Wasps - love them or loathe them?

Wasps regularly annoy us towards the end of summer and early autumn!

However, although they can be incredibly annoying they can also be very important to our gardens! Unlike bees, they don't collect pollen but they are pollinators, seeking out aphids and other insects as food for their young - ridding us of many garden nasties!
Active from April to September, common wasps are 'social' - like many bees, they live in nests headed by a queen. The queen lays eggs while the workers gather food for the developing young. In return for food, these larvae secrete a sugary liquid which the workers drink for energy.
In autumn the queen stops laying and the nest dies down. The workers become redundant and no longer receive their sugary reward so must look elsewhere - annoying us in the process!

How to deter wasps naturally!
Grow plants with strong scents, as wasps dislike these - for instance:
Peppermint
Spearmint
Basil
Thyme
Geraniums
Marigolds

They also dislike citronella - why not light a few candles to keep them at bay!

Some fun facts about wasps -
🔸There are 30,000 identified species of wasp
🔸 Only female wasps have stingers
🔸 Wasps don’t just come in black and yellow! They also come in red, orange, green and blue!
🔸 Wasps can be found anywhere apart from Antarctica
🔸 They can create their own paper for nest building - by chewing up and spitting out pieces of bark!

Maybe we should look further than just the ‘sting in the tail’ as wasps are actually a friend to gardeners - helping to get rid of other garden pests - naturally! 😊