How to Get Rid of Wasps Naturally This Summer

I don’t know what it is about wasps specifically, but there’s something about one landing on your plate mid-barbecue that turns even the calmest person into a flailing mess. My neighbour actually knocked over a whole table of drinks last August trying to escape one wasp. One. It wasn’t even that close to him.

By late July, colonies are at their biggest, which is exactly why it feels like they’ve all suddenly turned up at once. The good news is you don’t need anything toxic to deal with them, and you definitely don’t need to call anyone out. Here’s what actually works.

Why they suddenly care about your drink

Wasps aren’t out to ruin your afternoon on purpose, even if it feels that way. Earlier in summer they’re hunting protein, mostly other insects, to feed the larvae back in the nest. By this point in the season that job’s basically done, and the workers switch over to sugar instead. It’s why a wasp that ignored your sandwich in June is now diving headfirst into your can of Coke.

Worth knowing because it changes what you actually need to watch. Earlier on it’s meat and pet food. Right now, it’s drinks, bins and any fruit that’s fallen and started to rot.

Sort the obvious stuff first

Before you spend money on anything, a bit of housekeeping goes a long way:

• Keep bins sealed, especially once anything sugary’s gone in
• Pick up windfall fruit before it starts fermenting on the lawn
• Cover drinks outside, and give a can a glance before your next sip
• Rinse bottles and cans before they go in recycling

None of this fixes an existing problem on its own, but skip it and everything else you try will be an uphill battle.

Traps actually make a dent

Wasp traps are the option that’s worked best for me, hands down. They use a food lure to draw wasps into a container they can’t climb back out of, so there’s no spray, no smell, nothing near where you’re actually sitting.

A few things I’ve picked up from trial and error:

• Hang them well away from your table, 3–5 metres if you can, so they’re pulling wasps away from you rather than towards you
• Put them near bins, fruit trees or wherever you’ve noticed activity
• Get them out early if possible. Catching workers before the colony peaks matters more than starting in August once things are already bad
• Empty and re-bait them. A trap that’s full and gone stale stops working

Honestly the appeal for me is how little effort it takes. Hang it, forget about it, empty it a week later, done.

Natural deterrents, for what they’re worth

If you’d rather keep wasps away from an area altogether rather than trap them, a few things seem to help:

• Peppermint oil on cotton wool near doors and windows
• Cucumber slices on a plate near the table, which sounds odd but a surprising number of people swear by it
• Cloves pushed into a lemon half, left near an open window

None of these are guaranteed and results seem to vary from garden to garden, but they’re cheap, safe around kids and pets, and worth doing alongside traps rather than instead of them.

When it’s more than just a few strays

If you’re seeing a lot more than the odd wasp, and you can trace it back to one spot on the house, shed or loft, that’s probably a nest rather than foragers passing through. Different problem, and worth catching early since nests only get bigger as the summer goes on.

For most people though, dealing with a few wasps at a barbecue rather than an actual nest, a bit of housekeeping plus a well-placed trap or two will sort it without anything toxic involved. If it does turn out to be a nest, this wasp removal guide walks through finding it and dealing with it safely.

Here’s hoping you get your garden back for the rest of the summer.

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Becky

Meet the award-nominated UK lifestyle blogger behind Spirited Puddle Jumper – a mum of three living in South East London! Becky shares the real ups and downs of family life, parenting tips, and lifestyle inspiration, proving that being a mum doesn’t mean you stop being fun or having other interests! Follow along for honest insights into UK family life and opinions on a whole range of topics, from travel and food, to beauty reviews, home and DIY, business and health and wellness.