Many people are not particularly good at speaking to wasps. They are annoying when eating at the garden table and a wasp nest in the house or garden can also be very dangerous. But you have to give the black and yellow creatures a good thumbs up: they eat pests, including aphids.
Do wasps eat aphids?
Yes, wasps eat aphids and thus contribute to natural pest control in the garden. In addition to ladybirds, lacewings and earwigs, they are effective predators of these common pests and also contribute to flower pollination.
What good wasps do in the garden
A wasp's nest in the garden is anything but pleasant at first. Especially when wasps nest in the ground, unexpected and very dangerous collisions can occur. Combating them is difficult because, firstly, dealing with the stinging insects is a delicate matter and secondly, some wasp species are also protected species. It is therefore best to rely on passive defense methods such as certain scented plants, consistently covering tempting food at the garden table or diversionary maneuvers.
It's even easier to get along with the animals at least a little if you realize what benefits they bring to the garden. Their beneficial areas include:
- Flower pollination
- Pest extermination
Adult wasps primarily eat sweets, as you can clearly see when eating cake and ice cream outdoors. However, plant-based food sources are still their main source of food. In addition to sweet plant juices and honeydew, they feed primarily on flower nectar from easily accessible flowers such as ivy, brownwort or ragwort. At the same time, they take on the important pollination task.
But they are almost even more effective at destroying pests. Because the wasp larvae only need animal protein to grow, the adults also hunt a lot of insects. They primarily target caterpillars, grasshoppers, flies, spiders - and also aphids.
Aphids are, on the one hand, frequently available prey for wasps - because, as every hobby gardener will painfully confirm, they are one of the most common pests on house and garden plants. On the other hand, aphids are also quite easy for wasps to kill. While catching fast flying insects requires a lot of skill, wasps don't need to sneak up on aphids or make sudden jumps out of ambush.
Wasps can therefore be counted alongside ladybirds, lacewings and earwigs among the most effective natural predators of aphids.
