Dealing With Wasps in Your Basement (Dead and Alive)
Several different scenarios can result in you finding wasps inside of your basement. The big question is whether the wasps are dead or alive. It’s not uncommon for a homeowner to find a dead wasp or two inside their home when the weather starts to get colder outside.
However, you don’t want to be finding numerous wasps inside of your home when it’s warm out, and they’re very lively. Have you found a wasp in your home? Let’s talk a bit more about how to assess and remedy the situation.
Do Wasps Move Indoors in the Winter?
When the temperature outside becomes unsuitable for wasps to survive in, you may see some varieties of wasps attempt to head indoors. When the fall months arrive, wasps may begin to die. What will usually remain will be the newly mated females and the current queen.
Wasps are very sensitive to the weather and environmental conditions around them, so they know to find a more protected place to stay for the winter. They may be able to find a safe home under your home’s siding or the bark of a tree. If they can make their way into your basement, they won’t turn down this opportunity.
Even if you do have a few wasps that have made their way into your basement, you might not spot them. They’re not going to be flying around for the time being.
Wasps are essentially hibernating until spring, so they’re probably tucked away safely in a crevice of some sort. If they do move around, they’re going to be very slow and probably not very aggressive. You should remove them immediately.
If you do notice that there are a large number of wasps in your basement, and they appear to be quite lively, have a professional help you figure out where they came from. You’ll want to make sure that they are sufficiently removed, and you need to prevent this issue from occurring again in the future.
How Do Wasps Get Into Basements?
No matter how sealed up your house may seem, there are different cracks, gaps, vents and crevices that can allow all kinds of insects to enter your home. Wasps most commonly enter your home through the attic, and they may make their way down to your basement.
You may also have different areas behind your siding or around your foundation, allowing them to crawl right through. There are probably a few different holes drilled into your siding that need to be properly sealed to prevent wasps from coming in.
Check for spaces around your cable line, plumbing, gas line, etc. You may also have left a window or door open long enough that a wasp flew right inside.
Why Are There Dead Wasps in Your Basement?
If the weather is cold outside, you may have some wasps in your basement that attempted to come in for protection. For whatever reason, they couldn’t safely find themselves a place to stay out of sight.
You may also have let some wasps inside through an open door or window. They may have tried to make their way down to your basement to escape back outside, but they ended up perishing before that could happen.
You don’t always know for sure how a wasp got in your basement, so keep your eyes open for any pathways that are allowing wasps and other insects to come in
How to Get Rid of Wasps in Your Basement
Before you try to remove one or more wasps in your basement, try to get a good look at what’s going on. If you have wasps that aren’t alive (or are lethargic), you have several options for removing them. You can use a vacuum cleaner to trap them safely, and then you can take the canister outside to discard them safely.
If you feel it’s very safe for you to go right up to the wasp, you can kill them and remove them. Just make sure that you’re not using a chemical pesticide spray inside. This could create a very toxic environment in your home that is unsafe for people and pets.
If wasps in your basement are very healthy and flying around, you want to stay as far from them as possible. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting attacked. If you can’t figure out a way to get up close to the wasps for removal, have a professional come to your home to take care of the problem for you.
Keeping Wasps Out of Your Basement
It’s not too difficult to keep wasps and other insects out of your basement. Like any other area of your home, you want to look around to see where you can add caulk or sealants to remove cracks and gaps.
A great way to bug-proof your basement is to turn off all the lights downstairs during the daytime when it’s light outside. Look up near the area where your foundation meets the ceiling/floor above you. Seal up these areas to keep unwanted visitors outside.
It’s uncommon for wasps to build an entire nest inside of your basement, but it’s still a good idea to watch out for a situation like that. When in doubt, always call in a professional so you can make sure that the wasp remediation process is done safely and correctly.
