What is it with wasps which means they never leave you alone whereas bees do? ?

Question

When it comes to wasps, I can't think of a more annoying insect!!

Answer 1

Forget about the wasps and they will forget you, i used to hate wasps but now i live in the country i don't let them bother me, if i get one buzz my ear i just knock it away.

Answer 2

Because they can, they know they can sting you, laugh and fly away, unlike bees who will die. If you're allergic to them as I am, this time of year is a nightmare. One just flew into my face last week, didn't even need to sting me and my face swelled up, i'm sure they follow me around just to taunt me.

Answer 3

Wasps especially this time of the year are drunk on partially fermented fruit. They will sting and sting with no harm to themselves. Bees however have a barbed sting which when they pull out will rip the bees own guts out so they are less likely to wish to commit suicide

Answer 4

At this time of year, wasps are a real nuisance. The trouble is, they're ravenously hungry.

Adult wasps normally eat a natural sugary secretion that baby wasp larvae exude. Early in the year this works fine. Baby wasps eat meat. Adult wasps do a terrific job of hunting down aphids and other garden pests, chomping them up and feeding them to the babies, who then reward them with sweet stuff.

However, at the end of summer, wasp nests are pretty much finished. The queen wasp isn't laying any more eggs. So, no more larvae, no more sweet food: result... hungry, miserable wasps that go for anything with fructose or sucrose in it.

They do get 'drunk' on windfall fruit, and they will come and plague you if you smell even remotely of anything sweet (fruit juice, jam, honey, alcohol...)

As a beekeeper, I find wasps more of a bother than I ever used to: they spend all day trying to get into my poor bees' hives. The bees put extra guards on duty, but the wasps are there from dawn to dusk.

Only the first frosts will kill them off; I'd recommend making a wasp trap. But please put jam or chopped fruit in as bait, not honey (otherwise you'll attract bees, too).

Answer 5

I'm glad it's not just me, they have been driving me mad this summer, whenever i open the door or go into the garden along comes a wasp, i've started taking the fly spray outside with me, it's got that bad!!!

Answer 6

There are almost 300 species of wasps in the British Isles.

Only the female wasp stings.

Wasps do not die after stinging.

There are 3 groups of classification for wasps - parasitic, social and solitary.

Only the Queen common wasp - a social wasp - survives the winter by hibernating.

The common wasp makes her nest froim chewed and pulped wood, resembling paper.

Parasitic wasps do not build their own nest but use plants or maybe caterpillars etc. to host their eggs.

Some parasitic wasps are bright green or blue in colour.Â

A single colony of wasps may be as large as 2,000 insects.

Insecticide powder to treat wasps can be bought from most DIY stores, garden centres and supermarkets. It is important to always read the label carefully and only use the insecticide for the use that it is intended. Wasps' nests should be treated early or late in the day when wasp activity is at its lowest. Firstly, find the entrance to the nest by observing where the wasps are entering. Nests are frequently located in loft spaces, cavity walls, flower beds, garden sheds, rockeries and roof eaves. When you have located the entrance puff the insect power in and around the entrance; returning workers will then carry the insecticide into the nest on their bodies contaminating the nest. Within several days all the wasps should be dead.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE STUNG

The rash or individual 'spot' is usually itchy and may become inflamed and swell.

Some people are strongly allergic to stings and can become very ill. If there is any shortness of breath, dial 999. Scratching can infect bites.

Although itchy and sometimes painful stings are rarely dangerous and need only some antihistamine or local anaesthetic cream from your pharmacist. Ask your pharmacist for advice.

The redness and swelling are usually due to the allergy rather than an infection, a cold compress is usually effective to control redness.

Call your doctor if the symptoms will not go away or if you are stung in the mouth, around the throat or receive multiple stings

Getting rid of underground wasp nests - You must wear clothes made of rubber when you are on a mission to destroy the wasp nests. The stinger of a wasp can easily penetrate through woolen or cotton clothes. You can get rid of the underground wasp nests using fuels such as kerosene or diesel. You would need to be equipped with a large wet towel or cloth and a shovel. Pour the fuel into the entrance of the nest and quickly cover the mouth of the entrance with the wet towel. The fumes of the fuel will kill the wasps in the nest. So it is not necessary to light fire.

    * f you find a wasp nest hanging from one of the trees in your backyard, all that you have to do is to light a small fire beneath it. The smoke from the fire will choke the wasps. Due to suffocation, some of the wasps will die while others will abandon the nest.

    * Wasps are attracted to anything sweet and sugary. Here is another home remedy to get rid of the wasps that are hanging around your house or garden. Make a hole in the lid of an empty can. The can should resemble the gallon milk jugs. Fill it half with sugar water or sugar syrup. If the can has a handle, hang it on the tree branch, using a string. The wasps will be attracted to the smell of sugar. Once they enter the can their wings will get stuck in the sugar water. Eventually they will die drowning in the sugar syrup.

    * The wasps are also attracted towards the garbage bag. Therefore it is suggested that you close the mouth of the garbage bag tightly before leaving it outside.

    * Keep your surroundings clean. The lawns must be trimmed and the tall weeds should be removed before they grow. The reason, is the wasps prefer to build their nests there.

    * If you are holding a barbecue party, make a homemade wasp trap. You would need a few pieces of beef liver. Using a string, tie the liver to the branch of a tree far away from where you are planning to hold the party. Few inches beneath the liver pieces, tie an empty milk can half-filled with soap water. The beef liver is used as a tasty bait to attract the wasps. The wasps will gorge on the meat. They will feel heavy to fly back and will fall inside the soap water. The detergent in the water will render their wings useless. The wasps will die by drowning in the water.

Getting rid of wasps is not an easy task. It is always better to get a professional to do this task. However, if you are planning to venture out to destroy the wasp nests on your own, then make sure you have somebody with you to help you out. Wear appropriate clothes before starting on this mission.

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Answer 7

i know i agree 100%, if a bee comes up to me i just move away and they go, wasps follow me until im screaming with hands waving flapping about on the street, hate them

Answer 8

Simple, wasps are naturally aggressive, bees are not, a wasp can sting and survive, were as a bee will most likely perish.

Answer 9

Wasps are not trying to collect pollen they're just hunting food/anything sweet whereas the Bee wants pollen and unless you are covered in it and wearing a flower suit they won't bother you!

Answer 10

i agree. bees are nice. they don't bother you if you don't bother them. but wasps have like a bloodlust, its annoying. when i was little i used to be afraid to leave the house in the summer because of the wasps.