3 Surprising Ways You're Attracting Wasps into Your Home
Are you having trouble keeping wasps out of your house? Just a few wasps can quickly turn into an infestation, so it's important to keep them out. Of course, that can be difficult if you don't know why they're coming in to start with. Here are 3 surprising things that attract wasps into houses.
Air Fresheners
Air fresheners can be a great way to keep your home free from unpleasant odours, but not so great if you're trying to keep it free of wasps. Wasps are generally omnivorous, and one of their favourite food sources is nectar. To hunt it down, wasps go in search of the sweet aroma of flowers.
Of course, that also means that other sweet smells will attract them. If you use spray air fresheners, diffuser sticks, plug-in scent dispensers or anything else that emits sugary or floral aromas, you're making your house smell like a feast for wasps. The same goes for other sweet scents like perfume, deodorant and soap, so bathrooms and bedrooms can be very attractive to wasps.
To prevent wasp activity, make sure you keep your windows closed when you're using sweet-scented products, and try to reduce your air freshener usage.
Protein-Rich Foods
Since wasps are attracted to sweet smells, it should come as no surprise that they're attracted to sweet foods. In the late summer and autumn, wasps love fruit, fizzy drinks and other sugary treats.
However, many people are shocked to learn that wasps also love protein-rich foods. During spring and early summer, they'll search out meat, eggs, fish and other sources of protein. Everything from ham sandwiches left out on the counter to the remains of a bacon and egg breakfast in the bin are a feast for wasps, so it's important to clear away food waste as often as you can. When you put that waste in your outdoor bin, make sure the lid stays tightly closed so wasps can't get inside.
Bright Décor
It may sound crazy that something as innocuous as your decorating style could make your house look like a wasp's dream, but it's true. That's because smell isn't the only way wasps seek out flowers—they also use sight. Bright, floral colours and patterns are a signal of nectar to wasps, so if your home is filled with colourful furniture and décor, you could be encouraging these pests to come inside. If you can't redecorate or you don't want wasps to force you to change your taste, you may want to try keeping your curtains closed so they can't see inside.
For more information on keeping wasps out of your home, reach out to a wasp exterminator, such as Stewarts Pest Control.
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