Most wasp nests are made of gray paper, which the wasps produce themselves from chewed wood. Not every nest fits that description, though. Some are tiny mud pots, and some are nothing more than a hole in the ground. Whether the paper is left open or wrapped in an outer shell is the quickest clue to which wasp built it, and how carefully you need to treat it.
Open Umbrella Nests Mean Paper Wasps
Paper wasps build a small, uncovered nest made of a single comb, which is a flat layer of six-sided cells. The comb hangs from one thin, tough stalk that the wasps make from their own body secretions.1The Quarterly Review of Biology. The Adaptiveness of Social Wasp Nest Architecture They also smear that stalk with a secretion that keeps ants away.2The Quarterly Review of Biology. The Adaptiveness of Social Wasp Nest Architecture The result looks like an upside-down umbrella, with the cell openings facing down.
The paper itself is plant fiber chewed and mixed with the wasps’ saliva.3Entomological Science. Effect of cell position of nest comb on development and survival of immatures in pre‐emergence colonies of a paper wasp Polistes jokahamae (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) They chew wood, bark and even cloth to make it.4The Best Bees Company. What You Should Know About Wasp Nests: The Different Types, How to Identify Them, and Prevention Tactics – The Best Bees Company The color can shift slightly with the material, though it’s usually gray. Typical spots are tree branches, attics, door frames and shrubs.5The Best Bees Company. What You Should Know About Wasp Nests: The Different Types, How to Identify Them, and Prevention Tactics – The Best Bees Company
On a house, check under eaves, railings, light fixtures and grill lids. Looking up from below, you can see open cells holding white larvae, or cells sealed with a papery cover.
That visible comb also tells you how far along the colony is. A young nest may hold only a handful of cells and a single queen. A mature one has a few dozen to a couple of hundred cells with workers crowded on top. Paper wasp colonies stay small compared with hornet or yellowjacket colonies, so a nest the size of your palm or a bit larger is normal.
Two things get mistaken for this nest. Mud dauber tubes on a wall are hard and dirt-colored, with no open six-sided cells. And a paper wasp nest is sometimes called a honeycomb, but that only describes the cell pattern. The material is gray paper, not wax.
Enclosed Gray Balls Mean Hornets or Yellowjackets
Bald-faced hornets build large, gray, cardboard-like nests in trees.6NC State Extension Publications. Baldfaced Hornets in Landscapes Inside are three or four combs stacked like paper wasp nests, wrapped in a paper outer layer several sheets thick.7NC State Extension Publications. Baldfaced Hornets in Landscapes The single entrance hole sits near the bottom.8NC State Extension Publications. Baldfaced Hornets in Landscapes The shape is round or pear-like, and it bends around any branches it meets.9Ohio State University. A Study of Bald-Faced Hornet, Vespa maculata These nests are usually in shrubs or low trees but can be high up.10Ohio State University. A Study of Bald-Faced Hornet, Vespa maculata
Because that shell hides the combs completely, you see only a layered gray surface, often with swirled bands of slightly different shades from different batches of chewed wood. If you can see cells on an intact nest, it isn’t a hornet or yellowjacket nest. The covering mainly blocks ants from reaching the young,11The Quarterly Review of Biology. The Adaptiveness of Social Wasp Nest Architecture and it also helps keep the nest temperature steady.12PubMed. The role of moisture in the nest thermoregulation of social wasps
These nests start about walnut-sized in May and reach football size by July.13Pest Me Off. Bald-Faced Hornet White-Faced Hornet | Collin County TX A nest can grow up to about 2 feet tall and 18 inches across.14Pest Me Off. Bald-Faced Hornet White-Faced Hornet | Collin County TX
A large, exposed gray ball hanging in a tree or shrub is most likely bald-faced hornets. Yellowjackets more often hide their nests. In suburbs, just over half of common and German yellowjacket nests were in the ground, and about a third were in house walls or roofs.15New Zealand Journal of Zoology. Nest sites of common and German wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) In forests, nearly all were in the ground.16New Zealand Journal of Zoology. Nest sites of common and German wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) Often all you see is wasps flying in and out of one hole or gap.
Yellowjackets can also build exposed paper nests, so location is a strong clue but not a guarantee. The wasps help confirm it: bald-faced hornets are mostly black with white markings on the face, while yellowjackets are yellow and black.
To spot a hidden nest, watch for a steady line of wasps going into a crack, vent or lawn hole. A buzzing sound in a wall can mean a large nest inside. Don’t plug the hole, because wasps may chew their way into the house. Mowing over a ground entrance is a common way people get stung.
Asian hornet nests, where they occur, are also enclosed paper ovals. Unlike bald-faced hornet nests, the entrance is often near the top or side.
Mud Tubes and Tiny Pots
Mud dauber wasps build their homes from mud rather than paper.17Carolina Honeybees. Bee Nest vs Wasp Nest: What’s the Difference? Their nests look like clumps or rows of dried mud tubes on walls, ceilings or under decks. Potter wasp nests look like tiny clay pots or jugs with a narrow neck and opening.18Better Termite & Pest Control. Potter Wasps – ID & Control One can be smaller than a dime.19St. Charles Park District. What Do Wasp Nests Look Like? A Visual Identification Guide They’re rounded at the bottom with a small lip, sometimes hanging under a leaf.20St. Charles Park District. What Do Wasp Nests Look Like? A Visual Identification Guide
To tell the two apart, mud dauber nests are tubes or lumps, often several together. Potter wasp nests are single round pots. A small round hole in either one means the young wasp has already left.
Both wasps are solitary. Each female builds and provisions her own nest rather than working in a colony, so there’s no queen and no crowd of workers defending it. She stocks each cell or pot with paralyzed prey, such as spiders or caterpillars depending on the species, and seals an egg inside. That’s why you’re more likely to see one female arriving with a mud pellet or prey than a stream of wasps coming and going.
These wasps rarely sting people, so the nests are mostly a cosmetic issue on siding. Old ones can be scraped off once empty.
Holes and Dirt Mounds in the Lawn
Cicada killer nests show a U-shaped mound of loose dirt around a round hole.21Insectio. Cicada Killer Wasp Nest — How Do You Identify One in Your Yard? The entrance is about half an inch to 1.5 inches wide.22Insectio. Cicada Killer Wasp Nest — How Do You Identify One in Your Yard?23Purdue University Extension. Cicada Killers Soil often fans out six inches or more from the hole,24Insectio. Cicada Killer Wasp Nest — How Do You Identify One in Your Yard? and many burrows together can leave unsightly soil mounds.25Purdue University Extension. Cicada Killers
The wasps pick well-drained, light soil in full sun.26Purdue University Extension. Cicada Killers Flower beds, sidewalk edges and patchy lawns are common spots.27Insectio. Cicada Killer Wasp Nest — How Do You Identify One in Your Yard? Below the entrance, the tunnel runs 12-18 inches and 6-10 inches deep.28Purdue University Extension. Cicada Killers Side chambers hold paralyzed cicadas for the young.29Insectio. Cicada Killer Wasp Nest — How Do You Identify One in Your Yard?
Cicada killers are large wasps. The males hover and dart aggressively near the burrows, which looks alarming, but males have no stinger. The females do have stingers but use them mainly on cicadas, and rarely sting people unless handled or stepped on. A patch with many burrows often means conditions suit them, and they may return to the same spot in later years.
A yellowjacket nest can also be in the ground, so check the traffic before deciding. Yellowjackets use an existing hole, such as an abandoned rodent burrow, and don’t typically push up a fan of soil. Their holes have heavy traffic, and the wasps defend them aggressively. If many wasps stream in and out and fly at you when you approach, treat it as a yellowjacket nest and keep your distance.
Wasp Nest or Bee Nest
Wasp nests are not made of golden beeswax and look gray.30Carolina Honeybees. Bee Nest vs Wasp Nest: What’s the Difference? Wasps have no wax glands and can’t make honeycomb.31Carolina Honeybees. Bee Nest vs Wasp Nest: What’s the Difference?
Beeswax comb is golden to tan, with tidy six-sided cells and a waxy sheen. Wasp nests are dull gray paper or hard mud. A honeybee colony in a wall or tree hollow often shows a steady stream of fuzzy, golden-brown bees at a small gap. Bumblebees nest in small colonies, often in abandoned rodent holes or insulation, and build their wax into rough clumps and little pots rather than neat combs. If you can’t tell from a distance, a photo taken from a safe spot can help a local beekeeper or pest professional identify it.
Is the Nest Still Active
- Five or more wasps entering or leaving within 10 minutes suggests an active nest.32Romex Pest Control. Wasp Nest Identification & Safe Removal Guide
- Fresh construction looks clean and new gray.33Romex Pest Control. Wasp Nest Identification & Safe Removal Guide
- Traffic peaks around 10 AM to 2 PM on warm days.34Romex Pest Control. Wasp Nest Identification & Safe Removal Guide
- A nest that keeps getting bigger is still active.35Mosquito Joe. Identifying a Wasp Nest: What Does a Wasp Nest Look Like?
Watch from at least 6 feet in daylight, and use binoculars for high nests. Don’t tap or spray the nest to test it. A torn, faded nest in late fall is likely empty.
A quiet nest at dawn or dusk can look empty when it isn’t. A few wasps resting on a nest don’t prove it’s active, since resting wasps also occur on abandoned nests. Fresh gray paper and visible cell growth are better signs than a single wasp near the nest.
If wasps hover toward you from several feet away, back off slowly rather than swatting, which provokes them. If you see no entrance traffic and no wasps after several watching sessions in warm weather, the nest is likely empty.
Will Wasps Reuse the Nest Next Year
Yellowjacket and paper wasp colonies last only one year.36Washington State University Extension. Yellowjackets and Paper Wasps Only mated queens survive winter, tucked under bark, in logs or in firewood.37Washington State University Extension. Yellowjackets and Paper Wasps The old queen, workers and males die in autumn,38Hanna’s Bees. Wasp Nests – To remove or not? and each spring a queen builds a new nest from scratch.39Hanna’s Bees. Wasp Nests – To remove or not?
Abandoned nests break down over winter and aren’t used again.40Washington State University Extension. Yellowjackets and Paper Wasps Paper wasps may build a new nest right beside an old one, though.41Washington State University Extension. Yellowjackets and Paper Wasps Empty nests can be safely removed in winter.42Hanna’s Bees. Wasp Nests – To remove or not?
A nest that’s busy in September will be abandoned by winter, so you don’t need to deal with it now unless it’s where people could be stung. A cold snap or first hard frost usually ends colony activity.
Wait until it has been cold for a while and no wasps are seen near the nest before taking it down. Leaving it up doesn’t attract new wasps. Removing it also makes a new nest easier to spot next spring, because fresh paper stands out against a clean surface.
In spring, check eaves and sheds for walnut-sized starts. A tiny early nest with one queen is the easiest to deal with. Sealing gaps in siding and vents over winter helps keep queens out.