The long, lazy nights of summer call for dinners with friends and family. It’s that time of year when it’s pleasant to be outside, and the best way to celebrate is with the soundtrack of clinking glasses, chitchat, and laughter; the vibe is easy and relaxed, and the hours drift away.

Nothing ruins outdoor dining like uninvited guests. Ants crawling, mosquitos biting, flies buzzing, and wasps stinging can leave diners with a bad taste in their mouths—and can ultimately lead to a bad review.

Mosquitoes

There’s nothing worse than constantly swatting away mosquitoes and dealing with itching skin while trying to eat outdoors on a lovely evening. Eliminating standing water (think water features and flowerpots) can help deter these pesky pests from making themselves feel at home at your restaurant.

Flies

Eating outside during the summer months is an open invitation for flies to dive into meals. They aren’t just pesky; they’re also unsanitary and can contaminate the food on your patio. Flies generally make their homes close to food sources and prefer to gather around lighted areas.

Ants

Ants are tricky to get rid of once they’ve made their appearance. They’re social and live in colonies that can reach the hundreds of thousands—and that’s not the type of guests your diners want to mingle with. Most ants make themselves at home in soil and send out their workers to find and collect sugary foods, meats, and grease (AKA party snacks). Not only are they annoying, but they can also damage lawns and inflict painful bites.

Wasps

Unfortunately, there tend to be more not too far away when one wasp is spotted. Paper wasps build aerial nests hanging from trees and roofs and can become aggressive (stinging!) when defending their nests. When locating a nest restaurant, it’s best to let the professionals with the proper equipment and training remove it safely.