Usually not. In places with cold winters, paper wasps and yellowjackets don’t move back into last year’s nest, because the colony that built it doesn’t survive the winter.1Debbiedoos. Removing an Old Wasp Nest in Winter Won’t Stop New Wasps Next Spring: Here’s Why A grey paper nest you find in late fall or winter is almost always empty and won’t be reused. Wasps showing up in the same spot is still common, because a new colony starts from scratch nearby.
What Happens to a Wasp Colony in Winter
In early fall the colony begins to break down. The queen, the single egg-laying female who started the nest, begins producing males and new queens, and the males mate with the new queens.2North Carolina State University. Social Wasps – ENT 425 – General Entomology Then temperatures drop and food runs out. The workers, the males and the original queen all die, and the paper nest is left abandoned.3Debbiedoos. Removing an Old Wasp Nest in Winter Won’t Stop New Wasps Next Spring: Here’s Why This yearly cycle is typical of yellowjackets (the black-and-yellow wasps that often nest in the ground or in wall cavities) and several other social wasps in temperate regions.4Debbiedoos. Removing an Old Wasp Nest in Winter Won’t Stop New Wasps Next Spring: Here’s Why
The nest itself can’t carry a colony through winter. Social wasps don’t store food or heat the nest the way honey bees do, so nothing inside keeps anyone alive once insects and nectar become scarce. The nest is a nursery and a summer home, with paper cells that hold eggs, grubs and pupae. Once the young have grown up, it has no remaining job.
Newly mated queens are the exception. They leave the nest to find sheltered spots for the winter.5Debbiedoos. Removing an Old Wasp Nest in Winter Won’t Stop New Wasps Next Spring: Here’s Why They don’t head straight into hibernation, though. First they spend some time feeding, mostly on sugary foods, to build up fat reserves. That’s why late-summer and early-fall wasps hang around sweet drinks and fallen fruit, and some of them are future queens fattening up.
Once a queen finds a spot, she enters a deep dormant state, close to hibernation, that carries her through the cold.6PubMed. Effects of size, shape, genotype, and mating status on queen overwintering survival in the social wasp Vespula maculifrons She stays there until warm weather returns in spring. She winters in places like bark, wood piles, attics or wall gaps, not inside the old nest.
How a New Nest Starts Each Spring
In spring, colonies are founded by queens that mated the summer before and spent the winter dormant.7North Carolina State University. Social Wasps – ENT 425 – General Entomology Each founding queen builds a small nest with just a few cells.8North Carolina State University. Social Wasps – ENT 425 – General Entomology She lays eggs and raises the first young herself until they become adult workers, all female.9North Carolina State University. Social Wasps – ENT 425 – General Entomology Then the workers take over food gathering, care of the young and nest upkeep, while the queen keeps laying eggs.10North Carolina State University. Social Wasps – ENT 425 – General Entomology The colony grows larger through summer, which is why nests are biggest and most noticed in late summer.11North Carolina State University. Social Wasps – ENT 425 – General Entomology That’s why people say wasps appeared suddenly: a nest that was tiny in May can be large by August.
Building new is cheap for wasps. They make nest paper from rotting wood mixed with saliva.12Thermochimica Acta. Thermoanalytical investigations on paper covers of social wasps In one paper wasp, trips to collect building material were shorter than trips for food.13Revista Chilena de Historia Natural. Colony cycle, foundation strategy and nesting biology of a Neotropical paper wasp
Queens appear on warm spring days, often slow and alone, scraping wood from fences or decks. A starting nest may be only golf-ball size or smaller, hanging from one stalk. Checking eaves, sheds and play equipment every week or two in spring catches nests while they’re small.
A new nest often appears near the old one because sheltered, dry spots are limited around a house, so queens choose the same kinds of places. That’s a choice of location, not a return to the old nest.
Is It Safe to Remove an Old Nest
Taking it down in winter won’t stop new wasps next spring, because new queens are already sheltering elsewhere.14Debbiedoos. Removing an Old Wasp Nest in Winter Won’t Stop New Wasps Next Spring: Here’s Why The paper is also water-repellent and very dry, so an empty nest can hang on for months.15Thermochimica Acta. Thermoanalytical investigations on paper covers of social wasps An old nest still hanging in spring doesn’t mean wasps are using it.
To take one down, first confirm it’s inactive by watching on a mild day for any coming and going. Pick a cold day after several hard frosts, when any stragglers are sluggish or dead. Then wear gloves, knock or scrape the nest into a bag, and seal the bag. If you see live wasps, leave the nest alone; active nests are a different job.
Stay away from a nest you can’t see inside, such as one in a wall or attic, if you hear buzzing or see wasps moving in or out.
Not every old nest is empty. In mild, warm regions a colony may still be active into winter, and an enclosed nest inside a wall or roof can stay warmer than open air. If you can’t tell, call a pest professional.
Spraying an empty nest is a common mistake. Insecticide on a winter nest kills nothing because nothing is living there, and it doesn’t keep queens from building nearby in spring.
Once the nest is down, a sealed bag in the trash is fine. A dead nest may still hold dead insects and larvae, but they are harmless. Don’t put it in a compost pile or leave it on the ground nearby, where it could attract scavenging insects. Wash your hands and any tools afterward, because old nests hold dust and debris.
Do Old or Fake Nests Keep Wasps Away
Fake nests are sold on the idea that wasps are territorial and avoid building near another colony. But many reports show wasps building right next to an old nest or another active nest.16Ask an Entomologist. Do Wasp Nest Decoys Work? A queen choosing a site is looking for shelter, not scanning for rivals. One insect expert judges that decoys mostly just add a fake nest to your house.17Ask an Entomologist. Do Wasp Nest Decoys Work?
Leaving last year’s nest up as a scarecrow doesn’t work either. It does no harm, but an old nest just signals the spot is a good one.
Some things do reduce spring nests. Seal gaps in siding, soffits and vents that lead to wall spaces. Keep sweet drinks and food waste covered in late summer when workers forage, and repair rotting fences and wood that queens scrape for nest paper.
Do the sealing in late winter or early spring, before queens wake and look for places to nest, or after you’ve confirmed that nothing is living inside. Fill gaps in siding, soffits, vents and the trim around pipes with caulk or fine mesh, since wasps may nest inside the wall or attic. If you see wasps entering a gap during summer, don’t seal it, because you could trap them inside and push them into the house. Deal with that nest first.
Mud Dauber Nests Are Different
Mud daubers are solitary wasps that build hard mud cells on walls and under overhangs, and they’re common around homes.18The European Zoological Journal. The diversity of associated fauna and ecological interactions in mud-dauber wasp ( Sceliphron ) nests: a first study from Spain A female carries mud in small balls and shapes it into cells, then stocks each one with paralyzed spiders as food for her young. She seals each cell and leaves, so there is no colony to defend and no workers coming and going. Once the young have emerged, the nest is an empty shell of dried mud.
Other solitary bees and wasps often move into the old cells.19The European Zoological Journal. The diversity of associated fauna and ecological interactions in mud-dauber wasp ( Sceliphron ) nests: a first study from Spain Some reuse intact old cells, while others dig their own burrows into the mud and build new cells inside.20Annales de la Société entomologique de France (N.S.). Hymenopterous species using nests of the mud dauber wasp Sceliphron madraspatanum (Fabricius, 1781) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) in Vietnam Some bees even use the old cells as a place to spend the winter.21Annales de la Société entomologique de France (N.S.). Hymenopterous species using nests of the mud dauber wasp Sceliphron madraspatanum (Fabricius, 1781) (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) in Vietnam Scavenging beetles and other insects also feed on the contents of these nests.22The European Zoological Journal. The diversity of associated fauna and ecological interactions in mud-dauber wasp ( Sceliphron ) nests: a first study from Spain So an old mud nest may have something living in it even if the mud dauber is long gone.
Mud nests are tube- or lump-shaped and made of dried mud. Paper nests are grey and papery, with visible hexagon cells or an outer shell. Small round holes in a mud nest usually mean something has already emerged, though other insects may still be living in the remaining cells.
Because each female works alone and has no colony to protect, mud daubers are far less defensive than paper wasps or yellowjackets. They rarely sting people. They also feed on spiders, so they can reduce the spider population around your house. A few mud nests on a wall or in a shed are usually more of a nuisance than a danger.
Scraping a mud nest off with a putty knife is easy and low risk. Leaving it can give shelter to solitary bees and wasps that move into the old cells.
When a Wasp Nest Lasts More Than a Year
Climate changes the cycle. In the tropics of South America, some paper wasps start nests at any time of year and don’t hibernate.23PubMed. Coping with the ‘Indian summer’: unique nesting cycle and nest architecture of the paper wasp, Polistes wattii In mild New Zealand, yellowjacket nests sometimes survive the winter.24New Zealand Journal of Zoology. Overwintering colonies of German (Vespula germanica) and common wasps (Vespula vulgaris) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in New Zealand Few nests did so: only 4% of active German wasp colonies in one city.25New Zealand Journal of Zoology. Overwintering colonies of German (Vespula germanica) and common wasps (Vespula vulgaris) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in New Zealand Yet those few carry-over nests produced 38% of all the workers in the area.26New Zealand Journal of Zoology. Overwintering colonies of German (Vespula germanica) and common wasps (Vespula vulgaris) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in New Zealand An overwintered nest can grow huge and be far more dangerous than a normal one.
The warning sign is a big, busy nest at a time when you’d normally see only tiny new ones. Very large nests in late winter or spring are best handled by a pest professional, as are hidden ones.
Some paper wasps also reuse old combs. Occasionally, unusually large groups of paper wasp females move back onto a nest from the previous season.27Journal of Insect Behavior. Extreme Polygyny: Multi-seasonal “Hypergynous” Nesting in the Introduced Paper Wasp Polistes dominulus This has been seen in the European paper wasp, a common introduced species.28Journal of Insect Behavior. Extreme Polygyny: Multi-seasonal “Hypergynous” Nesting in the Introduced Paper Wasp Polistes dominulus Reusing old cells may save wasps the effort of building new ones.29Revista Chilena de Historia Natural. Colony cycle, foundation strategy and nesting biology of a Neotropical paper wasp Some bees also nest inside abandoned paper wasp nests sheltered under roof overhangs.30PubMed Central. No evidence for environmental filtering of cavity‐nesting solitary bees and wasps by urbanization using trap nests
To spot a reused comb, look for an old, weathered one with many wasps on it in early spring. Treat any comb with wasps on it as active.