When Do Wasps Die Off in Richmond? A Fall Guide

Wasp colonies in Richmond wind down through October and die off with the first hard frosts, usually by November. The workers, the males and the old queen all die. Only newly mated queens survive, and they spend the winter hidden away on their own.

So if you have a nest in October, time is on your side. Whether you wait or act depends on where the nest is.

The wasp year in Richmond

April and May. A queen that overwintered alone starts a nest the size of a golf ball and raises the first workers herself.

June and July. Workers take over and the nest grows quickly.

August and September. The colony reaches full size, often thousands of wasps for yellowjackets. This is when most stings happen.

October. The colony produces new queens and males, which leave to mate. Worker numbers fall. Natural food runs short, so the remaining workers go looking for sugar at patios, fruit trees and bins.

November onward. Cold nights finish the colony. The nest is abandoned and is not reused.

Richmond's mild coastal autumn stretches this out. A warm October can keep a sheltered nest going for weeks longer than you would expect, particularly one inside a heated wall.

Wait it out or deal with it?

Leaving a nest alone is reasonable when all of these are true:

• It is well away from doors, decks, paths and play areas
• Nobody in the household has a sting allergy
• It is outdoors, not inside a wall or roof space
• It is already late in the season

A paper nest high in a tree at the back of the yard in mid-October will be empty within a few weeks.

Get it dealt with when:

• The nest is beside a door, a walkway or anywhere people pass
• It is in the ground where children or pets play
• It is inside a wall, soffit or attic
• Wasps are finding their way indoors
• Someone at home is allergic

Do not try to treat or remove an active nest from a ladder or a roof. Call 911 right away if someone who has been stung has trouble breathing, swelling of the face, lips or throat, or feels faint.

Nests inside walls

A nest in a wall void is the one case where waiting can backfire. Warmth from the house keeps the colony active later into autumn, and wasps looking for a way out sometimes chew through drywall into a room.

Do not seal the outside entrance. Blocking it does not kill the colony. It sends the wasps looking for another exit, and the nearest one is usually indoors.

A provider treats the nest through the entry point and seals the gap only once activity has stopped. Our wasp and hornet nest removal page explains how that is done and what it costs.

Why they seem angrier in fall

They are hungrier. Through the summer, workers feed insects to the larvae and get a sugary secretion in return. Once the colony stops raising larvae, that source disappears, and the workers turn to fallen fruit, pop cans and anything sweet.

A few things help:

• Pick up fallen apples, pears and plums
• Keep garbage and green bins closed
• Cover drinks outdoors
• Do not swat at wasps near a nest, because a crushed wasp releases a scent that alerts others

What happens to the queens

New queens leave the nest in fall, mate and look for somewhere dry to spend the winter: under bark, in woodpiles, in sheds, in attic insulation. A single wasp found indoors in December is usually one of these.

One overwintering queen is not an infestation. She is not building anything and will leave in spring.

What to do in spring

Every nest in August started with one queen in April. That makes spring the cheap time to act.

• In April and May, check under eaves, deck railings, shed roofs and patio covers for small starter nests
• Seal gaps in soffits and siding during winter, while nothing is living in them
• Screen vents with fine mesh
• Take down old nests, so you can tell new activity from last year's

Neighbourhoods beside open ground, such as Terra Nova and Hamilton, have plenty of lawn and field edge where yellowjackets can nest in the ground. Walk the lawn and garden beds in late spring and watch for wasps going in and out of one spot.

If you need a nest handled now

Describe where it is, how high and how big, and take a photo from well back. Send us the details and we'll try to pass your request to an independent provider who covers your part of Richmond.