Wood chunks. Wood shavings. Wood pieces. Why is this wood on outdoor objects and trees on your property getting chewed up? Do Wasps Eat Wood?
I wonder if I’m dealing with termites, but then I realize that many people ask the same question and would like to find if wasps eat wood too.
In this article, we will discover the reason behind this chewed up wood and find out, “Do Wasps Eat Wood?”
Do Wasps Eat Wood?
No. Not really. . Wasps are known to chew on wood pulp to help them make their nests that resemble the structure and thickness of paper. Some of these wasps are referred to as paper wasps.
Lots of wooden structures around your property or susceptible to being chewed on by wasps. You need to consider a control plan to deter or repel wasps from your property and prevent them from chewing on more and more wooden objects around the periphery or exterior of your home.
Wasps do not actually eat the wood, but they are using it to create their nests.
How to Stop Wasps Eating Wood
Stopping wasps from eating wood first involves finding out why they are doing so. They’re actually not eating the wood, but chewing on it and using it to create their paper-like nests.
If you would like to get them to stay away from your wood around the exterior of your home, use cloves or oranges and place them around the surfaces of the wood itself.
Also, wasps hate fabric softener odors as well. You can use these repelling scents to keep wasps away from wooden objects and force them to find materials for their nests elsewhere.
What Do Wasps Eat?
Now that we’ve established that wasps do not eat wood, what do they eat?. Wasps enjoy feeding off the larvae of insects. They are also carnivorous and would look for easy meals around light fixtures where some insects are known to die.
Wasps can also feed on sugars from honeydew that aphids excrete, or nectar from flowers. Wasps are parasitic by nature and they can lay their eggs inside other insects.
Wasps are beneficial to control the insect populations and they also help to pollinate our gardens. Wasps eat:
- Nectar
- Fruit
- Honey
- Small insects
- Plants
- Larvae
- Insects
- Your leftovers
It’s important to not leave out food from the night before from a barbecue or a picnic. Make sure you clean up the surrounding area outside of your home to not invite wasps to feed start any leftover foods or sugary drinks that you may have left behind.
Do Wasps Eat Spiders?
Some species of wasps eat spiders. The mud dauber wasp is a predator of some spiders in North America.
This wasp stings and paralyzes a spider and uses its corpse to create a mud cell in the wasp nest. The intention is for the larvae of this wasp to feed on the spider as it begins to decompose inside the nest.
Overall, wasps look for smaller insects to eat and usually leave spiders alone. Both types of creatures are actually working in unison to control the population of insects and help them from getting out of control.
This is why spiders and wasps are both beneficial for the ecosystems they reside in.
Do Wasps Eat Mosquitoes?
Sadly, no. It is not common for wasps to feast on mosquitoes. Wasps are more capable of eating flies and other bugs that become attached to light fixtures and begin to die slowly. Wasps will show up and take some easy insect meat off off of these fixtures.
They will also eat caterpillars and some species can control spider populations as well by using them as food for wasp larvae to eat inside their nests. You will have to control your mosquito problem without the help of wasps.
Do Wasps Eat Meat?
Yes. Wasps will make an easy meal out of meat that is left over from the night before if you were having a gathering in your backyard for example. They will find pieces of meat and devour it.
They also like to eat decomposing meat off of dead animals. They will enjoy dairy products as well. Wasps are known to be carnivorous and will feed off of the carcasses of many insects and their larvae.
They will even attack spiders and caterpillars for quick meals or use them as decomposing meals for their larvae inside their nests to feed on. You may see a wasp carrying a piece of meat or a spider into its nest for the purpose of feeding its younger generations.
Do Wasps Chew on Wood?
Yes. Wasps enjoy chewing on wood in a process that is known as girdling. They are chewing on the wood to help them make nests. These types of wasps are known as paper wasps or wood wasps.
Unfortunately, many of the wooden furniture pieces or other wood objects around the exterior of your home could be susceptible to being chewed on by wasps.
This is why it’s essential to treat wood with either chemicals or cover them in clove oil or orange oil to repel wasps and force them to find other sources of wood.
What Type of Wasps Eat Wood?
There are many species of wasps around the planet that chew on wood, but do not eat it. They are undertaking a process known as girdling to help them create materials for nest building. The following wasps are known to chew on wood:
- Dark Paper Wasp
- European Hornet
- Eastern Yellow Jacket
- Bald-Faced Hornet
- Ichneumon Wasps
There are many more species of wasps that we have left off this list. This is because there are too many to name.
The important thing to consider is that wood needs to be treated to make sure that wasps find other sources of natural wood that doesn’t contain chemicals, pesticides or essential oils that they would be repelled from.
How to Repel Wasps From Wood
You can use a variety of household products to help repel wasps and keep them away from the wood that you own and wish to protect.
Top 6 Ways To Repel Wasps From Wood
- Start with hand soap and water in a spray bottle. Whenever you’re outside and you pass by any wooden structures that you own or have, spray or willingly with this mixture anytime.
- You can also use WD-40 on wooden structures. Keep in mind that it is flammable but will keep pests away.
- You can place fabric softener around wooden structures in pots or jars. Wasp hate the scent of fabric softeners and it may repel them. Mosquitoes also hate the odor of fabric softener as well.
- Consider using whole pieces of cloves or clove oil and insert them in any area around the wooden structures. You can also use orange oil instead. Wasp hate these odors
- Garlic powder, onion powder and pepper. You can sprinkle these on wooden objects and keep wasps away from them.
- You can also finally rub the underside of any wood railings or furniture with bar soap. Rub the bar underneath any wooden objects and it will repel wasps for as long as it takes for this soap to wear off. In many cases a wasp will stay away from it for the entire summer season.
What are Wood Boring Wasps?
Sometimes wasps burrow deep inside wood furniture or natural wood fond around neighborhood. They use it as their nesting location or as materials to help them build a nest.
They can create many holes around wooden structures and cause damage to your property. Try using spearmint or peppermint oil and mix them with dish soap in a spray bottle.
All you need is a few drops of essential oil and maybe a teaspoon of dish soap. Fill the rest of the bottle with water and spray willingly over any wood items that you do not wish for wasps to bore into.
Can Wasps Chew Through Plastic and Wood?
Yes. Wasps can easily chew through plastic and wood. In order to build a durable nest, they prefer organic materials like wood to be able to mulch on and in the process known as girdling.
They will turn this or also thin plastics to help them build their nests. They will not eat these materials. Paper wasps and Yellowjackets are the most common types of wasps to use girdling and chewing on outdoor objects to create their sturdy and stable nests.
Conclusion
The next time you see wood that has been chewed on, do not assume that you have a termite problem. It could be wasps chewing and girdling to use the wood for their nests instead.
This is frustrating, but nowhere near as bad as a termite infestation. We have plenty of tips for termites as well. We are happy to be of service.
Thanks for visiting ThePestManagement.com for the best information to help you to make the pest control process easy, safe & affordable.