Keeping wasps away from the dining table
By Wespenprofis.ch · Reviewed by:Fachbewilligung Schädlingsbekämpfung VFB-S · Updated: 3 July 2026
At a glance
Cover food and drinks, avoid open sugary drinks, and never flap or blow at wasps — that provokes attacks. A decoy feeding station with overripe fruit placed some distance away draws wasps deliberately away from the table. Sugar-water traps right next to the table are counterproductive and only attract more wasps.
Why wasps find your table in the first place
A laid table with cake, grilled meat or open sugary drinks is a reliable food source for wasps in late summer. As soon as a single wasp has found a feeding spot, she marks it for the rest of her colony – further wasps then find their way there more quickly. Anyone who makes the table uninteresting to wasps before the first one even shows up has already won half the battle.
What you can do at the table itself
Protect food with a mesh cover or a cloth, put a lid or a coaster over open glasses and use drinking straws – that way no wasp ends up in your glass unnoticed. Clear away leftover meat and sausage promptly instead of leaving it on the plate. If a wasp does turn up, staying calm helps more than fighting back: do not swat at it, do not flap and do not blow. Movements like these read as a threat to wasps and noticeably increase the risk of a sting. In most cases the wasp flies off again of its own accord after a short while if it finds nothing.
Distraction rather than confrontation
One proven trick is decoy feeding: place a piece of overripe fruit, grapes or melon for example, some distance away from where you are sitting. Wasps prefer the easily accessible, strongly scented source and tend to leave the actual table alone. We would advise against the classic sugar-water wasp trap near the table, however: it attracts additional wasps and also kills beneficial insects along the way. A fine mist from a water spray bottle briefly irritates individual wasps without making them aggressive.
When it is more than the odd wasp
If large numbers of wasps keep appearing in the same place, it is worth looking at the possible causes in our guide Was zieht Wespen an. General measures against wasps outdoors can be found in the pillar guide Wespen vertreiben, and tips specifically for balconies and terraces in the guide Wespenschutz Balkon. If there is a nest close to your seating area, you should not tackle it yourself but call in a professional (/wespennest-entfernen). Our overview at /arten shows which species is visiting your table.
Frequently asked questions
Why do wasps become more aggressive at the table in late summer?
That is when colonies reach their maximum size, the queen stops laying eggs and the workers increasingly forage for sugary food for themselves rather than for the brood.
Does it help to simply blow the wasp away?
No. Blowing and frantic flapping act as an attack signal and increase the risk of a sting. Staying calm is safer.
Is a sugar-water trap on the table itself any use?
No, quite the opposite. It attracts additional wasps from the surroundings and so leads to more insects at the table, not fewer.