Wasps vs Bees – How to Identify Them Before Arranging Pest Control in Wigmore
Watching what an insect is interested in can tell you more than watching how it looks, because wasps and bees feed in very different ways and in very different places.
Follow the food
Look at what is attracting the insect and you will often have your answer. Wasps are scavengers and hunters. They are drawn to sweet drinks, jam, ripe fruit, meat scraps and open bins, and they will happily investigate a picnic or a barbecue. Bees, by contrast, are drawn to flowers, nectar and pollen, and they show very little interest in your lunch.
If you live in Wigmore, near Gillingham, and the insects are crowding around a fizzy drink on the patio table, you have a strong hint that they are wasps. If they are working steadily across a lavender bush, they are almost certainly bees.
Think back over the last few days. Did the insects appear when you started eating, or were they there before? If they were present before anyone sat down, they may be passing through on a regular route to a nest, which is worth noting. If they only arrived with the food, they are scavenging, and the nest may be some distance away.
The patio table test
Next time insects appear at a mealtime, notice three things.
- Where they go. Do they head for the sweet drink, the plate or the bin, or do they ignore all of that and go to the planters?
- How they behave. A wasp hovers, lands, probes and darts off again. A bee glides slowly over blooms and moves methodically from one to the next.
- How they look. The ones at your food are likely to be smooth and narrow-waisted. The ones at flowers are likely to be rounder and furry.
This is not a perfect rule. A wasp may pay a quick visit to a flower, and a bee may sip from a sugary spill. But the pattern over a few minutes is rarely misleading.
Barbecues bring their own clues. Wasps are often interested in raw and cooked meat, as well as sauces and sweet marinades, and you may see them landing on serving dishes within minutes. Bees show no interest at all. If something striped is investigating the burgers, it is a wasp.
Why the diet matters for nests
The food habit also helps explain why a problem builds. Wasps bring food back to the nest to feed the colony, so a regular stream to and from one place, particularly late in the summer, is a sign that a colony is established. The colony grows through the season and peaks in August, with anything from 2,000 to 10,000 or more wasps.
That is also why they become more of a nuisance in the later part of the summer, when they are most likely to turn up uninvited at outdoor tables. If you are seeing many more insects around food than you did in spring, a nest nearby is a reasonable suspicion.
A related clue is the number of insects visiting at once. A single wasp may be a stray. A steady series of wasps arriving one after the other from the same direction suggests a colony somewhere close, and watching which way they leave afterwards can point you towards the entrance, although you should not follow them closely.
Making your outdoor space less tempting
While you work out what you have, a few sensible habits reduce the number of visiting insects.
- Keep drinks covered, especially cans and sweet cups.
- Clear plates and wipe sticky surfaces promptly.
- Use bins with tight lids and keep them away from doors.
- Pick up fallen fruit from lawns and borders.
- Move eating areas away from any gap that insects are using.
These steps will not remove a nest, but they make life more comfortable until the nest has been dealt with. They also stop curious wasps from turning a pleasant tea into a stressful one.
Fruit trees and bushes are another place to look. Windfalls and split fruit attract wasps in late summer, and you may see them chewing at the flesh. Tidying the ground beneath will reduce visits, and bees on blossom in spring are a happy sight rather than a worry.
When bees are the answer
If it turns out the insects are working the flowers, enjoy them. Honeybees and bumblebees are valuable pollinators, and a garden full of them is usually a healthy one. If a colony of bees has taken up residence somewhere awkward, contact a local beekeeper or the relevant bee organisation. We treat wasps only, and we will tell you honestly if the description sounds like bees.
Bumblebees are a particular case, as they sometimes look alarming because of their size and their loud, deep buzz. They are, however, calm and generally ignore people. If the insect is large, round, furry and slow, it is far more likely to be a bee than a wasp, whatever the noise.
Getting help with wasps
Wasp Exterminator Kent can be reached on 01622 410 019 or through the online booking form. Treatment of a wasp nest is a fixed £120 per nest, one visit guaranteed, with no call-out charge, and a second nest on the same property is £60 extra.
We work seven days a week, offer same-day service, and handle domestic and commercial properties. Evening and weekend appointments are available. If anyone in the household is allergic to wasp stings, tell us at booking and we will prioritise the visit. Please do not approach the nest while waiting, as wasps can swarm and sting if threatened.
If you can, note which direction the insects fly when they leave your table, as that gives a rough idea of where the nest might be. Tell us when you ring, with anything else you have noticed, and we will go from there.
Wasps on your property in Wigmore?
Fixed price £120 per nest, no call-out charge, same-day service available.