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There is a small tree (about 2 meters tall, maybe a bit more) at the front of my house that has become a wasp magnet in the last few weeks. I have seen at least 2 kinds of wasps hanging in there, and there must be around 100 of them.

Is there a way to prevent this tree from attracting them without cutting it down?

Picture of the tree

These are some of the wasps that have been hanging around, I took the pictures after using some anti-wasp spray: enter image description here

In case it is relevant, I live in Quebec, Canada, and winter is comming...

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    First thing I'd suggest is to check for the presence of a wasp nest, either in the tree, or under the eaves of the roof behind.
    – Bamboo
    Commented Sep 29, 2012 at 17:32
  • I used an anti-wasp spray to get rid of them (at least for a while), I checked the tree (inside and outside) and some other trees that are also around. None of them seem to have a nest.
    – yms
    Commented Sep 29, 2012 at 19:22
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    Altough there are several trees together, only the one in the picture is attracting the wasps.
    – yms
    Commented Sep 29, 2012 at 19:23
  • I also checked the roof, no nest there either.
    – yms
    Commented Sep 29, 2012 at 19:58
  • The pic's not close/clear enough to ID the plant/tree, but the wasp problem will ease all by itself. If there is a nest anywhere, its often only noticed end of summer, when they're dozy and coming and going a lot. Once it gets colder, they will all die anyway. I wonder if that plant is doing something which is attracting them - ID would be useful. Is it really only 2 feet tall?
    – Bamboo
    Commented Sep 30, 2012 at 10:41

3 Answers 3

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Wasps are very territorial. If you place a fake wasps nest, they will stay away from it. Paper and wire "wasps nests" can usually be found cheap anywhere camping equipment is sold, or you could fashion your own from a waterproof material.

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    Thanks, I might give this a try, but I am a bit skeptical about this solution. From the pictures you can see that there are different kinds of wasps in the tree already, so it seems to me that they do not care too much about sharing this particular territory...
    – yms
    Commented Sep 30, 2012 at 14:14
  • True enough. However, perhaps the reason why none have built a nest is because the area is frequented by so many different types of wasp. I believe the territoriality is mostly centered around the nests; so while different types may come into the same area to do stuff away from the nest, they stay away from nests that are not theirs. Sitting in my garden, I will see numerous wasps and bees visiting the same plants throughout the day, even at the same time.
    – bee.catt
    Commented Sep 30, 2012 at 14:28
  • There are lots of different kinds of wasps, so perhaps this works with some species; but I'm also a little sceptical because I've seen wasps re-use old nests here in Texas. The only explanation would be if the nest wasn't completely dead (unlikely).
    – winwaed
    Commented Oct 1, 2012 at 12:56
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I've thought of something that might be causing the trouble - check the tree, if you can find a time when it's not got too many wasps on it, inspecting the needles closely for signs of aphid infestation. They're often difficult to see, so you might need a magnifying glass. If there's an infestastion of aphids on the tree, they produce honeydew, and wasps like the honeydew, so that might be why they're on the tree all the time - they're actually after the honeydew.

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  • This is an interesting theory, thanks a lot for your help. There is a heavy rain falling now, but I will check this tomorrow.
    – yms
    Commented Sep 30, 2012 at 22:13
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    It seems this was not the case, but I am not 100% sure anyway. Maybe the anti-wasp spray + rain + low temperatures made them go away as well as the wasps.
    – yms
    Commented Oct 3, 2012 at 2:27
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I used 2 traps earlier this summer with great success, i purchased from my local hardware store for $4 each... they were the type where you cut some plastic flap off of the top and pull the mounting hardware bit out, then you put water in it, which dissolves a pouch of wasp bait...

they were like this

they are supposed to be good for 6-8 weeks, probably more like 3-4, but they killed many many hundreds of wasps and had a very wasp free mid-summer, which is usually the worst part.

will be doing the same thing next year... I have tried re-usable traps in the past with little success and less desire to clean an re-use them.

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  • I saw this in a local store (where I bought the spray) but I was not sure what it was and there was no one around I could ask. I will buy one today, thanks.
    – yms
    Commented Oct 1, 2012 at 19:19
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    @yms, if you find this works, you don't have to become dependent on the commercial offerings. Search the net for "wasp trap" (with the quotes)--you'll find instructions for how to make the trap from a plastic bottle and different recipes for the bait that goes inside. Good luck.
    – GeneJ
    Commented Oct 2, 2012 at 3:51
  • @yms You can also try and make your own wasp traps out of 2 liter soda bottles. See apartmenttherapy.com/the-2-liter-soda-bottle-wasp-t-43290
    – OrganicLawnDIY
    Commented Sep 18, 2013 at 16:21
  • @OrganicLawnDIY Very creative indeed, thanks for sharing. Strangely as it seems I have not seen a single wasp in my tree this year...
    – yms
    Commented Sep 18, 2013 at 19:43

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