Many people are not particularly happy about wasps visiting them outdoors. But the stinging insects really have no place in the house. Depending on the situation, you should always behave calmly and prudently - for the sake of the animals and yourself.
How do you get rid of wasps in the house?
Wasps in the house can enter through open windows or doors or even build a nest. To get rid of them, you can carefully capture the wasp and take it outside. Wasp nests should be removed or relocated by experts after approval from authorities.
How wasps can get into the house
Wasps can get into our house in different ways - either unintentionally or completely planned. Here we are mainly talking about the following cases:
- Individual animals getting lost through open doors and windows
- Building nests in corners in and around the house
Single wasp in the house
Many species of insects quickly find their way into the house one at a time, especially in summer when windows and patio doors are open. So do wasps. Large glazed rooms such as winter gardens are particularly critical, as the insects' compound eyes are more specialized in recognizing colors and movements than in sharp image reproduction. A wasp that has strayed indoors will therefore desperately try to fly back outside through closed window panes.
In such a case, you should try to catch the wasp with a drinking glass or a landing net and carefully guide it outside.
As a preventative measure, it is advisable to stick insect gauze (€15.00 on Amazon) in the windows. They keep wasps and mosquitoes away and yet do not hinder the necessary ventilation. Under no circumstances should you simply kill the wasp. On the one hand, some wasp species are protected species and on the other hand, this increases the risk of being stung. In addition, dying wasps emit pheromones (messenger substances) that attract other wasps.
Wasp nest in and around the house
Two species of short-headed wasps in particular, the German wasp and the common wasp, like to build their nests close to people and prefer to use their living spaces to do so. Dark niches in the rafters of roof trusses or roller shutter boxes are absolute favorites because they provide ideal, protected conditions for building a state.
This case is of course a little more problematic than a single wasp in the living room or bedroom. The colonies of the species mentioned grow to around 7,000 individuals strong and are difficult to combat. Firstly, in many cases the protection of species stands in the way of immediate combat and secondly, the even greater risk of being bitten. Wasps can pose a fatal risk to allergy sufferers, especially in large groups.
Once a wasp nest is present, it must first be clarified whether removal can be approved under nature conservation law. This is always assessed individually. If the authority gives the green light, a specialist can be hired to remove or relocate the nest.
As a preventative measure, it makes sense to close all possible access points to attics and roller shutter boxes - i.e. cracks in the facade, porous seals and irregularities in the roof tile laying. It can also help to provide possible nesting sites with smells that are unpleasant for wasps - for example by rubbing wooden beams with clove or lavender oil, laying out cut garlic cloves or hanging an incense plant in a hanging basket right next to the window frame.