Chorley Pest Control

Archive for the ‘How To Kill Wasp Nests’ Category

Summer and fall is wasp season in North America. Wasps are workhorses of the food chain and do humans a great service by controlling insect populations that would otherwise decimate our crops.  Of course, for most people, avoiding wasps – and their stingers – is a real concern.

There’s hardly a place on the planet that is wasp-free, and there are over 400 wasp species in North America alone.  Here are some you might encounter this summer:

* Yellowjackets:  Yellowjackets are one of the most common wasps on the continent. About the size of a honeybee, they are highly aggressive, can sting more than once, and can usually be identified by their distinctive bright yellow and black body striping.  “Yellowjacket” is a common name, however; the bald-faced hornet and some other white and black wasps are also considered yellowjackets, and some red abdomens.  When most people think of yellowjackets, they think of the small distinctively colored wasp with a severe sting.  

Yellowjackets often live in the ground, but they may also build in cavities in rock or cement walls, or in hollows in trees and buildings. Yellowjacket hives are usually hidden, so it is the activity around an opening that will alert you to the presence of a hive. Hive populations in many yellowjacket species number between 1,000 and 3,000 adult wasps.  The southern yellowjacket can develop colonies of up to 100,000. 

* Paper wasps:  There are 22 species of paper wasps in North America. They are also called umbrella wasps, both names coming from their papery, honeycomb-like nests, which the wasps construct from a mixture of plant and wood fiber and their saliva. Paper wasps are generally docile, but will attack if their nest is disturbed. They are around 2 centimeters long and have yellow markings on a black, brown, or reddish body. Paper wasps hang their nests in trees, shrubs, or the under the eaves near entrances of houses, barns, and other buildings.

* Bald-faced hornets:  Bald-faced hornets live throughout North America, but are most common in the southeastern United States.  They are black and white and noticeably larger than yellow jackets or paper wasps.  Bald-faced hornets are not aggressive unless the nest is disturbed, but will sting repeatedly in that event.  They build large, oval-shaped, papery nests, usually grayish in color, which hang from trees or buildings. The nests can grow to be up to three feet tall.  Hornets are sensitive to vibration, so be cautious around the structure on which a hornet nest hangs. 

* Mud Dauber Wasps: Mud daubers are solitary, docile wasps.  They are long and slender, often with a needle-like waist, and may be black, black and yellow, or iridescent blue.  Their tell-tale mud nests may look like a series or organ pipes or like a smooth lemon-sized mud lump. Mud daubers’ nests can usually be found on ceilings and interior walls.  They will not attack in defense of their nests and rarely sting humans unless they themselves are physically handled.  They often feed on poisonous spiders.

Fatal Funnel, Inc. was founded in 2004 by Mike Uhl in Mendon Utah. Mr. Uhl holds an engineering degree from Utah State University. His extensive engineering & product management background coupled w/ the problem he was experiencing outside his home with wasps & hornets created the backdrop for Fatal Funnel Wasp & Hornet Traps. http://www.fatal-funnel.com
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The pain caused by a wasp sting can be attributed to a toxic fluid that contains a complex protein that is injected stingingly into the victim. Strangely, all victims of wasp stings do not react in the same manner.

Some people do not experience any pain and seldom bother about wasp stings whist others feel severe pain and suffer inflammation in the stung area. There are also people who are allergic to wasp stings and hey may experience anaphylactic shock if prompt treatment is not provided.

It is a poor consolation to know that male wasps are harmless and do not sting. It is the female wasps that inflict that sharp sting particularly in late summer months. This is the time they come out of their nests to start feeding on windfalls, plant juices and other sources of food.

The structure is such that it is the female wasps that possess a sting that doubles up as the egg-laying organ. Closer examination will reveal it to be a sharp, narrow tubular structure resembling a hypodermic needle and with an outer sheath like a cannula. Interestingly, there is a sac at the bottom that holds the venom.

The wasp’s abdomen is designed to protect the muscular base of the sting that acts as a tail. When a wasp chooses to sting, the abdomen gives way slightly for the mechanism to fully function.

The cannula portion of the sting contains tiny barbs that capture the human skin or any other insect prey and once it gains a firm grip, the needle-like inner part of the structure moves forward to inject venom and/or an egg. The muscles that facilitate this movement also assist to squeeze the venom from the sac at the base of the sting down the central shaft into the wasp’s victim.

Scientific research about the exact composition of wasp venom is still inconclusive, although it is said to contain a mix of enzymes and proteins. The heartening fact is, though wasp venom causes pain and swelling in many, it is not life-threatening for human beings except for a few who may be allergic to stings.

The one sane advice is to leave wasps alone and not needlessly provoke them into stinging you. Remember that wasp venom contains a pheromone which will attract other wasps in the vicinity. There are several effective home remedies for wasp stings but if the pain and swelling persists or worsens you will have to seek medical advice.

Notwithstanding the fact that wasps are aggressive insects when disturbed, they are of great benefit to plant life and the pollination process. The wasps have a constructive role to play in the life cycle of many other insects. Wasps help control the spread of arthropod pests like – flies, caterpillars, bugs, spiders, etc- by preying on them. Their sting can be painful to humans but to the wasps, they are a defense against possible threats.

There are some leading pest management and consulting companies, who are fully bonded, insured, certified and licensed by Ministry of Water Land & Air Protection. They use some latest and advanced pest control technology to help you get rid of the wasps and you can contact them if the wasp menace in your place is too acute.

Peterson is an expert author for pest control surrey. He has written many articles about Wasps exterminator, bed bug exterminator, Get rid of bed bugs in Vancouver, Moles exterminator, Birds exterminator, carpenter ants exterminator, pest control company Canada. For more information visit our site bed bug extermination. Contact him at avonpestcontrol@gmail.com
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