Spotting wasps on your property is enough to make anyone feel as though they’re under attack. These sometimes-aggressive insects can leave you unable to enjoy your yard or garden, particularly when they nest inside the air bricks around your home. Fortunately, there are steps to take to address an infestation so you can get more use out of your outdoor living spaces.

What attracts wasps to your house?

Depending on their species, wasps may live on their own or in hives. Solitary species typically prefer burrowing underground and will look for areas where rodents previously burrowed or the ground is soft to make their homes. They may also seek out soft, rotted wood, fallen logs, or muddy areas to tunnel into.

Social wasps are attracted to places that can accommodate their nests. Favorite spots include the inside of air bricks, tree branches, roof eaves, decking, and playground equipment.

How to tell if you have a wasp infestation

Before determining how to get rid of wasps in air bricks, you first need to recognize that you have an infestation. Here are some signs that the stinging insects are living around your home:

• Spotting wasps outdoors: Wasps are large enough that you may actually see the insects coming and going, particularly in the area around the nest.
• Finding wasps indoors: Wasps may accidentally enter your home through cracks and crevices and be unable to find their way back out. They will often stick to windows and skylights.
• Locating a nest: In some cases, you may notice a papery wasp nest in your landscaping or stuck to a home or outbuilding.
• Seeing damaged wood: Paper wasps and hornets build nests out of their saliva and small pieces of chewed up bark or wood. If you have an infestation, you may see holes in firewood, fences, trees, decks, and wooden structures around your yard. These are signs that the insects have been using wood to create their nests.
• Hearing buzzing sounds: You may be able to hear the buzzing sounds of a large hive if you’re near it. This is especially true if the wasps nest in between walls or in the attic.

How to get rid of wasp nests in air brick

If you see wasps coming and going from air bricks, your first instinct might be to block the bricks in hopes of trapping them outside or inside. While this seems logical, it’s actually a dangerous idea and may not even be effective.

Trapping the wasps inside the air brick may make them more aggressive. They could become even more of a threat if they manage to get free. Trying to block off the nest while the wasps are outside and active will probably cause them to attack.

To deal with wasps in air bricks on your own, try using a trap to lure them away. To make one:

• Cut the neck and shoulders off a soda bottle.
• Flip the neckpiece over and place it inside the bottom of the bottle.
• Pour ten parts water and one part fruit juice into the bottle.
• Add 1 tsp of yeast, a piece of ripe fruit, and a few drops of liquid detergent.
• Position traps every 30 feet around areas that you wish to protect.
• Empty the traps and replace the bait every two weeks.
  

Can you prevent wasps in air bricks?

If you don’t have an active infestation, you can take steps to protect air bricks from wasps. The simplest way is to cover the air bricks with insect mesh. Air will still be able to flow through, but the wasps will no longer have an entry point. 

Other wasp prevention tips include:

• Fix any leaky outdoor faucets and pipes
• Keep your landscaping trimmed and grass mowed
• Use water-resistant foam to fill in holes in trees
• Fill in rodent burrows
• Remove tree stumps and fallen branches from your property
• Protect firewood piles with a tight-fitting, insect-proof cover

Premium pest control services

To address wasps in air brick around your home, call Hawx Pest Control. Our experienced technicians have the gear and knowledge to safely work around stinging insects. We use state-of-the-art technologies and high-quality products to address wasp infestations, and we can recommend a maintenance schedule to lower the likelihood of wasps returning in the future. If they do, we’ll come back and handle the problem at no cost to you.

What’s the difference between wasps and hornets? 

Hornets are a species of wasp that lives in hives. Their bodies have an hourglass shape, and they are larger than most common species of wasps, like paper wasps. They are often yellow, but they can also be orange or red. Hornets typically build their hives higher off the ground than other wasps. Their stings are generally more painful and likely to cause reactions than other insects, including other wasp species.