Even for those of us that don’t enjoy fall or winter, the colder temperatures bring one piece of good news for all: wasps slowly begin to disappear. Wasps have a complicated life cycle and their behavior changes in every season. They’re full of energy in spring and desperate to establish a colony and a nest. Come summer, wasps are strong and cause panic wherever you go. In fall their numbers are at their highest and wasps will begin to prepare their queen for the winter.
But how does their behavior change in winter? What does cold weather do to wasps? In this post, we’ll take a look at how cold temperatures affect them and why homeowners sometimes need help from a professional exterminator Saskatoon residents trust to deal with wasp activity around their home.
What Does Cold Weather Do to Wasps?
In fall, wasps will be aware that winter is not far away and they will begin to plan accordingly. There’s less food and they are therefore grumpier, trying their best to find food for the queen so that she has a good chance of surviving winter. They’ll also become more protective of their queen as temperatures drop and will attack anything they see as a threat to their nest. As the temperatures continue to drop in winter, wasps will slow down almost completely. Instead of scavenging, flying and working incessantly like they do in the summer months, they’ll preserve their energy. The cold temperatures will have a very noticeable effect on their daily activities and their metabolism will continue to drop. In fact, once temperatures drop below 50° F, wasps find it difficult to fly at all. If the temperatures drop towards freezing and frost begins to appear, many of them will begin to die. Queen wasps, at the top of the wasp hierarchy, will enter a sort of hibernation and will be protected from the cold during winter. Worker wasps, however, will feed the queen and protect her up until that point. When the temperatures begin to drop they will too. If the queen emerges safely next spring then their work is done.Make Sure Wasps Aren’t Using Your Home for Shelter
Some wasps, on the other hand, will try to hide their queen inside your home. Like many other insects that aren’t known for surviving the cold winter temperatures, wasps will try to find a way into your attic and roofing. From there they’ll build a nest which has much more protection and provides more warmth to the queen. Often, you won’t realize that there is a wasp nest inside your home until it’s too late. Wasps will establish a strong colony and if there’s food they can feed on as well, they’ll have everything that they need. Make sure that you’ve sealed up any cracks and gaps on the exterior of your home in the fall. Wasps will take advantage of any entry point so it’s important that you don’t leave any behind for them. You should check your attic regularly to make sure that no nests are being built and store your waste and food correctly.Let Truly Nolen Deal With Your Wasps
Even if you do everything in your power, you may still find that you have a wasp control problem on your Niagara property. If you suspect there are wasps on your property, get in touch with Truly Nolen as soon as possible. There really is no better time to call than today. Our talented technicians will be able to quickly find any wasp nests and remove them before they get comfortable for the winter ahead. We’ll also seal up any entry points they used to get inside your home so that you won’t have to worry about wasps again.Related Posts
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