Hornets are looking for three things: a sheltered nesting site, a food source, and access to building materials. Your home's eaves, soffits, and siding offer all three.
Hornets are scary. Doubly so if you have kids or anyone in the family with a sting allergy. It doesn’t help that they’re more aggressive than many other stinging insects. So understanding why they’re drawn to your home is a good first step to reduce the risk.
Nesting sites are the primary reason why hornets are attracted to homes. Hornets prefer protected spots that are sheltered from rain and direct sun. Eaves, soffits, porch ceilings, attic vents, and the undersides of decks are all common locations. If they can gain access to a wall void, that’s even better, especially for European hornets who prefer the enclosure.
Hornets also like having steady access to food. For them, that looks like bugs—flies, caterpillars, wasps, and so on. If your yard has a healthy insect population, hornets will patrol the area for prey. They’re also attracted to sweet substances like fruit, sugary drinks, and hummingbird feeders. Outdoor trash cans with food residue are also a big draw.
Like with moths, hornets are also attracted to light. Few species are active after dark, which means you can find them around porch lights and well-lit windows. If you see hornets bumping into your windows on summer evenings, that’s likely what’s happening.
Overgrown shrubs, dense ground cover, and cluttered storage areas around the house are all attractive nesting habitats. The best way to deal with this is to remove clutter and to keep vegetation trimmed.
When it comes to hornets, the best time to address their nesting habits is early in the spring. You want to take action when the queens are just getting around to building. A nest the size of a golf ball is far easier to manage than a basketball-sized colony with hundreds of workers in August.
If you are a homeowner in Andover, and you’re already seeing hornets (or wasps and other stinging insects), you should know that Mosquito Squad of North Shore provides pest control treatments that can help here. This works by targeting the areas where these insects nest and feed. A trained technician inspects your property and applies treatments designed to help reduce stinging insect activity around your home.
