Wasps and hornets are flying insects that sting. They both have smooth, hairless abdomens, and go through four distinct life stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult.
The big difference between wasps and hornets, which are a type of wasp, is their size, shape and colour. Wasps typically are smaller with slender bodies and narrow waists. Wasps also come in a variety of colours, including bright blue.
Hornets, by comparison, are typically rounder, fatter and more aggressive. They usually have yellow, black and / or white markings on their bodies.
Wasps may be solitary and live alone or social creatures that live in colonies. Social wasps and hornets have a queen, which lays eggs in the nest. The nest also contains brood, which is the developing larvae and pupae. A nest may house thousands of worker wasps or hornets. Their jobs are to tend the brood, forage for food, and protect the nest. Social wasps will swarm and sting anyone who threatens the nest, whereas solitary wasps are less aggressive.
Adult hornets and wasps typically feed on nectar, sap and sweet honeydew, made from plant sap by aphid, mealybug and scale insects. They feed their larvae protein, including spiders, caterpillars, insects and even meat from your picnic plate.
Wasps and hornets often are mistaken for bees. Bees, however, have hairy bodies. Important pollinators, bees feed on nectar, pollen and honey. Bees may live in trees, wood, the ground or honeybee box hives. If you have a problem with honeybees, contact a local beekeeper, who will likely remove the hive for free. The only bee that poses a big problem for homes, cottages and businesses is the wood-boring carpenter bee.
Do wasps and hornets bite or sting?
Wasps and hornets don’t bite, they sting. And because wasps don’t leave the stinger in you (like a bee does), they can sting more than once.
Not only is a wasp sting or hornet sting painful, but it injects venom into your skin. In some people, this venom causes a life-threatening allergic reaction.
Getting chased by wasps or hornets is not fun. In fact, people often ask, Why do wasps follow me? The follow you because they are attracted to your cologne or you are too close to the nest, which they defend by pushing you away from it.
There are 5 Problem-Causing Hornets and Wasps in Canada, and 1 Invasive Hornet to Monitor
While more than 500 species of wasps live in Canada, 5 of these wasps and hornets cause the most problems for home and businesses. As well, be on the lookout for one big, invasive hornet.
Paper Wasps - Paper wasps are black-and-yellow striped and about 1 to 3 cm long. Their long legs hang below them while they fly. Paper wasps are named for the paper-like material they make to construct their upside-down, umbrella-shaped nests. The nests are typically small with individual cells of the nest clearly visible. Nests are found under eaves, decks, porch ceilings, behind shutters, and inside vent louvers, coach lamps and hollow playground equipment.
Yellowjackets – Yellowjackets (or Yellow Jackets) are yellow and black and about 10 to 16 mm long. They are aggressive scavengers and are most noticeable in late summer. Nests contain up to 5,000 workers and are hidden in the ground, hollow trees, within walls, inside attics and even in the hollow legs of patio furniture. Yellow jackets forcefully defend their nest.
Mud Dauber Wasps – A solitary wasp species, mud daubers make tube-shaped nests out of mud that are attached to exterior walls and ceilings. The female wasp preys on spiders. She puts the spider in the nest, lays an egg on it and seals the spider up inside. The egg then hatches, and the wasp larva feeds on the spider. Mud daubers can be black, black and yellow, or bright blue in colour. They range in size from 2.5 to 5 cm.
Bald Faced Hornet – This hornet is mostly black in colour and has a white face. As such, it also is called the white-faced hornet. The hornets are 12 to 15 mm long. Bald faced hornets typically make football-shaped nests high in trees, the peaks of houses, and in shrubs. The nests are covered in a paper-like material and can be quite large. Bald-faced hornets typically don’t threaten people unless the nest is located close to human activity. The hornets sting when the nest is threatened. The bald face hornet sting is painful, like that of other wasps.
European Hornet – Also called the giant hornet or brown hornet, this insect is 18 to 33 mm long. It is brown in colour with yellow stripes on its abdomen and a pale face. It nests in hollow trees, attics, porches and inside wall voids. Any visible parts of the nest will be covered by a brown, paper-like material. The hornets strip the bark off trees and shrubs to drink the sap and they use the bark fiber to build their nests. As such, European hornets can damage these plants.
Asian Giant Hornet (Frelon Asiatique) – This invasive hornet recently made headlines in Canada. It is a very large (35 to 50 mm) and has an orange face. It has been found in numerous locations in British Columbia in recent years. Experts have taken measure to eradicate this non-native pest, which attacks honeybee hives and delivers a most powerful sting. Report sightings of this hornet to the Invasive Species Council of BC.
Why are there so many wasps this year?
Populations of wasps, like all insects, tend to go in cycles. Some years when weather is good and prey is plentiful, the wasp population increases. In years when weather is less suitable and less food is available, wasp numbers decline.
Another reason why wasps might seem so bad this year is because it is peak season for wasps. Wasps and hornets are most noticeable in late summer when colonies are at their biggest.
When do wasps go away? Wasps go away in late fall when cold weather sets in. The workers die off and the queen leaves the nest to find a place to hibernate for the winter.
Wasps and hornets don’t return to the same nest year after year. Instead, they build new ones from scratch. In the spring, the queen wasp emerges from hibernation and builds a small new nest in which she lays a few eggs. The eggs grow into adult wasps, which take over the duties of nest building and defense, foraging, and tending the brood. This lets the queen focus on laying eggs to build the colony.
How to Get Rid of Wasps in the Yard
To get rid of wasps and hornets in the yard and to keep wasps away from the deck and where people gather to eat and drink, follow these 5 steps.
- Inspect – Some wasp and hornet nests are obvious and easy to find. Others are hidden. Keeping careful distance, follow the wasps to their nest. To get rid of the wasps, you will need to kill the queen and destroy the nest.
- Make a plan – Knocking down a wasp nest and then running for your life is not a good plan. Instead, evaluate the situation and determine all the equipment and pest control products you’ll need to be successful. Plan your activities for nighttime when wasps are less active. Don’t shine flashlights directly on the nest, though, as this alerts and incites the wasps.
- Eliminate the nest – How to get rid of a hornets’ nest or wasp nest depends on where it is located. Wear a bee suit or long gloves, protective clothing and a mesh veil to protect yourself from stings.
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Knock down the nest – Knock down a small paper wasp nest with a broom. To knock down larger nests, like a bald-faced hornets’ nest, wait until evening. Enclose the nest in a plastic garbage bag and freeze it for 48 hours to kill the wasps.
If this isn’t practical, apply a flying insect repellent spray to the nest using a long pole fitted with an aerosol can holder. This lets you stream the wasp spray at the nest opening from 10 to 12 feet away. The bug spray slows down the wasps so you knock down the nest. If the wasps aren’t an immediate danger, wait until late fall to remove the nest after they’ve died.
- Spray the nest – Aerosol wasp and hornet killer spray will kill wasps instantly on contact, but it may take more than one application for the spray to contact all wasps in the nest.
- Trap the wasps – Use a non-toxic hornet and wasp trap to lure the insects to their death. The wasps are attracted to the odour of the pest control traps, which they enter but cannot leave. Place traps strategically in the yard to draw the wasps away from the deck, patio and play areas.
- Make your yard less attractive to wasps – To get rid of wasps naturally, make your yard less appealing to them. Keep garbage and recycling in sealed containers. Rinse out pop and beer containers before recycling them. Pick up windfall fruit from under trees. Don’t let moist pet food sit outdoors. Seal cracks and holes in playground equipment and patio furniture where wasps like to build nests. Inspect often for wasp activity and knock down nests from eaves and overhangs while they are small.
Some people say citronella candles repel wasps and that some plants deter wasps. We can’t speak to the effectiveness of wasp repellents, but we are confident in the hornet and wasp control products sold on Pest HQ.
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