Ernies Pest Control
Termites, roaches, rodents-professional pest control service.
Wasps Pest Control Facts and Prevention
Ernie's Pest Control services Toledo, Northwest Ohio and Lower Michigan.
Preventive measures for all pests you can take are :
- Do not leave piles of clothing, papers or other miscellaneous things laying around
- Regular cleaning and maintenance of your home or business
- When cleaning, check under carpet edges and baseboards
- Do not have dirty dishes piled up and sitting for long periods of time, especially not in old water
- Especially in hot weather, put your food scraps in plastic before disposing of them
- Schedule regular pest control maintenance
- If you see one pest or insect, chances are you are not seeing rest. A call to Ernie's Pest Control should be made to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.
Wasps Pest Control and Information
Wasps (Hymenoptera)
General Information
- Wasp is a name commonly applied to the hymenoptera species, except bees and ants
- There are 75,000 known species of wasps, most of them are parasitic
- Social wasps build nests, parasitic wasps do not
- After depositing their eggs on a host plant or animal, the adults fly off in search of food for themselves or another host for their larvae
- The eggs are left to hatch and develop on their own
Wasp Nests
- Stinging wasps rely on nests for protection and rearing young
- Wasp nests range from :
- A burrow in the ground, made by the female digger wasps
- Some nests are constructed of mud cavities attached to twigs, rocks or human structures, used for larvae only
- The most intricate is a paper wasp nest, made of paper fibers collected from dry wood and bark mixed with wasp saliva, yellowjackets, paper wasps and hornets build these nests
Wasp Stings
- All female wasps have stingers, males do not
- No wasp species will attack unless they or their nest is threatened
- If some yellowjacket colonies, they may release up to 100 defending wasps, each capable of delivering several stings
- Wasp venom contains factors that release histamine, which dissolves red blood cells
- Most people can survive many stings, with only temporary pain and swelling, but hyperallergenic people can die from the stings
Allergic Reactions to Wasp Venom
IF ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS ARE VISIBLE, SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION IMMEDIATELY!
- The development of hives immediately after getting stung
- Difficulty breathing or swallowing
- Wheezing or similar symptoms of allergic reaction
- Minor reactions, itching, pain and localized swelling, can be reduced by a cold compress or an antihistamine
Yellow Jacket Wasps Pest Control and Information
Yellowjacket Wasps (Vespula Spp)
Characteristics
- These wasps grow to be 3/4 - 1 inch long
- Yellowjackets are a smaller species of wasp, and are black with yellow stripes
- Yellowjackets are stinging wasps
Colonies
- Yellowjackets are a social species that live in colonies containing thousands of wasps
- Colonies are started by 1 queen in early spring
- By midsummer a nest is big enough to be a nuisance
- These wasps will attack aggressively if their nest is disturbed and can inflict painful stings
- A single yellowjacket can sting many times
- Wasp nests located in or near a house can be dangerous, and should be eliminated immediately by a pest control professional
- Yellowjackets prefer to locate their nests in the ground or inside the walls of a building
Diet
- Yellowjackets and paper wasps feed on caterpillars and other larvae that can destroy crops
- Wasps feed on flower nector and help with pollination
Precautions
- When working outside be aware of numerous wasps flying in or out of a specific point in the ground or a hole in the side of the house, this indicates a possible nest
- Lawnmowers and other powered lawn equipment could send wasps into an attacking frenzy because of the vibrations
- Stay away from a nest once it has been located and call a pest control professional to remove the nest
- If yellowjacket wasps are seen entering and exiting a wall, DO NOT plug the hole, that will only force them to find another way out. Sometimes they will eat through an interior wall and enter the building
Paper Wasps Pest Control and Information
Paper Wasps (Polistes Spp.)
Characteristics
- Most paper wasp species are about 1 inch long, but some are as small as 1/2 inch or as large as 1 1/2 inches
- Many are reddish brown or dark red, some paper wasp species are more orange, while others have varying stripes of red and yellow
Nests
- The paper wasp nest looks like an upside down umbrella
- Each year the colony starts out with one queen that has wintered in a protected site and constructs a small nest in which she raises her first brood of larvae
- These larvae mature into adult workers and help build a bigger nest, care for the new young and forage for food
- Most paper wasp nests are located in exposed areas such as underneath soffits, the corners of windows, under awnings, porches, and decks
- However, these wasps will also nest inside wall voids and other protected sites such as gas grills, electric outlet boxes, hose reels, attics and crawl spaces
- They enter attics through holes in soffits, attic vent screens and underneath shingles
Diet
- Paper wasps are predators and feed on insects, spiders and caterpillars