Stinging Insects

Stinging Insect Education

What is a stinging insect? Can they hurt you and your loved ones? Stinging insects are members of the Hymenoptera order. Surprisingly, this group is also home to ants. Some of the most common stinging insects include hornets, bees, and wasps. Although you have to worry about getting stung, stinging insects are beneficial to the environment because they pollinate plants and crops. If they’re not turning your life upside down, it is best to leave them alone. If they’ve built nests on your deck or porch, getting rid of them now is pertinent.

In Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, residents may encounter bald-faced hornets, honeybees, carpenter bees, and paper wasps. In this guide, you’ll learn more about these stinging insects and their nests.

Identifying Your Stinging Insect

Before remedying the problem, you need to identify the stinging insect. To do that, you need to consider the insect’s appearance and its nest.

• Look at the insect
• Check out its nest

Paper Wasps

Paper wasps are one of the most common stinging insects in Philadelphia so you’ll likely encounter them at some point. Thankfully, they’re not aggressive so they shouldn’t attack you unless you try to touch them.

Paper Wasps Nests

Paper wasps are smaller than many other stinging insect nests. They’re gray and round. If you’re looking for paper wasps nests around your home, check your overhangs, eaves, and fences.

Looks

Philadelphia residents may encounter Northern Paper Wasps and European Paper Wasps. Although they belong to the same group, they’re different in terms of appearance. Northern Paper Wasps are brown with a few dark orange areas. You will find yellow or white thin stripes on their stomachs. As for European Paper Wasps, they have orange antennas with yellow and black stripes.

Yellowjackets

Yellowjackets need to be avoided at all costs because they’re aggressive. Their nest tends to grow larger in late summer and fall and they’ll get more aggressive around this time.

Yellowjacket Nests

Yellowjackets cover their large nests with a black or gray material that resembles paper. They generally build their nests under porches, in attics, and around dense bushes. However, some will build nests underground and this makes them difficult to see.

Looks

Yellowjackets are one of the fastest flying stinging insects. When they’re darting around your yard, they’ll tuck their legs tightly against their body. They have black antennas with black and yellow stripes elsewhere.

Bald-Faced Hornets

These stinging insects are aggressive and they get worsen in late fall. If you find a large bald-faced hornet nest, it is best to stay away from it. A larger nest means a more aggressive stinging insect.

Bald-Faced Hornet Nest

Their nests are home to many stinging insects. When you find a bald-faced hornet nest, you’ll know it because they have a unique teardrop shape. Although they can be placed elsewhere, bald-faced hornets can be found on the side of homes and commercial buildings.

Looks

Bald-faced hornets hand smooth bodies that are white and black. Their body parts are larger than others and they are equipped with stingers.

Honeybees

Honeybees are gentle and beneficial to humans since they can produce honey. In most cases, you can approach a honeybee nest without worrying about getting attacked. Still, you shouldn’t do so haphazardly.

Honeybee Nests

Honeybee nests are very intricate and unique. When you’ve found one of these nests, you’ll be able to identify it thanks to the honeycomb design. They are made of wax and can be placed on rocks, trees, and walls. One thing to note is that honeybees tend to return to the same nest each year so they’ll store honey and grow their colony bigger.

Looks

Honeybees are unique because they have fuzzy bodies. They have a stinger with orange or yellow and brown bodies.

Carpenter Bees

When you see a carpenter bee, you may suspect it to be dangerous. However, you can rest assured knowing they’re not one of the most dangerous stinging insects. Approaching their nest doesn’t mean you’ll get stung.

Carpenter Bee Nests

Carpenter bees build some of the most original nests of all stinging insects. They don’t build nests. Instead, they burrow inside of wood. They’ll bore out 3/8” holes in wood structures before using the holes for numerous purposes, including caring for their young.

Looks

Carpenter bees look like bumblebees in terms of their size and color. If you’re trying to identify a carpenter bee, you’ll need to look for a shiny abdomen. You can also identify male carpenter bees by looking closely for a yellow dot on the bee’s face.

Can Stinging Insects Make Me Ill?

Stinging insects are concerning since they can sting hunts and pets. Could they make you sick? Are they dangerous? Before you can find out how dangerous they are, you need to figure out which stinging insects are on your property. While some could cause health hazards, others are harmless. In addition to this, stinging insects become more aggressive when their colonies grow. If the nest appears bigger than usual, there is a good chance that you’ll get stung if you get close to it. You need to stay away from large nests or you’ll get stung. Unfortunately, yellowjackets in ground nests are difficult to avoid since you can’t spot their nests easily.

Furthermore, they can sting humans multiple times. If this happens, you may need to see a doctor.

Why Are Stinging Insects On My Property?

Although they could be there for other reasons, stinging insects primarily visit homes because they want to build nests. They’ve found suitable nesting conditions and they want to build a nest on your deck, porch, or fence.

How Should I Eradicate Stinging Insects?

Getting rid of stinging insects needs to be a top priority. Ignoring the problem will lead to bigger issues and serious health risks. However, you cannot choose a haphazard treatment because you may make the situation worse. If you try to use DIY sprays, you might upset the stinging insects and they could sting you numerous times. To avoid such problems, you should hire a professional exterminator. With their assistance, you can get rid of the stinging insects without risking it. Contact our local office so we can fix this issue for you with haste.

Is Your Stinging Insect Treatments Safe?

Our company offers harmless stinging insect treatments. We follow the EPA’s recommendations to ensure that we’re using the safest products that won’t harm you or your pets. The good news is that these products will get rid of your stinging insects. Our solutions are designed to protect our clients while rectifying the problem rapidly. If you want to fix the problem while protecting the ones you love, call our Philadelphia office.

How Much Do You Charge For Stinging Insect Exterminations?

It is hard to determine how much we need to charge until we analyze your situation. We’ll check the following factors to determine how much our client will pay.

• We’ll identify the stinging insect
• We’ll need to determine the size of your property and home
• The nest size matters
• We also consider the nest’s location

When Can Your Stinging Insect Extermination Begin?

Contact us when you’re ready to fight back. Our company will spring into action rapidly. We can respond to your initial call in 48 hours or less.

Can I Stop Stinging Insects From Visiting My Property?

Unfortunately, you can’t stop stinging insects from visiting your property. Once they’ve found that your home has suitable nesting conditions, they’re going to come. You need to assemble a plan to eliminate your pests before they hurt someone. Our company offers a low-cost home service program to residents of Philadelphia. Pay the low annual fee and one of our exterminators will visit your home three times annually. If we find stinging insects or other pests, we’ll remove them. Our service is worth it because the extermination costs are covered by your annual fee.

If you have any other pest control issues please check out other services.