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28.06.2023 - 09:00 / southernliving.com
Whether you're mowing the lawn or hosting a cookout, the last thing you want to worry about is stinging insects such as wasps. But the truth is that wasps have a somewhat undeserved bad reputation. These insects actually do plenty of good in our lawns and gardens, and not all types of wasps are aggressive.
Most of the time, wasps mind their own business. “Wasps are pollinators and provide biological controls, preying on pests such asbrown marmorated stink bugs, and caterpillars,” saysMike Raupp, PhD, professor emeritus of entomology and extension specialist, at theUniversity of Maryland. “When wasps are in your yard foraging, they’re not interested in you. They’re just providing food for their babies, like any good parent.”
Of course, problems arise when wasps build their homes too close to ours. “While you can’t keep wasps out of your yard, you can make your living space as unattractive as possible to them,” says Sydney E. Crawley, PhD, assistant professor and extension specialist, urban and structural entomology,North Carolina State University. “You may be able to leave a nest alone if it’s in low traffic area. But when the risk of stinging is greater than the biological benefits wasps provide, you should remove the nest.” Here’s what else you should know about wasps:
What Wasps Are Aggressive?Solitary wasps are single females whose only job in life is to feed her babies; solitary wasps are non-aggressive and don’t sting in defense. The problematic types are the social wasps, who live together in a colony with a queen. The biggest troublemakers are yellowjackets. Their colonies contain thousands of workers by late summer, says Raupp. They nest in the ground, in a wall or behind siding. When disturbed, they attack and
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Wasps do plenty of good in our gardens,pollinating plants and preying on hungry garden pests, such as caterpillars. But then there are yellow jackets (Vespula spp), which become aggressive as their populations soar in mid- to late-summer and fall. They can become a big problem if their nests are situated near your living areas.