Eaves, soffits, and gutters on home exteriors in McCordsville are popular wasp nesting spots. Flowers and plant life attract them to yards, as do patios and other outdoor eating areas with crumbs or sticky soda spills that are not cleaned up. Garbage cans that are not properly covered and regularly emptied also attract wasps that are seeking sources food. Properties with abundant insects and spiders provide ample prey for both developing and mature wasps. Nests left behind by wasp populations that die during the cold weather months are generally not reused by subsequent generations of wasps. 

​

Wasps near the home can ruin outdoor activities and make yardwork difficult. While they rarely go out of their way to sting, wasps may become hostile if threatened or disturbed. Their stings are painful but typically nonthreatening to those without allergies to the wasp’s venom.

​

Signs are dependent on species, but most often the workers and the nest are the most likely signs

​

Late in the summer, the queen will produce unfertilized eggs. These will develop into males. The males will fertilize the wasps that will become the queens of the following year. These fertilized females will overwinter in a sheltered location. In most cases, the rest of the colony will perish when winter comes. Next spring, the queen will start laying eggs. The fertilized eggs that they produce will become workers, building the nest and feeding the larvae produced by the queen.