It’s a scary thing to see wasps chasing or flying around you.
You never know when they can sit on your body and deliver a painful sting.
This guide reveals why you attract wasps while you’re outdoors.
It can happen indoors too if there are too many of them inside your home.
This guide also has proven hacks that you can use to keep wasps away from you and protect yourself from painful wasp stings.
Keep reading.
3 Reasons You Attract Wasps
- You’re emitting a fruity smell
- You’re wearing bright colors
- And the worst, you’re near a wasp nest
Let’s get a bit deeper into each of these reasons.
You’re Emitting A Fruity Smell
Ripe fruits form part of the wasp diet.
That’s why wasps are common in orchards and fresh fruit markets during the spring and summer seasons.
When you take a bath with a shower gel with a fruity fragrance, the scent sticks with your skin.
And when you walk outdoors, the fruity aroma from your body attracts the wasps to you.
The wasps mistakenly presume that you’re a walking ripe fruit.
Wasps in the bathroom will also fly to you while taking a shower and using a soap or shower gel that emits a fruity smell.
It’ll also attract wasps if you’re wearing perfume or deodorant with a fruity scent.
Later in the post, you’ll find out how to keep wasps away from you.
For now, let’s investigate the second reason for wasps following you.
You’re Wearing Bright Colors
Along with ripe fruits, wasps also feed on the nectar of flowers. And wasps are not color blind.
Wasps will land on the brightest of flowers to feed on their nectar.
And when you wear bright-colored clothing while outdoors, the bright colors will draw wasps to you.
It may sound ridiculous, but wasps will think of you as a walking flower.
You’re Near A Wasp Nest
It can be dangerous if you’re near a wasp nest. The worker wasps are protective of their nests.
And they’ll get aggressive towards anything or anyone they think can be a danger to the nest.
When walking in the woods or a park, you can inadvertently walk close to wasps nests.
That will alert the wasps in the nest. The worker wasps will chase you.
But this time, the worker wasps will chase you to sting you. They’ll perceive you as a danger to their nests, larvae, and the queen wasp.
And worker wasps don’t display this behavior only towards humans.
They’ll sting any bird, rodent, or animal close to the nest.
So, how to protect yourself from wasps and their stings?
Let’s find it out.
How To Keep Wasps Away From You?
There are three simple ways to keep wasps away from you –
- Wear scents that repel wasps
- Wear pale or light-colored clothing
- Use a bug repellent skin balm
Wear Scents That Repel Wasps
To begin with, do not wear any perfume or deodorant with fruit extracts in them.
The essential oils are the best thing to wear on your skin to keep wasps away from you.
Essential oils like peppermint, lavender, and eucalyptus repel wasps and many bugs and pests.
Wearing any one of these essential oils does the trick to keep wasps away from you while you’re outdoors.
The best part is you don’t need to pour the entire bottle of essential oil on yourself.
A few drops on your neck, forearms, calves, and face will do the trick.
But you need to be careful while buying essential oils.
Only the essential oils that are cold condensed and made from natural extracts are effective.
Many cheap essential oils that you find off the shelf are not pure essential oils.
They’re fragrances made of synthetic chemicals.
If you use them, they will not work.
Wear Pale Or Light-Colored Clothing
Wasps are attracted to bright colors. So, another way to keep wasps away from you is by wearing light-colored clothes.
White or different shades of white are the best. But you can choose any color that is not bright.
Avoid red, black, and brown shades.
Because wasps’ vision can’t process these colors, they see these colors as black.
And wasps perceive black as a threat.
So, ensure that you don’t wear any bright colors outdoors during the wasp season.
It’ll be safer to wear full trousers with the trousers tucked into your socks.
Use A Bug Repellent Cream On Your Skin
This step is for an extra layer of security from wasps.
There are many skin-friendly bug-repelling creams or sprays that you can wear on your skin.
These bug repelling creams will keep the wasps away.
And they’ll also keep away biting bugs away from you while you’re outdoors.
From the woods, you can bring in fleas and ticks home too.
They’ll latch onto your clothing and can even bite you if they could get access to your skin.
So, it’ll be best if you use a bug-repelling spray on your skin and your clothes to prevent them from hooking themselves onto the fabric.
A bug-repelling cream or spray on the skin and clothes, coupled with the essential oils, works great in situations when you unintentionally walk by a wasp nest.
Are Wasps Attracted To Sweat?
Sweating is a natural phenomenon while you’re outdoors. And your sweat can draw wasps, bees, and mosquitoes to you.
Your body odor and sweat can make wasps curious.
Also, your body heat can draw wasps to you.
That’s why cars can draw wasps too, especially at the front end of the car because it gets hot.
Wasps will land on you to inspect your body odor or to even have a sip at your sweat.
So, it’s always a good idea to consistently wipe off your sweat while you’re outdoors.
Can Wasps Sting Through Clothing?
No, wasps can’t sting through clothing unless you’re wearing too thin clothes.
Wasps need access to your skin to insert their sting and inject venom.
What To Do If A Wasp Sits On You?
First, don’t panic. And don’t try to smash it like you’d do when a mosquito sits on you.
Second, don’t get startled and make an abrupt body movement.
That will make the wasp aggressive, and it can make the wasp sting.
Keep calm. Take a leaf or paper and scoop the wasp off your skin.
Summary
Here’s why wasps are attracted to you –
- You’re emitting a fruity smell
- You’re wearing bright colors
- And the worst, you’re near a wasp nest
This post revealed the precautions you need to take to keep wasps away from you while outdoors.
You can use these precautions indoors if you see wasps in your home.
Ensure that when a wasp lands on your skin, you don’t panic. And you don’t try to smash it.
Take a piece of paper and scoop it off of your skin.
Nang Chen is an Entomologist and Arachnologist who is associated with Vienna’s museum of natural history. He’s also a consultant with real estate groups, insecticide conglomerates and law enforcement groups as a forensic entomologist. Nang Chen holds an M.S. from South China University and he’s a regular contributor to our site.