Eliminating Grass Carrying Wasps: Effective Control Tips

If you see a wasp flying around with flakes of grass in its legs, it could be a fairly intimidating site. But don’t worry; here’s how to get rid of grass carrying wasps from your home and garden.

We know you might dealing with wasps invading your space, potentially putting health and property at risk. If you need help identifying and eliminating the infestation at the source, connect with our recommended local professional near you.

The grass-carrying wasp is best known for carrying blades of grass to outline their nest and insects like tree crickets to feed their larvae. 

They build their nesting material above the ground, usually in wood cavities, abandoned insect galleries, and hollow plant stems. 

Thus, it is pretty easy to find a grass-carrying wasp cocoon in your home’s wooden areas or garden. 

Even though this type of wasp isn’t aggressive toward humans, it can be annoying because it builds its nests in the frames of storm windows. 

So, sometimes, it is necessary to get rid of them. In this article, we discuss how you can do that. 

What Do Grass Carrying Wasps Look Like?

A native of North America, these wasps are a common site across several American states. They are from the genus “Isodontia.” To identify these wasps, just look for the following features:

• These thread-waisted wasps are approximately 7/10th of an inch long. 
• They have a black body with reddish-brown wings and white hair on the thorax. 
• Their larvae are grub-like, with no legs and a cream-colored body. 
• They are solitary wasps, so they will not be seen in a swarm.
• Lastly, you will often see them flying around with blades or dry grass and tree crickets tucked underneath their legs. 

How The Grass Carrying Wasp Prepares Her Nest, and Why It’s a Nuisance?

The adult wasps usually come out in July and August to mate and prepare the nest site for the larvae. These wasps are parasitoids; they lay their larvae on insects that then feed on the same. 

Their nests are made in stems of plants that have been hollowed out or similar nests made by other wasps.

Female wasps collect nesting material, like blades of dry grass and hay stems, to build their nests. 

She leaves the nesting material outside the spot and enters inside to check if everything is alright. She then pulls the material in to prepare the nest.  

Once she is done with the nest, her next task is to find food for the larvae. 

She usually hunts tree crickets from nearby gardens. She first captures the cricket and paralyzes it with her sting. 

Once the prey becomes immobile, she would fly it into the nest. Even though her prey becomes paralyzed, it continues to be alive.

After provisioning the nest with food, the female wasp lays eggs in the nest. Once the larvae emerge, it eats up the immobile insect, making sure to eat the brain and heart the last. 

Even though these wasps are non-threatening to humans, they are nuisance pests. 

They may sting human skin if provoked or threatened by any means. They also end up building cocoons in places like the frames of storm windows, which need to be then cleaned out. 

Do These Wasps Sting?

The grass-carrying wasps are usually non-stinging insects, but they may sting in rare cases, that is, if they feel threatened or provoked. 

However, their sting is not harmful unless you are allergic to insects. If you have a history of insect allergy, it is advisable to seek medical help. 

Are They Beneficial? 

Grass wasps are beneficial insects. Since they consume nectar from various flowering plants, they are pollinators. 

They also help you eliminate tree crickets from your garden, which can otherwise be a nuisance due to the sound they create in the evening. 

Some of them may even damage your plants though most crickets are not garden pests. 

How To Remove Them Naturally? 

Grass-carrying wasps can be annoying to the point that you may get rid of them from your home. If you are looking to remove them naturally, here are a few ways. 

Stop them from coming inside your house

The best way to remove their entry in your garden or house is to block or seal their entryways. They usually enter from cracks in door frames, vents, torn screens, window cracks, dampers, etc. 

So, cover these passages with cardboard, wooden covers, louvers, or anything that would stick for a long time. 

Eliminate their food source

Most grass wasps enter the house in search of protein-rich food. So, make sure to get rid of leftover food by removing it from garbage bins. 

You should also make pet food, open compost piles, and uncovered garbage bins or containers untraceable for these wasps. 

Avoid bringing or keeping sweet fruits or juice in the garden or around the wood cavity area. 

Remember to remove or throw away garden fruits, especially those fallen from trees. The wasps will leave soon if they cannot find what they are primarily searching for. 

Don’t wear bright clothes and perfumes

Grass-carrying wasps love to feed on nectar from flowering plants and, sometimes, cannot tell the difference between them and a human wearing vibrant colors. 

So, make sure to dress appropriately during the ‘wasp’ season. 

Moreover, grass-carrying wasps are attracted to the smell of flowers as well. 

So, avoid wearing strong fragrances during the spring season, mainly if you can easily spot grass wasps around your house. 

Wasp traps

Do you know that wasps can fly up to 3,000 ft from their nests? If they find a food source in and around your house, getting rid of it will be pretty challenging. 

In case you have a similar situation in your place, it is advisable to put on wasp traps at several places. 

You can either use DIY traps or buy them from the market. Spring is the best time to introduce a good quality wasp trap in your house. 

Fake wasp nests

Since grass wasps are solitary; they wouldn’t build their nest next to other wasps or insects. 

When you hang a fake wasp nest, they won’t develop their site close to it and instead find another nesting site. 

Don’t squish them 

When you squash a wasp, they release a chemical that attracts other wasps in the area. 

So, when you end up squishing them, you invite a whole population of wasps to show up at your door. Make sure not to attack or squish wasps.

Use plant herbs 

Plant herbal plants in and around your house, such as eucalyptus, citronella, thyme, and spearmint. These plant herbs naturally repel wasps like grass-carrying wasps.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrap Up 

We hope this article will help you get rid of grass-carrying wasps from your surroundings. 

We recommend you follow natural ways to remove them from your home since pesticides poison the environment. 

Keeping wasp traps or fake wasp nests is one of the easiest ways to avoid having to deal with these wasps.

Thank you for reading!