Ground wasps - wasps that sometimes nest in the ground - are feared by garden owners. Because close to the ground you can get in each other's way with them in a particularly critical way. How to get rid of the insects, or how to come to an amicable agreement with them, read below.
Earth wasps are peaceful animals as long as you don't get too close to them
Distinguish earth wasps from earth bees
The term "earth wasps" is not a zoological species name, but a popular name for wasps that nest in the ground. Species that do this include the common and German wasps. But some wild bee species, such as sand bees, also nest in the ground. Before attempting to eliminate a nest of striped stinging insects in the garden, clear identification is required. Because earth bees are strictly protected and must not be fought. Willful killing, injuring and damaging the nests can result in high fines.
Wasps are also protected, but the regulations are not quite as rigid for them. According to the catalog of fines, killing, injuring and disturbing resting places are only punishable if there is no good reason for doing so. Whether a reason is reasonable is always assessed individually - possible reasons can be an allergy or small children living in the house.
Overall, however, the following applies: Wasps can be annoying and dangerous if the nest is critically close to people's living areas. Nevertheless, the animals are generally peaceful and also useful and worthy of protection, partly because they destroy pests. You should therefore rely on gentle expulsion measures.
To remember:
- Before attempting to drive them away, make sure they are earth wasps
- Expel the beneficial insects gently
How to drive away ground wasps?
First: home remedies
As long as the wasps only come to the patio table and become annoying beneficiaries there, you should limit yourself to simple home remedies. First and foremost, this means staying calm and not waving around. This only makes the animals aggressive and stinging. The easiest way is to set out a bowl of sugar water or some cooked ham and put a glass over the perching wasp(s) for mealtime. Then release them again.
Nest removal only by professionals
To shut down an entire nest, you should urgently call in a professional. First of all, as mentioned above, you are easily liable to prosecution if you lend a hand yourself. On the other hand, it requires some experience in dealing with the stinging insects to safely shut down a nest with around 7000 animals.
How the beekeeper or nature conservation association expert removes the nest depends on the individual situation. Depending on the location and accessibility of the nest, various methods are possible, such as foaming with a substance that is lethal to the animals.
In individual cases, a wasp nest can also be resettled by sucking off the animals and dismantling and rebuilding the honeycomb construction. However, this is quite time-consuming and, given the short wasp generation period of just one summer, it is usually not worthwhile.
Amicable settlement?
If in doubt, you should consider whether you can not make friends with the otherwise peaceful and useful insects. To protect yourself and children, the area around the nest can also be easily cordoned off. So both parties have some peace of mind.