Did you know that wet and windy weather in April will affect the wasp population for the rest of the year?
It depends what way you look at it: if having a wasp nest in your house or garden bothers you and if you prefer to enjoy a glass of fizz, perhaps a picnic or afternoon tea in your garden without being bothered by wasps, then you’ll be pleased to hear that a wet and windy April DOES affect wasp numbers!
Why do the April showers affect summer wasp numbers?
In April, as winter falls away, surviving queen wasps emerge and begin to form a colony. They look for locations that are well sheltered and not easily accessible. Once the queen selects her location and builds the first hive, she will begin to lay the eggs of the worker wasps.
Long periods of wet and windy weather can kill Queens as she departs the nest to source food, and so those nests will die. If they survive the inclement weather, then bad weather could result in not enough food being collected for grubs, which will also cause the death of a nest.
You may be willing on the warm, summer weather, but a wet April will see a high mortality rate for wasps, and it is this that affects the population for the rest of the year.
Surviving queens
By the end of April, you find that established nests are safe and the Queens start to stay in the nest while the newly (fed and grown!) workers take over the nest-building duties, rearing the young wasps and gathering food for the Queen and new grubs.
So, April is the time to keep a good look out for Queen wasps looking for warm crevices, broken tiles, and nice rafters, in which to build her warm nest. They may not emerge until late-April at the earliest, but if you see a wasp emerge from any tiny gap, you need to act now to reduce the likelihood of bigger problems later in the year. Immediate treatment can be effective and you will be thankful for it once summer arrives.
Call us
If you would like advice or support with wasps or springtime pests, don’t hesitate to call or message Jeremy on 07766083234. We offer a very much bespoke service and we are a local team working for local customers.
Photo by leandro fregoni on Unsplash
Leave a Reply