I have a Wasp or Hornet problem in or near my home, help!
Wasps & Hornets are a frightening pest for many people. Setting up their nests near homes, they fly swiftly around doors and entryways and pack a powerful sting if they feel threatened.
If you see them coming and going from a opening in or near your home, keep people and pets away from the area and contact us to schedule a licensed exterminator to come down and remove the nest.
Take a picture of the bee or wasp as well as the location where they are, so we can positively identify what type of stinging insect they are and text the info to 845-445-8273 or email them to us at RocklandBeeRemoval@gmail.com.
Treatment:
The most effective way to get rid of wasps or hornets is to treat the main cause of the problem – the nest. Removing a nest can be very dangerous. Wasps inside the nest will feel threatened and often become aggressive. This could cause them to sting you and others as they defend their nest and young. To reduce the risk of stings to you and your family, arrange for a professional wasp nest treatment. This effective solution will eliminate the wasps and keep you safe from the threat of stings.
Need help? Call Rockland Bee Removal at (845) 445-8273 or contact us online to schedule your inspection and nest treatment.
Benefits of Professional Treatment:
- Your Rockland Bee Removal Technician has the proper equipment and products to control wasps in a safe and effective manner without endangering people or pets.
- To get rid of the nest from your premises, the technician will dress in protective stinging insect gear to keep them safe from stings.
- The technician will make sure no people are nearby while the nest is being treated to eliminate the possibility of stings.
- Depending on where the nest is located and the type of wasp or hornet, the technician will apply a customized treatment of aerosols, dusts and liquids to the nest.
- Our qualified technicians have the expertise to effectively control the insects.
Many wasps including yellow jackets frequently construct their nests below ground, making it difficult to treat. Sometimes nests are below concrete slabs or piles of rock or vegetation. It can be difficult to treat the nest in these instances and activity will continue despite your repeated attempts at control.
A mature wasp nest only found in late summer will almost certainly require professional treatment due to the high risk of wasp stings. By this stage, a nest may contain thousands of individual wasps.
Stinging insects are dangerous. DO NOT try treating the nest yourself - if in doubt get professional help.
- Do not attempt treating the nest yourself if you suspect you are sensitive to wasp stings, if the nest is indoors or the nest is inaccessible.
- Do not treat a wasp nest when on a ladder or from a raised height unless you have bee proof clothing, including a head-net.
Attempting to handle it yourself?
Not a good idea, click HERE to see why.
Below are most common Bees, Wasps & Hornets that we deal with.
Yellow Jacket Wasp
Identification:
- Found worldwide, they are the most common wasp in the USA
- Wings: Two pairs of wings and a pinched waist.
- Size: about 3/8” to 5/8”
- Color: Yellow & black pattern that appears striped along its body
- Nest Type: They make nests out of grey or brown paper-like material, sometimes round.
- Nest Location: Their nests can be found inside structures, hanging from structures, and in the ground
- Colony Size: 4,000 – 5,000 wasps
- Very Aggressive
Behavior:
Social wasps such as Yellow Jackets live in colonies, which may number in the thousands. Within these colonies, female workers perform all duties within the nest. These wasps are aggressive species and will sting when threatened. Unlike honey bees, wasps are capable of stinging multiple times.
How Serious Are Yellow Jackets?
Yellow Jackets near a home can ruin outdoor activities and make yard work difficult. They may become hostile if threatened or disturbed. Their stings are painful but typically nonthreatening to those without allergies to the wasp’s venom.
Bald Faced Hornet
Identification:
- Found throughout North America
- Size: Average size is .75”
- Color: Predominantly black with white stripes
- Nests Type: Build round grey nests out of paper and paper-like materials
- Nest Location: Nests most often on sturdy plants or high trees, but sometimes near buildings and homes
- Colony Size: 200 – 700 hornets
- Aggressive
Behavior:
The bald faced hornet is native to North America, and it can be found in most of the 48 contiguous states and D.C., as well as throughout Canada and Alaska. It’s a stout-bodied insect that’s distinguished by its black-and-white striping and stark ivory-white markings on the face. Hornets live in large colonies that typically comprise 200 to 700 workers, plus the queen.
Their nests attract attention because of their size and shape. In the springtime, the queen collects cellulose from old wood, chews the wood (while adding her own saliva) and then uses this papery paste to build the nest. When completed, bald-faced hornet nests are the size of a football or as big as a basketball.
How Serious are Bald- Faced Hornets?
Bald faces hornets are aggressive by nature which makes them a threat to humans who wander too close to a nest or when a nest is constructed too close to human habitation. They vigorously defend the nest, with workers stinging repeatedly, as is common among other bees and wasps. Nests should not be handled without the assistance of a pest control expert.
European Hornet
Identification:
- Found throughout North America
- Size: Average size is 1”
- Color: Yellow & red head, Yellow striped abdomen with black reddish markings
- Nests Type: Tan colored paper nests.
- Nest Location: Nests are built in protected cavities such as walls or hollow trees.
- Colony Size: 200 – 700 hornets
- Aggressive
Behavior:
European hornets (Vespa crabro L.) were first reported in North America about 1840 in New York. Since then, they have spread to most of the eastern United States, reaching as far west as Louisiana and the Dakotas. European hornets are also commonly called the brown or giant hornets, and are sometimes mistakenly referred to as “Japanese” hornets which is a different species more commonly called the “Asian giant hornet” (Vespa mandarinia Smith). The European hornet is the largest and, technically, the only, true hornet found in the United States, although the large Asian giant hornet has been found recently in Washington state and previously across the border in Canada.
Adults somewhat resemble yellowjackets, but are much larger (about 1 – 11⁄2 inches) and are brown with wide yellow markings rather than black with yellow markings. Queens, which may be seen in the spring, are more reddish than brown, and are larger than the workers. The head of European hornets is reddish-brown, becoming yellowish near the face. Their nests are typically built in hollow trees, but they are often found in barns, sheds, attics, and wall voids of houses. Unlike its cousin, the bald-faced hornet, European hornets rarely build nests that are free hanging or in unprotected areas. Frequently, the nest is built at the cavity opening, rather than deep within. The outside of the exposed nest will be covered with coarse, thick, tan, paper-like material fashioned from decayed wood fibers. Nests built in wall voids may emit a noticeable stench.
How Serious are European Hornets?
European hornets generally avoid conflict with humans but will aggressively defend their nest and food sources. Their sting can be life-threatening to people who are allergic to their venom.
Carpenter Bee
Identification:
- Shape: Large and hairy bee
- Color: Fuzzy black with yellow hairs on the thorax and the top of the abdomen
- Size: Up to 1 inch long
- Nest: They excavate tunnels inside older wood starting with a 1/2 inch round hole.
- Nest Location: They may bore and live in any wood that they find attractive. homes, play-sets & decks are the most common.
- Inherently Gentle
Behavior:
Carpenter Bees can look like Bumble Bees; large, with yellow and black patterns. They are about one inch and may have some metallic reflections ranging from dark blue, yellow, green or purple tints. Their abdomens are shiny, which are different from Bumble Bees, which have more hair. They are commonly sighted in the spring hovering like a helicopter around eaves, porch rails, and under decks. Some times carpenter bees are called “wood bees”, because they bore into wood. Carpenter Bees do not eat the wood for nutrition. Carpenter bees, as pollinators eat nectar and pollen from flowering plants.
How Serious Are Carpenter Bees?
While fairly harmless, carpenter bees increase the number of nests over the course of years, causing noticeable damage to wood. They can also create stains with their feces.
Bumble Bee
Identification:
- Most common is the Eastern Bumblebee seen to the right
- Shape: large and hairy bee
- Color: Fuzzy black with yellow hairs on the thorax and the top of the abdomen
- Size: Up to 1 inch long
- Nest: Their nests can be found inside structures and under the ground
- Inherently Gentle
Behavior:
Bumblebees usually build their nests close to the ground, under piles of wood, dead leaves and compost piles or even below ground in abandoned rodent tunnels. A typical colony of Eastern bumblebees consists of more than 450 individual bees.
How Serious Are Bumblebees?
The common eastern bumble bee can be found throughout the east coast from Maine to Florida and west through Ohio. It’s often seen flying through the air in spring and summer near gardens, farms, and backyards. Their nests are located in woodlands and fields. Bumble bees are important food sources for other wildlife.
The common eastern bumble bee is so successful at pollinating fruit that it’s been introduced in the western U.S and overseas to help in crop harvests. The success of these programs is still being determined, as well as the harm that can be caused by releasing a non-native species.
Cicada Killer Wasp
Identification:
- Shape: Hairy robust wasps.
- Color: Reddish and black areas on the thorax (middle part), and are black to reddish brown marked with light yellow stripes on the abdominal (rear) segments. The wings are brownish.
- Size: 0.6 to 2.0 inches long.
- Nest: These wasps burrow underground where they lay their eggs on a captured Cicada.
- Do not attempt to sting unless handled roughly
Cicada Killer Wasps (Sphecius speciosus) are solitary wasps and appear during the summer months. Cicada Killers is also known as a digger wasps. These wasps are large and can be intimidating, but are not aggressive like other wasps like yellow jackets in the social wasp category. They pollinate plants and are considered beneficial.
Behavior:
The Cicada Killer Wasps will gravitate towards flowers, feeding on flower nectar. These wasps dig holes or burrows, preferably in a soft, sandy and well-drained soil. They may be found on sloped terrains, in flower beds, along with patio edges or sidewalks, as well as in the yard. The Cicada Killer Wasp stings Cicada (locusts) to paralyze them and feed them to the larvae. Many of the developing larvae may come out as adults the following year. The adult Cicada killers feed on flower nectar. Cicada Killer Wasps do not defend their nests like yellow jackets, which are social wasps.
Treatment:
Rockland Bee Removal will come treat the holes in your lawn where the wasps are nesting in. We will apply an insect dust that will eliminate the wasps. It’s important to understand that every day there will be pupae hatching replacing the wasps that die from our treatments. This happens for about 2-4 weeks every spring and early summer. Basically there are a bunch of pupae in the ground from last year’s nests which overwintered. These pupae will release the adults every spring and summer and when they emerge, their goal is to mate and continue their species by creating new nests in your yard.
So when we dust, we will be killing the currently hatched population. The dust will take effect immediately but in general, it’s not uncommon to see new holes within 5-7 days as more pupae hatch.
THIS DOESN’T MEAN THE PREVIOUS TREATMENT DIDN’T WORK; IT JUST MEANS WE NEED TO DUST AGAIN!!
If you would like to treat your home for cicada killer activity, Rockland Bee Removal can provide a single treatment to eliminate the existing females from your property. But because male cicada killers do not create nests in the ground, there is no guarantee that the males will stop free-flying. The holes in the ground created by the females will be treated individually. It is important to note that this treatment can only be performed once to treat existing holes. RBR cannot guarantee this service beyond the initial treatment because new holes can be created from new cicada killer populations that find their way onto your property. If you would like us to come down again there will be an additional charge.
Ground Nesting / Miner Bee
Identification:
- Extremely similar to Honeybees
- Shape: Small and Furry Bee
- Color: Orange-brown (golden) with black markings on the abdomen
- Size: 0.3 to .06 inches long.
- Nest: These wasps burrow underground in dirt piles similar to ant holes
- Do not attempt to sting unless handled roughly
Spring brings the return of the birds and the bees to our yards and gardens. While sounds of birdsong may be a pleasant herald of spring, many people are less happy about the reappearance of wasps and bees to their garden. In particular, the ground nesting bees that increase their activity in many lawns in early spring can alarm many people; particularly when their “dirt pile” nests start appearing in the lawn.
Behavior:
Ground nesting or miner bees are solitary bees that create underground galleries, with queens living individually and raising their own young. The entrances to the nests are small piles or patches of bare soil. They do not form hives, but several females may nest in the same area. Ground bee queens do not defend their nesting areas and are very docile and unlikely to sting, posing little or no threat to people. The males often patrol an area inhabited by females seeking mates. While the males can be very active and seem aggressive, they lack a sting and are also harmless. Like other bees, they are active foragers of nectar and pollen from flowers, making them beneficial pollinators.
Their nest entrances are small mounds of soil a few inches across. While they may briefly detract from the aesthetics of a well-tended lawn, they do absolutely no harm to the grass or soil—even improving it as their nests function as aeration holes, improving the penetration of water and nutrients. Eventually, as the nests are abandoned after the spring nesting season, the soil washes back into place with rain, disappearing completely.
If you find mounds of soil similar to anthills but with larger openings, they might be ground bee nests.
Always observe a bee’s nest from a safe distance when you’re trying to identify a species. Watch for bees flying low over the ground and entering the burrow. Do you see a single bee coming and going, or multiple bees entering the nest? If just a single bee entering a dirt mound they can be a ground bee nest.
Paper Wasp
Identification:
- Similar to Yellow Jacket Wasps but more slender.
- Wings: Two pairs of wings and a pinched waist.
- Size: about 3/4”
- Color: There are many species. Some are yellow & black, others have red markings. And there are some that are fully black or brown with yellow legs.
- Nest Type: They make nests out of grey or brown paper-like material, usually in an umbrella shape
- Nest Location: Their nests can be found inside structures & hanging from structures.
- Colony Size: 10-100 wasps
- Aggressive
Behavior:
Paper Wasps are 3/4 inch long, slender, narrow-waisted wasps with smoky black wings that are folded lengthwise when at rest. Paper wasps are usually brown with yellow markings on the head, thorax and bands on the abdomen. Paper wasps should not be confused with yellowjackets and bald-faced hornets. Paper wasp nests are open and cells are not covered with a cap (in an envelope).
How Serious Are Paper Wasps?
Paper Wasps are considered beneficial because they assist in pollination by feeding on nectar, and they control pest insect populations by feeding them to their larvae. However, despite their ecological benefits, paper wasp nests should not be permitted to develop in or near the home. Stings from paper wasps are extremely painful and may produce serious reactions to people who are allergic to the venom.
