Wasps

Paper wasps typically build open coned nests such as these in covered areas such as roof eaves, overhangs, lamp posts, picnic tables barbeque grills and any small covered structure. However, they do enter homes through the breather space at the edge of the roofline. They also enter through bathroom, stove and dryer vents.

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Yellow Jackets

All wasps will defend their nests, but the Yellow Jackets and hornets are the most aggressive. They can be distinguished from bees by their thin “waists.” Bees are thick-wasted. They fold their wings lengthwise when at rest. Like all wasps, yellow jackets prey on a variety of insects and other arthropods. Yellow jackets will also forage on foods that people eat, especially sweets and meats.

They are considered beneficial insects, eating other insects. The yellow jacket colony will remain active for only one summer, after which the queens will fly away to start more colonies. The remaining ones, die at the end of the summer, the nest is not reused.

HABITS:
They usually nest in the ground, but will nest also in railroad ties, wall voids, and other above ground locations. In the spring, most yellow jackets will feed on insects. Many homeowners see”bees” flying around their hedges. These “bees” are usually yellow jackets and are there to eat insects on the foliage. Spraying the hedges with an appropriate insecticide will kill the food source of the yellow jackets, and they will soon leave the area.

In the fall, wasp colonies have come the largest size, and foraging workers may be a serious nuisance as they search for food people eat or discarded food.

If a colony is disturbed, they can become very aggressive and sting. Stings are mostly temporary, but painful. For allergic individuals a single sting may result in a serious reaction, requiring medical treatment.

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Bumble Bees

Are Bumble Bees and Carpenter Bees the same?
Bumble bees and carpenter bees are often mistaken for each other, but they are actually very different. Bumble bees do not nest in tunnels hollowed out of wood or hover around trim boards or deck rails. Also unlike carpenter bees , bumble bees are Very Aggressive! The best way to tell the difference, is to look at the abdomen (rear end). the bumble bee has an obvious hairy abdomen , where the carpenter bees rear is shiny.

What is a Bumble Bee?
Bumble bees typically prefer nesting in mulch or deteriorating organic substance like pine straw piles,abandoned rodent burrows, under piles of grass clippings or leaves, stones, logs, etc. Occasionally bumble bees will establish a nest above ground in a wall, firewood pile, shed, crawl space or attic.

As social insects, bumble bees live in colonies. Each spring newly hatched queens that have survived over wintering will leave their birth nest to find a suitable nesting site and establish her colony. Her first brood of eggs mature into workers that forage on pollen and nectar for food. The workers do produce honey, but it is not edible to humans. The bumble bees colony grows larger over the summer and is usually discovered while gardening or mowing the lawn. The bumble bees will vigorously attack to defend their nest, so they are considered a safety concern.

I think I may have those!
Bumble bees can be a little tricky. The nest is not always in the location it seems to be. Spraying or pouring chemicals in their direction will usually do nothing more than make them angry. As with most dangerous pests , bumbles are best left to professionals.

Call us for an inspection. Bumble bees can be safely and inexpensively removed.

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Carpenter Bees

Carpenter Bees lay larva in tunnels that they burrow. The larva will stay in the tunnels until they are mature enough to do the job they were born for.

Habitats for Carpenter Bees include anything made of wood (decks, window seals, swing sets, etc) Harder woods stand a better chance against these small carpenters then softer woods like pine.

DAMAGE: Small holes are left in wood as shown above. These large bees will eat decks and other wood based areas if left untreated. You will normally find small piles of sawdust around damaged area.

REMOVAL AND TREATMENT: In order to completely remove Carpenter Bees, the entire tunneling system needs to be treated. Each entrance is then dusted with a powder that will get on the bees as the enter and leave the tunnels. The longer Carpenter Bees are allowed to inhabit a location, the more difficult it is to locate all the tunnels and treat them.

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Hornets

Hornets have stings used to kill prey and defend nests. Hornet stings are more painful to humans than typical wasp stings because hornet venom contains a large amount (5%) of acetylcholine. Individual hornets can sting multiple times; unlike typical bees, hornets and wasps do not die after stinging because their stingers are not barbed and are not pulled out of their bodies.

The toxicity of hornet stings varies according to hornet species; some deliver just a typical insect sting, while others are among the most venomous known insects. Single hornet stings are not in themselves fatal, except sometimes to allergic victims. Multiple stings by non-European hornets may be fatal because of highly toxic species-specific components of their venom. The stings of the Asian Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica) are the most venomous known.

People who are allergic to wasp venom are also allergic to hornet stings. Allergic reactions are commonly treated with epinephrine (adrenaline) injection using a device such as an EpiPen, with prompt followup treatment in a hospital. In severe cases, allergic individuals may go into anaphylactic shock and die unless treated promptly.

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Cicada Killers

Although cicada killers are large, female cicada killer wasps are not aggressive and rarely sting unless they are grasped roughly, stepped upon with bare feet, or caught in clothing, etc. One author who has been stung indicates that, for him, the stings are not much more than a “pinprick”. Males aggressively defend their perching areas on nesting sites against rival males but they have no sting. Although they appear to attack anything that moves near their territories, male cicada killers are actually investigating anything that might be a female cicada killer ready to mate. Such close inspection appears to many people to be an attack, but male and female cicada killers don’t land on people and attempt to sting. If handled roughly females will sting, and males will jab with a sharp spine on the tip of their abdomen. Both sexes are well equipped to bite, as they have large jaws; however, they don’t appear to grasp human skin and bite. They are non-aggressive towards humans and usually fly away when swatted at, instead of attacking. Cicada killers exert a natural control on cicada populations and thus may directly benefit the deciduous trees upon which their cicada prey feed.

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Honey Bees

Most of the time, Honey Bees will be spotted when they are traveling with a new Queen from an existing nest to find a new location. Once in awhile people will get a nest of Honey Bees in their walls or attics. When they do, we will remove it and do our best to relocate the hive using one of several methods. The hive not only needs to be moved but the area also needs to be cleaned from all remnants of the honey and the hive to keep other insects from being drawn to the area.

 
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Call Crocodile Dave to get rid of the Honey Bees! (770) 931 – 4397