Wasps in New Hampshire

The true red wasp is a Southern species — absent in New Hampshire. Here's how to ID it nationally, and what the reddish wasp on your NH porch really is.

The cicada killer is New England's largest wasp — up to 2 inches — but it's a docile, solitary gentle giant, and it's NOT a murder hornet. How to ID it in NH.

NH's two paper wasps — native northern and invasive European — how to tell them apart by their orange antennae, their 3.0 sting, and when to call a pro.

That big glossy-black wasp is a great black wasp — a docile, solitary gentle giant that hunts katydids and almost never stings. Here's how to ID it in NH.

Yes, genuinely — two peer-reviewed field studies found real repellency from peppermint and other essential oils. Here's what the research shows, and its limits.

An exterior wasp nest is inert paper glued to siding — cosmetic only. The real exception: a yellowjacket colony inside a wall void, which can thin drywall.

A left-alone nest grows through summer, then the colony dies at the first hard frost and isn't reused. The real risk isn't your house — it's stings.

Wasp colonies build all summer, peak aggressive in Aug–Sep, then die at the first NH frost — only mated queens survive winter. See the month guide.

Summer in NH is the bite-and-sting peak — mosquitoes breeding all season, tick nymphs at their disease-driving height, and wasps at their aggressive max.

Paper wasps build open nests under eaves and hunt insects to feed their young. Nesting sites and prey explain it, the usual reasons, nothing more.

Cicada killer wasps aren't drawn to your house — they need bare, sandy soil in full sun to dig burrows. Dense turf actually keeps them away entirely.

Dish soap won't safely take down a wasp nest. Honest, safety-first guidance on natural stinging insect control — and exactly when to stop and call a pro.

Every wasp nest starts from one queen each spring. Seal soffit and eave voids in late winter, and cut summer food sources — the sourced NH prevention checklist.

Cicada killer wasps look terrifying at 2 inches long but are solitary, docile "gentle giants" that rarely sting. Here's the honest, low-risk DIY approach.

Only a small, exposed, early-season paper wasp nest is safe to remove yourself, and only at night. Honest, sourced guidance on when to DIY vs. call a pro.

Fast-knockdown aerosols kill wasp nests at night, but wall-void colonies, tall nests, and sting allergies are pro-only. See the safe, legal DIY steps for NH.