Aggressive wasps: Why wasps always fly into your face

Wasps can be a real nuisance in summer, especially when they seem to fly aggressively into your face. But what is really behind this behavior, and how can we protect ourselves? This article sheds light on the reasons for wasps’ behavior and offers solutions.

Why wasps always fly into your face in summer

High temperatures, lots of sunshine, and delicious food outdoors—summer simply puts everyone in a good mood. But just as quickly as the joy comes, it disappears again when a swarm of wasps ruins the barbecue in the garden. The reason for this seemingly aggressive behavior: The wasps are searching for food for their offspring.

• At the beginning of summer, the animals need a lot of protein for their larvae and therefore fly more frequently to meat and sausage. Once in the hive, the larvae receive the food and produce a sweet food juice, which the wasps then consume.

• Towards the end of summer, however, no new larvae arrive, so the adult wasps have to find new food in the form of sugar themselves. This is why sweet foods are very popular from around mid-August onwards.

• Wasps fly into your face because they have a very keen sense of smell, which enables them to locate even the smallest food particles. When you eat or drink protein- and sugar-containing products, tiny traces inevitably remain on your teeth and lips. Wasps detect these and target them specifically.

• But even if you haven’t eaten anything, wasps always seem to fly straight at your face and body. This is due to their special location system: wasps have fixed eyes and cannot focus on objects in the same way as humans. That’s why they fly around in a zigzag pattern to locate objects and food.

• By the way: There is little truth to the persistent rumors that wasps have become more aggressive in recent years, especially toward the end of summer. According to experts, the behavior of these insects has not changed—only the number of wasps is higher in warm summers. This gives the impression that wasps are more frequent and aggressive.

• To chase wasps away, you should avoid waving your arms around or blowing on them if possible. This only makes the animals unnecessarily aggressive. Instead, try placing wasp nest replicas around your home. If the wasps see that there is already another swarm nearby, they will usually fly away.

• Incidentally, killing wasps is illegal. So you should not simply swat at the insects. Wasps are also extremely useful for the ecosystem as they eat pests and pollinate flowers – including those in your garden, of course.