Most wasps go away in late fall when temperatures drop consistently near 50°F. As fall fades into winter, worker wasps die off, while queens hibernate in newly built nests, abandoning the old, and re-emerge in spring.
If it seems like you always see more wasps when the weather gets warmer, you’re absolutely right. Wasps are most active in the summer when food sources are high and colonies reach their peak toward the end of the season.
The wasp life cycle follows the seasons closely: spring for preparation, summer for flourishing, and with fall comes a gradual decline. If it gets cold enough in the winter, wasps will die off with the first consistent cold snap, killing off most of the worker wasps. In a warm winter, they may not die off entirely. Queen wasps can hibernate until the next spring when the cycle begins anew.
When Do Wasps Stop Being Active?
Wasps stop being active in late fall, typically October to November, when temperatures drop below 50°F. Below 40°F, they lose flight ability.
While wasp activity will likely remain high into September and October, activity begins to wind down when temperatures dip to 50° Fahrenheit. At that temperature, workers start dying off, and the queen slows down her egg production. No new larvae means no new nectar for adults. Instead, the last generation of larvae and eggs grow up and fend for themselves.
Wasps have to find foods with more sugar and fat than usual. They’ll fly further, stay out longer, and guard their spoils more aggressively to do that. In other words, the wasps you run into during the fall season are hungry and looking for food. Translation: don’t get a wasp mad in the fall. It’s probably already feeling a little angry.
What Month Do Wasps Go Away?
There’s not a one-size-fits-all answer here as regional differences vary greatly, but generally speaking, you can count on December, January and February being cold enough to keep away most wasp activity. At around 40° Fahrenheit, wasps lose the ability to fly, and many die off in the cold. Wasps need warmth to function; when temperatures get to about 50° Fahrenheit, their metabolism slows down.
When do Wasps Die Off vs. Hibernate?
Worker wasps will tend to die off in the colder temps, while the queens of many wasp species can hibernate to survive and wake up again in the spring, ready to build the next nest.
Wasps may not die off fully in some areas. Their activity will decrease to a low level until the next spring, when it ramps up again.
When do Wasps Wake Up In Spring?
Springtime is the time of the year when queen wasps become active and begin to build nests. Queens wake in March and April, build new nests, and produce the first workers by late spring. These nests are typically built from chewed-up wood mixed with wasp saliva. Yuck, right? Well, it makes a surprisingly sturdy home for them.
During the spring, the queen populates the nest with workers hatched from eggs she fertilized with sperm stored from male wasps called drones that had been saved from the previous mating season. These eggs hatch into infertile female worker wasps who assume the job of building the nest larger and creating new cells for the queen to lay her eggs into.
The queen will continue to lay eggs in the individual cells all spring and summer. The eggs hatch into larvae and are fed insects by the worker wasps.
What Temperatures Do Wasps Come Out?
Wasps become active at 50–55°F, and become increasingly vigorous during the warm summer months when food is abundant. As the nest grows in size, wasp activity will reach peak levels during this time. By July, there may be hundreds of adult wasps in the nest, with hundreds more resting in their eggs, slowly growing to become adults and workers themselves.
Adult wasps travel outside the nest to find food to feed the growing larvae. With hundreds of wasps per nest looking for food, naturally, you’re likely to encounter more wasps. So not only are wasps very active during the summer, there are also more of them.
If you want to know the precise day when wasp activity is likely to peak in the summer, just plan a barbecue. Whichever day you pick is likely to be it. Just kidding. Wasps aren’t necessarily out to ruin all of your barbecues; it only seems that way.
Although here’s something you should know: wasps have a keen sense of smell and enjoy the smell of meat.
When Do Wasps Leave Their Nest?
In the fall, worker wasps are forced to fly farther away from their nests to find food. Wasp activity begins to wind down when temperatures dip to 50° Fahrenheit, and at that temperature, workers start dying off and the queen slows down her egg production. No new larvae means no new nectar for adults. Instead, the last generation of larvae and eggs grow up and fend for themselves.
Wasps have to find foods with more sugar and fat than usual, so they’ll fly further, stay out longer, and guard their spoils more aggressively to do that. In other words, the wasps you run into during the fall season are hungry and looking for food. Translation: don’t get a wasp mad in the fall. It’s probably already feeling a little angry.
Once the reproductive phase has ended, new queens will leave the nest and seek out protected places to overwinter, and the nest will be completely abandoned during the winter months, not to be returned to the following season.
What Time of Day Do Wasps Go Away?
Wasps are most active mid-morning to late afternoon and less active in the evening and at night. Nighttime is the safest time for removal.
Season-by-Season Wasp Activity
Spring (March–May): Waking and Nest-Building
Springtime is the time of the year when queen wasps become active and begin to build nests. These nests are typically built from chewed-up wood mixed with wasp saliva. Yuck, right? Well, it makes a surprisingly sturdy home for them.
During the spring, the queen populates the nest with workers hatched from eggs she fertilized with sperm stored from male wasps called drones that had been saved from the previous mating season. These eggs hatch into infertile female worker wasps who assume the job of building the nest larger and creating new cells for the queen to lay her eggs into.
The queen will continue to lay eggs in the individual cells all spring and summer. The eggs hatch into larvae and are fed insects by the worker wasps.
Summer (June–August): Peak Activity
During the warm summer months, food is abundant, the nest grows in size, and wasp activity reaches peak levels. By July, there may be hundreds of adult wasps in the nest, with hundreds more resting in their eggs, slowly growing to become adults and workers themselves.
Adult wasps travel outside the nest to find food to feed the growing larvae. With hundreds of wasps per nest looking for food, naturally, you’re likely to encounter more wasps. So not only are wasps very active during the summer, there are also more of them.
If you want to know the precise day when wasp activity is likely to peak in the summer, just plan a barbecue. Whichever day you pick is likely to be it. Just kidding. Wasps aren’t necessarily out to ruin all of your barbecues; it only seems that way. Although, here’s something you should know: wasps have a keen sense of smell and enjoy the smell of meat.
Fall (September–November): Aggression and Decline
Wasp activity will likely remain high into September and October. Wasp activity begins to wind down when temperatures dip to 50° Fahrenheit. At that temperature, workers start dying off and the queen slows down her egg production. No new larvae means no new nectar for adults. Instead, the last generation of larvae and eggs grow up and fend for themselves.
Wasps have to find foods with more sugar and fat than usual. They’ll fly further, stay out longer, and guard their spoils more aggressively to do that. In other words, the wasps you run into during the fall season are hungry and looking for food. Translation: don’t get a wasp mad in the fall. It’s probably already feeling a little angry.
Winter (December–February): Hibernation and Die-Off
Wasps need warmth to function. When temperatures get to about 50° Fahrenheit, their metabolism slows down. Around 40° Fahrenheit, they lose the ability to fly. Many die off in the cold.
However, with recent warm winters, wasps may not die off fully in some areas. Their activity will decrease to a low level until the next spring, when it ramps up again.
If it does get cold enough, queens of many wasp species can hibernate to survive and wake up again in the spring, ready to build the next nest.
Why Wasps Feel Worse in Fall
You’ll notice the most wasp activity in the Fall when worker wasps, desperate for food, are out scavenging. At this point in the wasp lifecycle, there are simply more wasps than there are resources. Their nest has reached its peak size, and competition for dwindling sources of natural food like plant nectar is high, forcing worker wasps to expand their territory and seek out your gameday hotdog and soda.
The shortage of resources also makes them more protective of the queen and their nest, so be wary of swatting them away, no matter how much a nuisance they are.
DIY vs. Professional Removal
The obvious risk to removing a wasp nest is getting stung — potentially a lot. If you’re attempting a DIY wasp removal, first, make sure you’ve correctly identified the type of nest. If you think you’re taking down a paper wasp nest and it’s actually a bald face hornet nest, you’re going to regret the DIY route very quickly.
The trick to taking down a wasp nest yourself is to do it when the wasps are the least active and make sure you’re wearing the right protective gear. Then treat the nest with a solution to kill the wasps before attempting to remove it. You’ll find tons of “hacks” online that claim to work, but it’s probably not worth the stings you’ll incur testing them out. The other option is wasp spray, but you’d better have good aim. In either case, be ready to get out of the way after you’ve treated it and wait about 24 hours before attempting to remove the nest. That way, you’ll know if there’s still activity.
Calling a professional to remove a wasp nest is usually the safest and most efficient route. A pest control expert can properly mix the chemicals, treat the nest and remove it all in one go.
Call for Wasp Pest Control Services
There’s nothing fun about dealing with a wasp nest in the spring or summer when they’re at the height of food gathering and feeling protective. You shouldn’t have to deal with that, so let us deal with it for you.
At Lookout Pest Control, we’re always looking out for you, and that’s why we provide dependable bee and wasp control solutions.
For wasp nest removal, wasp control, or any other pest problems you’re dealing with, call Lookout Pest Control today for a free estimate.
What Month Do Wasps Go Away in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, & South Carolina Seasonal Wasp Activity Explained?
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