Wasps in the garden: does the paper ball trick drive away the pests?
Expert clarifies
Created: 07/28/2022 05:03
By: Fee Halberstadt
As soon as there is food on the table in the garden or on the balcony, the first wasps appear.
A paper bag should be used to scare away the pests.
Is that correct?
Kassel – In nature and in the garden, it hums and buzzes happily, because as soon as the weather gets warmer, many different species of wasps are out and about.
There are a total of more than 600 species in Germany, but two of them bother us humans the most.
These are the German wasp and the common wasp, reports
Galileo
magazine .
Because the two species of wasps are attracted to sugary foods and drinks, they often buzz around you.
This is particularly annoying when you are just relaxing in the garden and want to enjoy fruit or an ice cream.
The two species of wasps can also appear when barbecuing with friends or family, as protein-containing products such as meat and sausages also attract the animals.
Sweet foods, fruit, meat and sausages attract wasps.
This can be annoying if you want to eat in peace.
© F. Hecker/Imago
Paper ball trick against wasps: driving pests out of the garden
According to hna.de, an allegedly useful trick is circulating on the Internet to keep wasps away from your own buffet and thus from yourself and your guests.
According to this, a crumpled paper bag should imitate a wasp nest and keep other swarms of wasps away.
"Of course that's nonsense," says Melanie von Orlow, an expert on the subject of bumblebees, bees, wasps and hornets at Nabu Berlin, to IPPEN.MEDIA.
“No wasp orients itself purely on the optical characteristics.
They smell the nests.”
Also: Even if the wasps thought there was another nest, this is no reason for the insects to disappear, explains von Orlow.
“Wasps are not afraid of contact.
We sometimes have whole attics full of wasp nests.”
A balled up paper bag resembles a real wasp nest, which is why the animals are said to stay away.
(Iconic image) © bruno kickner/imago
However, there are other tricks to keep the little animals away if they disturb you while eating.
Von Orlov recommends covering all food and clearing away empty plates immediately.
According to
Ökotest
, there are also other tips and tricks to keep wasps away:
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Distribute water with a spray bottle
Set up bait elsewhere (Example: Overripe grapes)
Smells: Essential fragrance oils, incense sticks, garlic, burning coffee powder
Cover food and put away leftovers
If possible, wear few colorful clothes
Avoid deodorant, creams with fragrances and perfume
Source: Ökotest
Annoying wasps in the garden: With these tips and tricks you can drive away the insects in no time
If none of that helps, stay calm.
It does not make sense to blow out the animals, as Eva Goris advises Ökotest.
"Because the carbon dioxide in the air we breathe makes the hungry insects even more aggressive," says the expert from the German Wildlife Foundation.
If it does happen and a wasp stings you, treating the wasp sting properly is important.
(Fee Halberstadt)
Dear readers, in an earlier version of this article we wrote that the wasps could be chased away using the paper ball trick. This was a mistake and we apologize for that.
