If you have or want to have a garden, you want to set it up for success. That includes more than just choosing the right plants. It can mean the entire environment, including animals near the garden, so you may be wondering if wasps are good for your garden.
Wasps are good for the garden because they feed on insects and pollinate plants. A wasp will feed the insects to their young, making them a great addition to a garden. But they can be harmful if the nest is in the way or if someone is allergic to wasps.
Whether you have a garden or want to start one, don’t get rid of that wasp nest just yet. As long as the wasp isn’t causing a problem, it can help you. Keep reading to learn more.
Wasps Feed on Damaging Insects
While wasps can seem scary, they are beneficial to most gardens. They will feed on insects, like greenflies, that would otherwise harm your garden. A wasp will feed those insects to its young as well, and wasps will eat fly larva.
In most cases, you should tolerate having a wasp near your home. That way, you can enjoy the benefits of a wasp, and you can have a nice garden.
However, you don’t have to keep wasps around if you don’t want to. If they start to scare you or cause issues, you can get rid of them. Or you can keep them around if they aren’t a problem.
Avoid Disturbing the Nest
If you have a wasp’s nest near your home, do your best not to disturb it. Disrupting the nest can cause the wasp to get aggressive and sting you.
Fortunately, wasp stings aren’t usually harmful, but they can hurt a lot. But if you have an allergy, a sting can be serious, and you’ll need to seek medical treatment.
As long as the nest is out of the way, you don’t have to worry about disturbing it. However, you may want to remove it if it’s in your way or if you don’t want to worry about stings.
When To Remove the Nest
If you have a wasp nest, there are a few times when you may want to remove it. You may lose out on the benefits for your garden, but you can use other pest control methods. Consider a few situations where a wasp nest isn’t as beneficial.
- The nest is by a door or in another high-traffic area
- You or someone else in the home has a wasp allergy
- You just don’t want to have a wasp nest
Before you remove a wasp nest, consider getting a professional to do it for you. That way, you won’t risk getting stung while you remove it. Then, you can still grow a beautiful garden, but you won’t have to worry about the wasp causing problems.
Final Thoughts
In general, wasps are good for the garden because they can feed on insects and other pests. But wasps can be dangerous for people with allergies or when the nest is near your door. So consider if the benefits of keeping the wasp nest outweigh the risks. For more information about wasps as pollinators go here.