Eating peacefully outside in the summer is difficult, sometimes nearly impossible when wasps decide to invite themselves to your table.
The beautiful summer days are nearly here! Because of this, you might decide to sit outside to enjoy a meal in the nice weather. Sometimes, however, surprise guests like wasps can make an entrance! In addition to mosquitos in the summer, there are wasps. To avoid turning your meal into a nightmare, here are a few tips to allow your meal to run as smoothly as possible.
Don't move and stay calm
Keep in mind that when a wasp that stays around your table, it isn't there for you, but for what you have on your plate.
François Lasserre, an entomologist (insect specialist) explains that “[w]hen a wasp comes close to a table, it never says to itself: "I'm going to sting someone", it just looks for food for itself and its larvae. For the wasp, it will be something sweet like melon or jam, and for the larvae, which are carnivorous, it will be meat or fish" (translated from French).
There's no reason to panic or move around a lot because this could risk irritating the wasp and it could sting you.
Make a plate of meat
Now you know that when wasps are around your meal they there for food so give them what they want and you will be peaceful: their own plate.
François Lasserre suggests putting small pieces of meat or fish on the plate. You can place this plate at the end of the table, far from you.
Use a glass
It's probably one of the first things you've tried: trapping them under a glass. The goal isn't to kill the wasp because they aren't there to hurt you, but to capture them during the meal and let them out once you've finished.
Trapping them under a glass will allow you to finish your meal without the risk of getting stung. You'll also be able to enjoy your meal in a calmer space.
A homemade trap
How do you make a homemade trap? It couldn't be simpler. Just take a large, empty bottle and take off the cap. Cut it about 15 cm below the neck. Then turn the upper, cut part over to insert it into the lower part, with the neck facing downwards to create a siphon through which the wasp will enter and not be able to get out.
For your trap to be effective, you need to place some sort of “wasp bait” at the bottom of the bottle. This can be sugar water or meat.
Is there a wasp nest above you?
If you have a nest high up in your backyard, there's no need to panic. These are not usually the wasps that will sting you. Wasps that come to bother you while you're eating are those that live on the ground.
However, if you want to get rid of the nest, do not touch it yourself. Seek out a professional to help you with this.
Key takeaways
Now you know a few tips to help you enjoy a peaceful meal without surprise guests to bother you. However, if despite that you get stung, here is a useful tip. You can rub the wasp sting with a plantain leaf. This plant acts "miraculously, in 10 seconds there will no longer be a trace of the sting" (translated from French).
Don't forget that you shouldn't have to kill them. Wasps are still very useful. François Lasserre explains that "[w]asps contribute to pollination by foraging certain flowers to feed on their nectar. They are also very effective at ridding us of insects they kill, which serve as food for their larvae" (translated from French).
This Yummypets article might also interest you: Summer insects: what to do about them
Source: Ouest-france.fr
Originally written by Salomée Vidal (Yummypets) and translated by Jennifer Eubank (Yummypets).
