It is well known that wasps like to make themselves comfortable in roller shutter boxes. But in the window frame? Various experiences show that the insects sometimes find shelter here too. However, these are usually not the annoying and dangerous mass species.
What to do if there are wasps in the window frame?
Wasps in window frames are mostly solitary wasps that pose no danger to people and are useful pest controllers. They use existing cavities and do no damage. To prevent them, hollow passages can be cleaned and sealed in autumn.
Some people like it tight
Wasps generally raise their offspring in fairly cramped conditions. The colony-forming species also stack their larvae together in brood chambers that are sparingly stacked together in order to create a stable nest structure with efficient supply economy. Nevertheless, these nest structures, which ultimately house around 7,000 animals, need a little space overall - this is provided by niches in roof trusses or the cavities in roller shutter boxes.
The much larger proportion of wasp species living in this country do not form colonies, but are solitary. These include, for example, some clay wasps, digger wasps and pill wasps. In each case, one female raises her brood alone. It goes without saying that the offspring cannot be nearly as extensive.
Let’s hold on:
- State-forming wasp species build large nests that need space
- In window frames there is usually only space for small breeding grounds for solitary wasps
Don’t panic about “window frame wasps”
So if you see a wasp flying in and out of your window frame, it is probably a solitary wasp. It may be that it has found suitable shelter in condensation drainage channels or in abandoned beetle boreholes. A clear indication that the tenant is a solitary wasp are brownish piles of crumbs on the window sill. These are the remains of the clayey closure structures with which the female provides the brood cells.
Basically, solitary wasps in window frames are no cause for alarm. Firstly, they are fundamentally peaceful and, thanks to their solitary lifestyle, are not nearly as dangerous as the colony-forming wasp species. It is extremely unlikely that they will sting a person, and they are also useful pest killers.
They also don't cause much damage to the window frame because they only use existing hollow passages. However, if the wasp in the window frame is unpleasant to you and you want to prevent re-infestation the following year, you should clean an orphaned nest thoroughly in the fall. Of course, a condensation drain cannot be closed, but a beetle hole can. Simply use some clay (€29.00 on Amazon) or plaster.
