Wasps are feared and hated. Granted they do sting if you disturb them but that is no reason to fear them. In this post I will look at 10 wasp myths that will surprise you. Armed with this new knowledge I hope that you will learn to either like wasps or at least hate them less.
As a general background review of wasp facts have a look at Understanding Wasps – They Are Not Evil!
Wasp Myths
This list of wasp myths are the ones that I was able to find. If you know of others please post a comment and tell us about them.
Wasp Stings Do Not Hurt
When a wasp stings it injects venom into your skin. It is a myth that the venom hurts and causes swelling. The symptoms you see and feel when you get stung are the result of your own body defenses. The human body causes the swelling, reddening, itching and pain after a sting (ref 2).
A small percentage of people have severe reactions, which can be fatal. Death, due to anaphylaxis, is fairly rare.
The average person is stung 2-3 times in their lifetime. I wonder if gardeners are stung more often?
People Allergic to Wasp Stings are also Allergic to Bee Stings
This is a very common wasp myth. The venom from bee stings and wasp stings are quite different and “the vast majority of people that are allergic, are allergic to either wasp or bee but not both.” (ref 2).
The normal reaction of swelling and pain is not an allergic reaction and most people will experience these symptoms from both bee and wasp stings.
Baking Soda – Will it Reduce Symptoms of a Wasp Sting?
One common cure for the symptoms of a wasp sting is the application of baking soda. The claim is that since baking soda is alkaline it will neutralize the acidic compounds in the wasp venom.
The first point to note is that wasp venom is NOT acidic. It does contain alkaline compounds.
The article The Chemical Compositions of Insect Venoms says it so well I will just quote them, “Sadly, this is something of an over-simplification. Whilst it’s correct that bee venom has some acidic components, whilst wasp venom has some alkaline constituents, the venom quickly penetrates the tissue once you’ve been stung. Therefore, topical application of an acid or alkali to the sting area is unlikely to provide relief. Additionally, since the venom is such a complex mix of components, many of which have contributing effects, it’s unlikely that neutralizing a small number of these components would relieve the pain.”
A Copper Penny Placed on a Sting Will Relieve the Redness and Swelling
This is just a silly myth that does not warrant a comment. If you are stung there are some things you can do to help the pain and swelling.
- Do nothing – in most cases it goes away in 24 hours
- Wash with soap and water to remove venom
- Apply cold water and ice to reduce swelling
- Take an antihistamine to reduce swelling
- Apply calamine to reduce itching
If the reaction to the sting is significant seek medical help, especially if the sting is in the area of the throat or mouth.
Is it Easy to Remove a Nest at Night?
Wasps return to their nest at dusk and remain their overnight. It is a good time to remove the nest, but this still has to be done very carefully. If disturbed, wasps will come out at night to get you.
Contrary to popular belief, you can NOT destroy a nest by hitting it with a baseball bat – even at night. How do people come up with these dumb ideas??
Are Wasps More Dangerous Than Bees?
People get attacked more by wasps because they tend to build their nests in hidden locations. As a result people disturb their nest by accident.
With killer bees becoming more prevalent in warm areas, bees may actually be more dangerous than wasps.
The risk of serious complications or death are about the same for wasp stings and bee stings.
Watch a Wasp Build a Nest
This is a real cool video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaX9Hdeg4FU
If the above video does not play, try this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaX9Hdeg4FU
Do Wasp Traps Work?
This one is sort of a myth. If the goal is to reduce the wasps around your table at dinner time than they do work a bit. Wasps are attracted to the traps, they will be captured and then die. The problem is that only a few of the wasps will be captured having little effect on the rest of the colony. There will be more next time you dine outside.
Traps are not designed to get rid of a nest that is close to your eating area.
Artificial Wasp Nests Will Keep Wasps Away
A common solution for keeping wasps away is the artificial wasp nest, usually made out of wire and paper. Does it work or is it a myth?
Wasps are territorial and will usually not build their nest near another wasp nest. If the artificial wasp nest is hung early in the season before nest building starts it may convince the wasp to build somewhere else. However, insect exterminators have reported having several live nests in close proximity of one another. Not all wasps build their nest in isolation.
The other problem is that a single fake wasp nest will not be enough. To keep wasp nests away from your home and your garden you would need to hang dozens of artificial nests.
Yellow jackets build their nest in the ground, so hanging the fake nests will do nothing to keep them away. Most of my stings are from ground nests that I don’t see until it’s too late. Yellow jackets are also the ones that are a pest at dinner time.
Once nest building has started, wasps are very reluctant to move. Hanging an artificial nest near a real nest will not get the wasps to move. One year I collected a large paper wasp nest and the following summer I placed it right beside a live nest. The wasps took no notice of the empty old nest.
In conclusion, fake wasp nests probably do very little to keep wasps from building nests near your home.
Wasp Stings Do Not Stay in You
After a wasp stings it will try to pull it’s stinger back out and fly away. This allows a single wasp to sting several times.
If you slap at a wasp as it stings you it is quite possible that you will squish the wasp, leaving the stinger in your skin. Larger species like hornets are also more likely to leave their stinger behind.
Do Wasps Produce Honey or is it a Myth?
Some species of wasp do produce small amounts of honey. An example of this is the Mexican honey wasp.
Only about 5% of bees produce honey.
Do Wasps Re-use Old Nests?
Normally wasps use a nest for one year. At the end of the year, all except the queen die. In spring the queen starts a new nest and rarely uses the old one.
In some cases the wasps will either reuse an old nest or build a new nest right on top of the old one. I have had a small colony of wasps living behind the bricks on my home for 3 years now. Each year they have used the same entrance crack.
Will Wasps Chase You?
Wasps will not chase you unless you disturb them. You can stand a few feet away from a wasp hive and as long as you don’t make a sudden move, they will leave you alone.
If you disturb their nest they will attack and sting you. In the process of stinging they mark you with a chemical odor that makes it easy for other wasps to find you. If you run, they will chase you and they are faster than you. Yellow jackets and paper wasps will not chase you very far, unless you have destroyed their nest. Hornets can chase you up to 300 feet (100m).
Wasps Eat Mostly Sweet Things
This common wasp myth probably exists because people and wasps usually meet over the dinner table where wasps are attracted to sweet things and fermented things like wine. Late in the season they do like these foods, but early in the year they hunt for meat. Wasps are exceptional insect hunters. They play a very important role in keeping the garden free of pest insects.
Best Way to Remove a Wasp Nest
There are several ways to remove a wasp nest, but not everything you read on-line is a good idea. Be careful.
Burning
Nests are made from thin paper-like material. It is flammable when dry and the inside of the nest is usually dry. There are two problems with burning. Nests are always attached to something like a tree or house. Both of these are also flammable. Don’t start a big fire trying to get rid of a wasp nest.
The second problem is that even if this is done at night when the wasps are inside, the fire will probably not kill all the wasps. The remaining ones will likely attack you. After that, they’ll go and build another nest.
Drowning
Nests that are in the ground can be flooded with water. It is not likely to kill all the wasps and the ones that get away will come after you. It can be done using a long garden hose which will keep you at a safe distance.
If the surviving wasps move to a new location you might get stung by accident because you don’t know where the new location is. It might be best to just leave them where they are or use a commercial pesticide spray designed for wasps.
Use a Professional
For nests that are hard to get at, or inside building walls, it is best to contact a pest control technician and let them do the job properly.
Insecticide Spray Can
An easy way to kill a hive is with wasp and bee spray. The can is designed to spray 8 ft or more and the chemical kills them on contact. Wait until dusk when all the wasps are inside the hive. Then spray the opening. Keep spraying as the wasps come out. The product is easy to use and very effective.
Bounce Fabric Softener Sheets Keep Wasps Away
This is a very popular recommendation on blogs and social media. Does it work? I don’t know. There are lots of anecdotal claims saying it works, and lots of claims saying it does not work. None of the claims include any comparison tests so the comments are quite meaningless.
In one case they put the sheets right next to the wasp nest and the wasps were unaffected.
Like so many common stories about DIY pest control, it probably does not work, but we need some real data on this one.
Getting Rid of Flowers Will Keep Wasps Away
Wasps do visit flowers in search of food, so it might seem like a good idea to get rid of the flowers. Unfortunately, wasps will look for the safest place to make their nest. That is usually an area next to or on your house, regardless of the presence of flowers. Besides, nests are usually built before flowers show themselves in the garden.
Spheksophobia – the Fear of Wasps
If you are not allergic to wasps, and most of you are not, there is no reason to fear wasps. Next time you see one, stand still and just watch it. It is very unlikely that you will be stung when the wasp is away from the nest. Spending more time beside them will help to reduce your fear.
A lot of fear is learned from parents. An adult screaming at the sight of wasps ends up teaching the child to have a similar reaction. Stop the cycle of fear. For more information on Spheksophobia, have a look at Fear of Wasps Phobia – Spheksophobia.
References:
- Top 10 Myths About Wasps De-bugged; http://bristolpestcontrol.blogspot.ca/2014/03/10-wasp-myths.html
- Wasp and Insect Allergy; http://www.allergy-clinic.co.uk/more-about-allergy/wasp-allergy/
- Wasp Nest Removal; http://www.rentokil.com/blog/wasp-nest-removal/#.V9XJ_TX2XYg
- Photo source;
I find in the crazy wasp season (autumn) they’re actually pretty easy going, if annoying. I shushing them with a light wave and they seem to get the point. Now, more come and I have to do it again, but they’ve never become aggressive. I have even glanced against them and they fly away for a bit.
We were at the beach and they were bad, we ended up putting a number of grapes and lemons a few feet away from us, they all went there and left us alone. Fair enough!
VERY interesting article! I am often annoyed by them but never had any excessive fear of them. Then again, I’ve never been stung by a common wasp either. I have however been stung ONCE by a huge black / reddish-orange Tarantula Wasp. That hurt beyond belief! If I see another I suspect I’ll run for cover!
I know… WLM! But in case they don’t, I found an instant defense that is astonishingly effective.
I was in our “mostly” enclosed back porch area when suddenly surrounded by 3-4 wasps. My initial reaction (which was likely wrong) was that I was under attack!
I grabbed a can of WD-40 by mistake but tried using it anyway. Not only did it work, it worked better and faster than any insecticide I’ve ever used!
It WILL knock them out of the air INSTANTLY and they are done.
After that I found several nests. I waited until dark, then calmly sprayed each nest from arms length. EVERY wasp dropped dead as they tried to exit!
I know this sounds strange but I was absolutely astonished over how effective it was!
I don’t understand the science behind it… like I said, I found out by accident. I do know that it works!
If you spray a wasp with a mixture of water and dishwashing liquid it will kill them as they breathe through their skin and they will suffocate and die.
But how quickly do they die – and how hard is it to spray them?
Not sure what this solves.
Why kill them at all? I’ve walked past a huge paper wasp nest that was next to my backyard door and they never bothered me or anyone else in my family. I came out one day and the the nest was destroyed. I suspect birds got them.
Now, yellowjackets are a different story. Aggressive just walking near them.
?? Yellowjackets are wasps.
I read your article but it didn’t mention, maybe I missed it, ground wasps nests.
My experience Aug 15, 2021. I live in NW Washington 7 miles from the bay and about 10 miles from the Canadian border, near Lynden,
I inadvertently stepped on a ground hornets/wasps/yellow jackets whatever they are called nest. In less than a minute, my legs were covered with wasps, they were digging in around my waist, stinging my hands while I batted away at those working my upper body. I ran for my life to my house about 200 feet away, many followed me. I kept swatting away and killed about 10 more once I got in the door. My estimation is 50-100 stings. I am not allergic at all as I have a had a number of similar situations.
However, my palms really hurt, so I called my son, an MD. He explained that a rule of thumb for non-allergic adults is about 10 stings per 10 lbs body weight, pain and subsequent itching lasting up to a couple of days. Nothing to worry about. No pity there.
Later that night, I dug a hole about 2 feet wide and over 1 foot deep. Altogether, I dug up, after spraying each ring with wasp spray, 8 rings, about 7 inches wide squirming with larvae. I used my car lights but a few still managed to get my legs again.
I know it says somewhere, “Watch your step.”
it actually has to be hot water and dish soap. cold water will not work. i have done this a few times when i didnt have chemical spray. they died pretty fast.
I once accidentally pushed a lawnmower over a yellow jacket nest that was in the ground in my back yard. I can tell you first hand that they WILL chase you and they WILL attack you mercilessly in that kind of situation. They chased me at least 100-125 feet before my wife saved me by dousing me with a garden hose. I was extremely lucky that she was outside watering plants in the front yard. The water from the hose apparently watered down the scent marker and confused them. They completely ignored my wife. She got no stings. I ended up in the ER with over 100 stings. I spent the day there with IV anti-inflammatory medications and heavy antihistamines. That was a bad day indeed. Do not mess with them. Also – I saw a post in this thread that said that yellow jackets bite rather than sting. Not true. Yellow jackets can and do bite in order to get a better grip on you so that they can really dig their stinger in – multiple times. The stinger does the most damage, and carries the venom. I was covered with swollen welts from their attack. I actually watched in horror (while trying to rake them off my body) as they plunged their stingers in. So – don’t tell me they don’t sting.
No body said they don’t sting?
YOU didn’t say they don’t sting. Read my comment carefully. I said I saw a POST in this THREAD where someone said that. It was “Astro Gremlin” who said, “They do not have stingers but bite with their mouth parts, like ants.” This is utter nonsense.
Wasps are responsible for decimating the monarch butterfly population in nz in 2015 and it is still recovering.. they eat the caterpillars. Not a fan of these insects at all.. years ago I was once chased by one and stung and had not disturbed it at all.. ! One gigantic wasp flew out of my Christmas tree last year after I brought it inside.. it was huge and chased me around the lounge until I managed to get to my spray. They are nasty creatures.
Thank you for posting this. The story was new to me, but it is a problem even in North America.
I’m from California. I moved to Florida for a few months some years ago. Ft laud, anyway one day it had rained like all hell for 15 minutes, rain stopped and I went outside to smoke, I saw a swarm of little flying bugs and blew my smoke at them, well they didn’t care for that one bit cuz next I was getting swarmed! One of them stung me on my forehead and I promise that it hurt for about a year , especially if I touched it. Last time I ever messed with any kind of swarm. Around here we have these long legged brown and yellow wasps that are absolutely tyrants of the air. They are aggressive and WILL stop what they were doing to attack you if they notice you. Thats not a myth, its a fact. My uncle calls them flying brownshirts. I don’t know why what or who they are but I’ve learned to give them the road if you see them, and God help you if they brought a friend or two cuz they will tag team you faster than Brutus the barber Beefcake. Probably about as painful too. Cool blog 🙂
I just moved to FL from PA and found two wasp nests hanging on my house. Not knowing what type of wasp they were, I sprayed them with Raid then knocked down their nests the next day. They were very docile wasps. In fact, the second nest was full of queens when I went to knock it own with my broom. None of them came after me. So I came back and sprayed them. They appear to be re paper wasps and from what I’ve read they should have become aggressive to protect the nest, but they did not even leave the nest when I began to tear it down. Odd!
For instant wasp sting pain relief do the following : stand a spoon in a mug of very hot or near boiling water until the spoon is very hot to the touch – almost to the point where you can just bear it as you touch it to your skin. Touch the spoon to where you have been stung and keep it there for as long as you can stand it . 10 or more seconds is fine. The pain will instantly vanish. What happens is that the heat kills the protein that has caused the reaction as a result of the sting. This also works well on mosquito bites, ant bites etc. ( it also works well on old bites )
Maybe – but if it is too hot it will also burn skin.
Hello,
Thank you for this interesting post that changes our view on wasps. Wasps are not naturally agressive except if perturbed.
Regarding the pain of the inflammation due to the sting, like Janet my experience is that heat degrades the protein responsible for the inflammation and the pain. Personnaly I use a hair dryer (when at home of course) and apply the hot air as close as possible to the skin, on the zone of the sting, without burning of course. The pain is relieved in a few seconds, and applying the hot air 2 more minutes prevents from the main to come back.
I wonder if heat would also work on the venom of snakes…
I hope this will help,
Best regards,
Frederic, from France
I have used regular witch hazel and use Tamanu oil. If that doesn’t work I use activated charcoal, ground chia seeds and water. Mix it up and make a pad. Put it on a paper towel. Place it on the area with gaze and tape