As summer gives way to fall, and cooler temperatures prevail, you might expect to see fewer insects around your home. However, many of them increase their activity to prepare for the coming winter, and few are as numerous as wasps. These foragers, which usually build nests under eaves, awnings, shed overhangs and in trees, can be aggressive in numbers and become a dangerous nuisance for you and your family. At Truly Nolen, we can assist you with complete wasp control services in Niagara and help you learn why this insect’s behaviour changes in the fall.

Greater Populations 

If it seems there are more wasps around your property in the fall, there may be several reasons for this increase in population. Nearby nests grow consistently during the summer, and as fall arrives, new adult wasps leave their homes in search of food and places to start new colonies. The larger the nest, the greater the number of wasps, and the better the chance you will start to notice an increase around your home. This is the reason why many professionals encourage killing the queen wasp because this will prevent her from building another nest.

As wasps search for food near your residence, such as in your garden, this may be a sign they are nesting nearby. As you take steps to winterize your home, check the undersides of your gutters, eaves, and exterior corners of sheds and other buildings to search for nesting wasps. While adults do not build nests in the fall, existing nests may hang from a piece of wood or in the joists between two beams. If you do find a nest, call us for wasp removal as attempting to remove these nests yourself could be dangerous.

Food Sources Run Low 

As the weather grows colder, a wasp colony’s food sources start to die out. Wasps are opportunistic feeders and eat a varied diet that includes:

• Fruit 
• Nectar 
• Insects 

These foods become less available in the fall, which may cause wasps around your home to act more aggressively near their nests or food sources. Also, as adult wasps prepare their nests for the winter and protect their queen, their diets become more carbohydrate-focused. They may seek out leftover foods or open drink containers, which can bring them into contact with your family. You can prevent this by covering food while cooking outdoors and cleaning up empty soda and juice containers during an event.

Aggression Increases 

While most wasp species are naturally aggressive, this behaviour can increase in the fall as they work to find food in scarcer conditions and defend what they find. As the queen of the hive stops fertilizing eggs around this time of year, there are no young to supply the adults with the larval nectar they feed on all summer. Wasps need to leave the nest to find their own food instead, and when they do, they tend to be aggressive due to increased hunger.

If you see aggressive wasps around your house, they may be gathering there because they found a food source. You can reduce their interest in your property by covering your garbage cans and dumpsters tightly, washing down your children’s outdoor playground equipment to rid it of leftover sticky soda and popsicle residue and tear down wood or trash piles that might attract other insects for wasps to prey upon.

Using Wasp Control Services in Niagara

While adult wasps die off after about 25 days, the queen of the colony will leave her current nest and winter alone, usually underground or in a warm building’s cracks and crevices. You can prevent the presence of new colonies the following spring with our inspection and treatment services, which will eliminate the queen before she can hibernate.

Wasp populations tend to increase in the fall, but we can help protect your home. Call our Truly Nolen Niagara team today for efficient bee and wasp control.