Do Fake Wasp Nests Work?

Unique DIY Pest Control Methods

The frustration, and even fear, that pests can cause often urges homeowners to try taking things into their own hands for quick results… and this often results in some unique DIY tactics. Some of the wildest DIY pest control attempts we’ve come across include using dry ice to try to combat ground bee and yellowjacket nests, and even using firearms to try to shoot down large wasp nests.

While these DIY attempts are rather extreme and definitely not recommended due to how dangerous they can be, there are other DIY methods that are both harmless and based in some scientific fact. One of these methods which is currently available for purchase to the public includes fake wasp nests. But do they work?

Fake Wasp Nests

While they are typically named “fake wasp nests,” the shape of these products often resembles the nests of bald-faced hornets (although hornets are technically a kind of wasp). These nests are constructed with a paper-like material made from a mix of hornet saliva and chewed bites of wood. They are notably large, often the size of a basketball, and are shaped like oblong paper lanterns. Due to the similarity between their shape and paper lanterns, it was easy for companies to create these mock nests for homes.

The theory behind the use of these products stems from the fact that most stinging pests are territorial by nature. So, the intention of the fake nests is to trick stinging pests into believing that the area is already occupied by another colony. In theory, this is a safe and intelligent way to try and keep wasps and other stinging pests at bay. But, in practice, is it effective?

Do They Work?

Some users of the product report that they have not had any stinging pest problems after hanging these fake nests. But was it actually due to the fake nests, or was it was coincidental? Unfortunately, both a lot of user reviews and other evidence suggest that those incidences were, indeed, coincidences.

While stinging pests are territorial, there have been many cases in which nests are constructed relatively close to one another, making it fairly unlikely that the fake nest would deter wasps from the home. For example, there are homes that can have a wasp nest under their front porch and a wasp nest on the eaves of the home in the backyard, or even two wasp nests just a matter of yards away from one another on the same side of the home.

Furthermore, wasps have been scientifically proven to be rather intelligent. They have the ability to recognize and differentiate a vast number of scents, can be trained by humans, and have even been tested and proven to be capable of transitive inference, a complex cognitive process unseen in other insects. Due to their higher intelligence, it is unlikely that wasps will be fooled by the fake nests and there was even a case recently where a nest was being constructed on the home’s fake wasp nest.

So, overall, do they work? Most likely the use of fake nests does not directly result in wasp deterrent, however, there’s the possibility that it’s presence could contribute to the decision of a colony to build elsewhere if other deterring factors are also present in the area. But with the dangers that wasps and other stinging pests pose, is it worth it to waste time and money on a DIY method that has been proven not to be very successful?

Safe Reliable Pest Control

Keeping stinging pests at bay can be a matter of your safety and security, which is too important to gamble with a variety of DIY attempts. If wasps are bugging you, we’ve got your back. At Green Pest Services, we offer safe, effective, and rapid results so that you can live a wasp-free life. Don’t put yourself or your family at risk – call professional help today!

Citations

Do fake wasp nests fool wasps? (2012) Science World. Available at: https://www.scienceworld.ca/stories/do-fake-wasp-nests-fool-wasps/ (Accessed: August 12, 2021).

Fuscatus, P. (2020) Do Wasp Nest Decoys Work?, Ask an Entomologist. Available at: https://askentomologists.com/2020/07/14/do-wasp-nest-decoys-work/ (Accessed: August 12, 2021).

Hodgson, L. (2020) Do fake wasp Nests really work?, Laidback Gardener. Available at: https://laidbackgardener.blog/2020/06/06/do-fake-wasp-nests-really-work/ (Accessed: August 12, 2021).

Lazareva, O. (2012) Transitive Inference in Nonhuman Animals, Oxford Handbooks Online: Scholarly Research Reviews. The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Cognition. Available at: https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195392661.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780195392661-e-036 (Accessed: August 2020).

Solly, M. (2019) Wasps are the First Invertebrates to Pass This Basic Logic Test, The Smithsonian Magazine. The Smithsonian Institute. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/wasps-are-first-invertebrates-pass-basic-logic-test-180972148/ (Accessed: August 2020).

Wu, K. (2018) Five Real Life Wasp Superpowers Not in Ant-Man and the Wasp, Smithsonian

Magazine. The Smithsonian Institution. Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-you-should-let-wasp-be-your-hero-today-180969521/ (Accessed: July 2020).