in fall?

Wasps, like bees, play different roles within their colony. Over time adult wasps have developed a strange reciprocal relationship with the larvae they care for. They each produce food for the other. As the nest goes dormant in fall, wasps become hungrier and more active in order to fend for themselves.

It’s not just you: wasps really are significantly more active in fall than they tend to be in spring or summer. And they can be more aggressive than usual! If you’ve ever wondered why it seems like you run into more wasps in the fall, we can explain. Here’s what you should know about what wasps eat and “the season of the wasp,” along with what you can do about it.

Why are wasps more aggressive in fall?

During the summer, wasps have a singular focus: feeding and protecting their colonies. Adults spend summer searching for food and bringing it back to the nest for larval wasps to eat. This insect-heavy summer diet consists primarily of:

A wasp feeds from a raspberry
  • Ants
  • Bees
  • Beetles
  • Aphids
  • Spiders
  • Fruit
  • Honey

While adult wasps hunt and kill to bring food back to the hive, they themselves only eat sugars, like those found in fruit, sap and honey. Strangely, it’s only the larvae that are carnivorous.

Meanwhile, the larvae eat the hunted and chopped-up insects and produce a nectar for the adults. This fuels the hunters, so they’ll have the energy to continue finding food. As young wasps grow up, the queen continuously fertilizes eggs. This cycle ensures that there are always enough adult wasps, larvae–and nectar–to keep the colony going.

When summer becomes fall, the queen shuts down the nest and stops fertilizing eggs. No new larvae means no new nectar for adults. Instead, the last generation of larvae grow up and have to hunt for food on their own. To replace their beloved larval nectar, wasps seek out foods with more sugar than usual. They’ll fly further, stay out longer, and guard their spoils more aggressively. In other words, the wasps you run into this fall are hangry.

What do wasps eat in fall?

Larval wasp nectar is rich in sugar and carbohydrates. In fall, wasps need to find a way to replace those sugars and carbohydrates by altering their diets. To accomplish this, wasp diets become quite varied. They’ll consume fruit, honey, nectar and small insects but also:

  • Garbage
  • Sugary snacks
  • Soda
  • Meat

You’ll probably see a lot of wasps crashing your picnic or gathering around your garbage dumpster this fall. Human food and garbage is often a great source of sugar and carbohydrates.

Different types of wasp species have different food preferences. Paper wasps ingest wood and wood pulp to build their nests. Mud dauber wasps have been known to target and hunt spiders. Yellowjackets will eat the same types of meat humans do if they can get their hands on it. Whatever the particular wasps near you want, just keep in mind that they’ll want more of it this fall. 

Are wasps dangerous during fall?

The main damage a wasp inflict is psychological. Human beings see their nests and immediately panic. Wasp stings hurt, and when they swarm, wasps can inflict a significant or even dangerous amount of pain. Unlike bees, wasps can sting repeatedly and are more inclined to attack you in fall than they are during the summer. 

If you run into a wasp between September and November, try to keep your distance. Move away from the wasp slowly and steadily. Don’t make sudden movements, lunge or throw something at the wasp, or otherwise react aggressively. 

If you are stung by a wasp, keep the wound clean and use a cold compress for relief. You can check Healthline for more information about what to do for a wasp sting.

How to get rid of wasps in the fall

There are a number of ways to keep wasps out of your home or business during the fall. Start by: 

A swarming nest of wasps inside a wooden hole.
  • Watch for nests. Wasps usually build their nests in lofty, inaccessible, covered areas. Around homes, they’re common on roof eaves, rafters, lofts, or in garages or sheds. By fall, wasp’s nests will be large and established. Most wasp’s nests are built of regurgitated wood pulp and look like paper or wood. If you see a wasp’s nest, do not attempt to remove it yourself. Not only is this dangerous, but it will also likely be ineffective. Instead, call in the pros. Removing a wasp’s nest from your property is the best way to reduce wasp presence near you. 
  • Limit their access to your food. Wasps are all about food in fall. If they can’t get food near you, they’ll have to find it elsewhere. Secure your trash cans, clean up outdoor spills, and avoid eating meals outdoors during fall. The harder you make it for wasps to eat near you, the fewer wasps you’ll have to deal with.
  • Clean up yard debris regularly. This is a good tip for all deterring all pests, not just wasps. Pests use yard debris as a way to hide as they approach your home. If you clean up yard debris like leaves regularly, you’ll make your yard far less appealing to potential pests. Proper lawn care in fall makes a big difference when it comes to pest prevention.

What do wasps do in winter?

By November you should be seeing the last signs of any wasps in your neighborhood. For better or worse, the reality is: most wasps don’t survive the winter.

After their heroic push to locate new foods and survive the fall, most wasps die off. The only members of the colony to survive are the females who will go on to breed and become queens in the following year. These few royals will hibernate over winter and remerge in the spring to start their dynasty in a new nest.

How to get rid of a wasp nest 

Wasps can be scary, especially during fall. If you suspect you have a wasp problem or see a nest, call the team at Griffin Pest immediately. We’ll send a certified pest technician out to assess the situation and apply an integrated pest management plan. Enjoy all seasons without the fear of upsetting hungry wasps.

What NOT to Do Around Bees

Avoid swarms of bees

Whenever you see a bee, the first thing you think is, “will it sting me?” It’s unavoidable. No matter how comfortable you are around bees, that anxiety’s in there somewhere. Likewise, if you’re going somewhere where you may see bees, you’ll think about how they might sting you. If you’re going to think about it, you might as well know how to avoid it.

Obviously, the best way to avoid bee stings is to avoid making bees want to sting you. Sounds easy enough, right? Don’t worry–for the most part, it really is. If you can avoid doing the things we list below, you’ll be able to avoid bee stings! …Probably. Well, at least you’ll be much less likely to incur a bee’s wrath. Which is… almost the same thing!

To avoid bee stings when you’re outside, DO NOT:

Approach a bee’s nest

This one’s obvious, right? If you see a bee or wasp’s nest, stay away from that thing! Bees and wasps usually sting to defend themselves and their homes. If you approach a bee’s nest, they could easily interpret you as a threat. If that happens, you don’t have to worry about one or two bees. You’ll have to worry about all the bees. Or you could just give that bee’s nest a wide berth! The right choice seems pretty clear.

Make sudden movements

Bees usually sting people for one of two reasons, and both of those reasons have to do with feeling threatened. They sting people who either wander too close to their nests… or startle them with sudden movements. If you see bees around you, try not to move too quickly. Don’t jerk toward or away from the bee, freak out, jump up and down, whatever. Instead, move away from the bee sloooooowly. If the bee knows you’re there and you’re not threatening it, it’ll probably leave you alone.

honeycomb

Throw things

This one sort of follows from the first two. Obviously, throwing something constitutes a “sudden movement.” You’ll startle bees with your sudden flying projectile and they’ll sting in retaliation. OR your sudden, flying projectile will collide with a nest. And you’ll have to answer for your crimes. To all the bees. If you see bees or especially a bee’s nest nearby, maybe just refrain from tossing that stone or stick. We get it–throwing things is fun–but “not being stung by a bee” is MORE fun, when you think about it.

Swat at the bees

It’s a surprisingly hard impulse to control, especially if the bee lands on you. When you see the bee buzzing nearby, something makes you want to slap it away. You should do whatever you can to avoid that impulse. If you lash out at a bee, you can’t exactly blame it for thinking of you as a threat. If the bee feels like you’re not leaving it a choice, it’ll retaliate against your swatting by stinging you. If you see a bee near or even on you, we recommend simply moving away from it slowly.

Disturb nearby flowers

Pretty much everyone knows bees eat nectar and pollinate flowers. It’s just what they do. Therefore, you’re naturally much more likely to see bees around flowers. Anytime you’re near flowers, expect to see bees. In fact, we recommend keeping bees in mind around flowers, even if you can’t see them. Try not to trample or otherwise push around flowers. Not only is it not very nice to the flowers, but it might also startle a bee you can’t see. Bees tend to feel vulnerable when they’re eating, which may make them more likely to sting.

bees are attracted to sugar

Eat or drink sugary foods

If you’ve ever eaten a picnic outside, you probably know that bees are very interested in food and drinks. Bees and wasps are both attracted to simple sugars as a source of easy energy. Soft drinks, candy, alcohol, pastries, fruits, and other sugary foods will attract bees to you. If you startle them during their approach, they’ll sting you in self-defense. If you eating or drinking something sugary outside, do so quickly. Keep your food or drink in a sealable container, and dispose of it as soon as you’re finished. Most importantly, stay aware of your surroundings. The bee you can’t see is more likely to sting you than the one you can see.

Run away

Now, we get that you won’t always be able to help this. If a swarm of bees comes at you, you’ll probably try to get the heck out of there by instinct. The problem is, running away might actually make you more likely to be stung for a couple of reasons. After all, it’s a sudden movement. If there are any bees near you, you may startle them with your sudden retreat. Bees might also interpret your speed as a threat to their nest, especially if you’re nearby. If you can help it, we always recommend moving away from bees slowly.

 

Next time you head out to a place where you may see bees, keep these simple guidelines in mind. As long as you don’t disturb them and give them some space, bees will pretty much leave you alone. They’re even less interested in stinging you than you are in being stung, after all.

These guidelines are great for going to places, but you shouldn’t have to follow them around your own home. If a bee colony built their home uncomfortably close to you, then you should call Griffin any time. Our experts can safely and humanely remove bee’s nests and make sure they don’t come back.