Avoid a summer sting Fantastic Services warns us that August is the peak of wasp season.
August is finally here and with the holiday period rolling in, so does one not-so-anticipated period of the year – wasp season. Late summer, or more accurately the months of August, September and October, are when wasps become increasingly annoying and dangerous.
A study of Fantastic Service’s bookings shows that late August and early September are peak times for wasp infestations in UK homes. Unfortunately, the reason behind this aggressive behaviour lies in nature itself, so it can't be helped. All we can do is understand it and keep ourselves, our children, and our pets safe from the nasty buzzers.
Why are wasps having a tantrum?
Social wasps, which we are most likely to encounter in the UK, live in colonies with a strict hierarchy. On top is the queen, who has one task alone: to start a nest and give birth to larvae, who will become workers. This typically happens during the spring and early summer, depending on the weather. Wasps aren't so picky when it comes to their diet: all they need is sugar, and most often they gather it from flowers, or even your cupcake if left unattended.
Most of the food goes for nourishing the larvae and the queen, while only a tiny fraction is left for the workers. Yes, equality is not one of the wasps’ strongest virtues. Come August, the colony has reached its capacity (usually up to 10,000 wasps), and the queen gives one final birth. However, this time, instead of workers, the larvae will hatch into young queens and fertile drones. Afterwards, the queen will die. From that point, the worker wasps have almost no other functions, so they ‘retire’ and for once indulge themselves in some sweet, sweet nectar.
However, the fruits have become ripe by that point and many have fallen, fermenting on the ground. Wasps love this and eat as much as possible, which intoxicates them.
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The ‘drunk’ insects, just like humans, become much more annoying and aggressive. That's why they start indiscriminately attacking anyone who denies them a bite out of their surgery sweetness.
Pets are the ones that suffer most, as they tend to dislike the pesky buzzers even more than us, so they often get into a quarrel. Unfortunately, unlike bees, wasps can sting more than once without dying, making them far more dangerous. To rub salt on the wound, during this period, they are far more likely to enter and torment you in the safety of your home.
Why do wasps enter my home?
Wasps aren’t particularly well-mannered guests. They come in, act like it's their home, eat your food, drink your soda, and if you're not careful, they may even bring friends. That's not just annoying but dangerous, since about 21 million people in the UK suffer from allergies.
There are several reasons why wasps get into your home, but most likely, they’re looking for food. If you have the habit of leaving food out in the open, wasps will probably give you a thumbs up (if they had thumbs) and will go fetch some friends. So typically, if you notice wasps regularly over the early summer months, most likely there’s a nest near – or even in – your house.
In late summer and early fall, however, wasps tend to wander much further away from their nests, so getting inside your home does not necessarily mean that outside there are another 10,000 waiting to hear the word.
Seeing a wasp or two in your home is nothing alarming, as they may enter by accident and, as mentioned, to check out how clean it is (meaning they are looking for leftovers and unsealed garbage bags). However, if wasps become a regular occurrence in your home, then it's time to call some professionals to check your home for signs of a nest.
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