Why You Should Remove a Bee or Wasp Nest

The following post Why You Should Remove a Bee or Wasp Nest was first published to http:// www.phoenixpestpros.com /.

Cool, crisp fall weather is a welcome relief in Tampa Bay, but one thing homeowners may notice is more aggressiveness from wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets. When the temperatures get cooler and their dietary needs change from protein and carbs to foods with more sugar, they may become aggressive as they seek out foods like sweet sodas and ripe fruit.

Wasps have a tendency to turn aggressive during the fall months. A single wasp colony may have over 10,000 female worker wasps whose sole purpose is to hunt for nutrients to feed the colony. Wasps in search of these sugary sweet nutrients turn potentially aggressive, ruining outdoor activities and bombarding backyard barbecues. The result? Painful stings, sometimes repeatedly, whenever human interaction is present. These painful wasp stings usually happen while shooing them away, walking barefoot near food, or swallowing wasps that have crawled into beverage cans.

To make it all worse, wasps have a built-in warning system that alerts other wasps when danger is present. All you have to do is merely swat at a yellow jacket, and an alarm pheromone is released that brings out an army of wasps to attack the aggressor.

During the rest of the year wasps are harmless for the most part, keeping to themselves unless something bothers their nests. No matter what time of year, if you have wasps near or on your home or other building, it's best to not try to remove them yourself. Once they're stirred up, bees and wasps can be quite dangerous. Call Phoenix Pest Management and Wildlife Control, who has years of experience removing wasp and bee nests.

How to Avoid Bee or Wasp Stings

Bees and wasps can sting without being provoked, and according to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), more than half a million visits to the emergency room every year are because of insect stings. Their nests can be found in unlikely places so one of the best ways to prevent stings is to find their nests by walking your property to look for them.

Depending on the type of bee or wasp, you may find a nest up high and attached to a structure, such as the eaves of a building or a porch ceiling. Or, you may find a nest down low, in a hole in the ground or under porch steps. In fact, you may run into a nest while mowing your lawn.

It may help to determine what kind of stinging insect you're dealing with, and you can identify it either by sight or by the type of nest. There are many pictures online of specific types of bees and wasps, including their nests.

Assess the threat. If a nest is located away from your house and far from where your kids play, the best choice may be to leave it alone, according to the University of Minnesota Extension. Many stinging insects use their nests for only one year, then abandon it, so the problem may go away on its own. If you go this route, you can avoid using toxic insecticides. If the nest is close to (or on) your house or in your yard, read on.

Bee and Wasp Removal

Professional pest control companies with experience in bee and wasp removal is the safest and most advised method eliminating the threat. They can safely remove the nest or hive, along with the live insects, so that no harm comes to you or your family.

If you are seeing bees, wasps, yellow jackets, or hornets around your house, don't try to get rid of them yourself and risk getting painful stings. Instead, call Phoenix Pest Management and Wildlife Control at 813-778-4181 for a free pest inspection.

Sources:
Pest Control and Bug Exterminator Blog
SafeBee