Wasps hovering around garden beds usually have a reason, and the answer often involves food, water, shelter, or a combination of all three. A garden can look like a buffet, a watering hole, and a cozy apartment complex to a wasp, all at the same time.
That does not automatically mean a nest lurks under the nearest leaf. Many wasps visit gardens while hunting caterpillars and other insects, sipping nectar from flowers, collecting water, or searching for a protected place to build. The trick involves figuring out whether the wasps simply pass through as helpful garden visitors or whether they keep returning to a spot that deserves a closer, more cautious look.
