How to keep wasps away from your SC porch all season. Tips from pros

Let’s say you’re enjoying your porch on a balmy spring day in South Carolina and you spill a little tea.

Better clean it up thoroughly, also crumbs, because spring means wasps are out looking for food and a place to nest.

The Original Bug Man in Lexington says the places they nest depends on the species, but food? They all like some sugary foods and drinks, protein, fruits and juices.

Greasy food? Oh yeah.

They also eat other insects and drink plant nectar.

Wasp nesting sites near you

Wasps like to nest in abandoned rodent nests in the ground, overgrown trees and shrubs, holes and openings in siding, and anywhere that doesn’t get too much foot traffic, the Original Bug Man said.

“Most wasps will stay away from areas where people are more active unless they’ve already built their nest,” the company said. “Then, they will defend their home and queen by any means necessary.”

As in stings.

Healthline says wasps, like bees and hornets, have stingers loaded with venom.

Let’s just say significant pain, itching, burning, swelling, and some people can experience an allergic reaction that requires medical attention.

Anaphylaxis is basically your body going into shock as a result of the venom, Healthline said, and it happens quickly.

Symptoms include:

● severe swelling of the face, lips, or throat

● hives or itching in areas of the body not affected by the sting

● breathing difficulties, such as wheezing or gasping

● dizziness

● sudden drop in blood pressure

● lightheadedness

● loss of consciousness

● diarrhea

● stomach cramps

● weak or racing pulse

SC has different types of wasps

Sunrise Pest Defense of Columbia lists: ● Yellow Jackets: aggressive and they live underground or in walls ● Bald-Faced Hornets: large paper nests in trees or under eaves ● European Hornets: nest in hollow trees, attics, and walls ● Paper Wasps: umbrella-shaped nests under eaves, porches, and sheds ● Mud Daubers: mud nests on walls and structures

How to keep wasps away

The Original Bug Man says. “Trying to control outdoor insects is difficult at best, and no precaution you take is going to be completely effective.”

Here’s what they said you should do to minimize the problem. A natural response is to plant flowers and bushes wasps don’t like. It’s the smell that deters them. So you could use marigolds, geraniums, wormwood, citronella and pennyroyal.

Fruit trees and flowering plants are going to bring them close. Sedum, aster, sunflower, zinnia, bee balm, are among the plants that wasps love. Also in your herb garden, dill, mint, basil and cilantro will attract them.

Other ways to keep wasps away are to fill in any holes, button up your garbage can, don’t over-water your garden and repair holes and cracks in siding and roof trim.

And here’s a trick — put a fake wasp nest up.

“Wasps are incredibly territorial and won’t nest anywhere within several hundred feet of another colony,” the Original Bug Man said.

Here’s the counter narrative

Melissa Strauss of Epic Gardening says don’t be so hasty.

“Wasps are often misunderstood,” she said. “These garden insects are often labeled as aggressive. Because some of them sting as a self-defense mechanism, we tend to keep our distance from them. But what if I told you that these fascinating insects are actually great to have around?”

She said they’re not as efficient at pollination as bees, but they do transfer pollen between flowers and they feed on insects and their eggs, or lay their eggs in the bodies of nuisance insects.

Yellowjackets, mud daubers, and paper wasps eat aphids, caterpillars, whiteflies, flies, and grasshoppers. And birds, frogs and some mammals eat wasps.

It’s all part of sustaining diversity, Strauss said.

This story was originally published April 4, 2026 at 6:00 AM with the headline "How to keep wasps away from your SC porch all season. Tips from pros."