The answer is simple. Wasps are attracted to movement and smell. They are also a little more intelligent than people give them credit for.
You see, wasps have developed an instinctive fear of humans because we are so much bigger than they are. When they sense a human presence nearby, they instinctively fly away from the threat. However, if they are curious about what you are doing and why you’re there, they might circle around you in an attempt to figure out what’s going on.
If you were walking through a field or meadow in which there were lots of flowers and insects, it would make sense that the wasps would start following you around. After all, if there’s something worth eating in one place, there’s probably something worth eating in another place too!
Wasps follow you because they feel threatened and are protecting their nests. Wasps are not particularly cruel creatures who want to chase or sting you. However, if they feel that they are in danger, they will do anything to protect themselves.
Why Do Wasps Follow You?
- You are near their nest. Wasps are very protective of their nests and will attack anything that they perceive as a threat. If you are near their nest, they may follow you in order to chase you away.
- You are wearing bright colours. Wasps are attracted to bright colours, so if you are wearing something like a yellow or orange shirt, they may be more likely to follow you.
- You are sweating. Sweat contains amino acids that wasps can smell, and this can attract them.
- You are waving your arms around. This can be seen as a threat by wasps, and they may follow you in order to defend themselves.
- You are running away. This can also be seen as a threat by wasps, and they may follow you in order to catch you.
If you see a wasp following you, the best thing to do is to stay calm and walk away slowly. Do not wave your arms around or run away, as this will only make the wasp more likely to sting you. If the wasp continues to follow you, you can try to shoo it away with a newspaper or a broom. If the wasp still does not leave you alone, you may need to seek professional help.
Do Wasps Remember Who You Are?
It’s a question that has plagued humanity since the dawn of time — do wasps remember who you are?
And it turns out, they actually do. They recognise people who’ve annoyed them in the past and will sting them again more often than not. That’s according to new research from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and published in PLOS Biology.
The team of researchers wanted to find out if an individual wasp could learn to recognise humans by sight or smell, and whether it would remember this information over time. So they captured dozens of Vespula vulgaris (common yellow jackets) and trained them to associate a particular colour pattern with food reward by giving them either a sweet treat or nothing at all depending on whether they saw the correct pattern.
Afterwards, they tested the wasps’ ability to recognise these colours by putting them in an enclosure with two different coloured patterns: one that had been rewarded when paired with food and one that hadn’t been rewarded when paired with food.
The wasps were given five minutes to look around before being released into the enclosure; if they went for one particular colour then it was assumed they remembered which one had been rewarded before and might attack anyone wearing it again.
What To Do When A Wasp Lands On You
If a wasp lands on you, or near you, don’t panic. It’s probably not going to attack. The most important thing is to not threaten or provoke it.
If the wasp is on you, then gently brush it away with your hand. If possible, use something like a magazine or newspaper that it can crawl onto and fly away from you easily.
If a wasp is hovering around you, but hasn’t landed yet, then don’t try to swat at it or wave your hands at it — this will only make it more likely that it will attack. Instead, slowly back away from the wasp as much as possible (keeping an eye on where it’s going), without taking your eyes off it for too long so that you don’t accidentally bump into something else in the process. Here are some tips to avoid being followed by wasps:
- Avoid wearing bright colours, especially yellow and orange.
- Avoid sweating, if possible.
- Do not wave your arms around or run away if you see a wasp.
- If you see a wasp nest problem, do not disturb it.
- If you have a wasp problem in your home, call a professional pest control company.
If you need help managing a wasps nest, call Eliminate Ltd. We offer wasp nest removal throughout the UK and are highly trained to eradicate nests in commercial and domestic properties. If you need effective wasp removal in Stockport, call us today.
