The One Colour To Wear If You Hate Wasps

Is it us or are wasps everywhereright now?

Thanks to the warm, dry weather we’ve experienced for much of this summer, wasp experts (what a job) have told the BBC it’s probably going to be “a good year for wasps”.

According to conservation specialist Buglife, there are 9,000 species of wasps in the UK and ideally, we’d like none of them to be in our homes.

Fortunately, it turns out, there are some unique ways to keep the stripy stingers away from your body (and pints) when out and about.

How to keep wasps out of your home 

Wear red clothing 

Did you know that most insects can’t see the colour red? This includes wasps!

Wasps are drawn to brighter shades like yellows and whites because they look similar to the shades wasps look for from flowers and they’re not attracted to darker shades like blues and blacks.

But for clothing, the safest bet is red because wasps just can’t see it and therefore aren’t attracted to it. 

Mix basil and garlic

Basil and garlic combined may sound dreamy to us, but to wasps, this is revolting. Keeping basil plants and garlic cloves around your home – especially near windows – can help to keep wasps outdoors.

Make your home minty-fresh

Wasps hate the smell of mint so if you mix some peppermint oil with dish soap and spray it around the home, not only will your home smell minty fresh but wasps will immediately steer clear.

Alternatively, mint plants placed near windows or on tables will help keep them at bay, too!

Make the most of cucumber season

If you’re partial to adding cucumber to salads or sandwiches, you might want to keep some aside for warding off wasps. They hate the acidic taste of cucumber peel!

Make your own wasp traps

If you’re the kind of person that likes to keep jam jars once you’re finished with them, you can use them for a makeshift wasp trap.

Simply pierce a hole big enough for wasps in the lid of the jar, add some water or beer, some jam or honey to trap them. Alternatively, an open wine bottle can attract them.

Lay off the perfumes and aftershaves 

This probably isn’t all that surprising but those perfumes and aftershaves you wear to smell vaguely floral? They smell like flowers and therefore attract wasps! Lay off those sweet scents and keep it neutral to keep pests away from you.

Splash the cash (or pennies) around 

Wasps are very averse to the smell of copper so if you rub some of the pennies you have and leave them lying around your home, they’re more likely to avoid buzzing about the place.

Good luck!