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YOUR HOME; Eliminating Wasps and Their Nests

YOUR HOME; Eliminating Wasps and Their Nests

SOME wasps sting and some do not.

And while some stinging wasps do so only when individually provoked, others sting as part of a devastating organized assault upon their victim.

It helps, then, to know which wasp is which, what to do when one is encountered and, most of all, how to keep wasp populations at bay. That is particularly true when wasps show up indoors rather than outside the home.

While most bugs are merely an annoyance when they appear indoors, the appearance of wasps inside a house can create a palpable sense of anxiety among residents. Ladybugs, cluster flies and stink bugs characteristically do not bite, sting or carry diseases,’ Wasps, on the other hand, can impart a painful wallop when they are provoked.

When you’re seeing wasps inside a house at this time of year, you’re probably seeing what are known as paper wasps, and it’s almost always the result of the emergence of overwintering queens  while some wasps do not sting, overwintering queens do.

Paper wasps, typically make their umbrella-shaped honeycombed nests in the early spring in attics and chimneys and around the eaves and ledges of a house. The nests are constructed of a paper like material containing finely chewed wood fragments and salivary secretions of the wasp. In the fall, the males wasps die off, but not before impregnating nearby available queens. The queens then typically look for a protected place to spend the winter. And in many cases, insulated wall cavities fit the bill nicely.

With the onset of warmer weather, the queens begin to emerge from their hibernation sites. And, as they attempt to escape to their natural habitat outdoors, some inadvertently make their way into the living areas of the home, ’emerging from beneath baseboards, behind window and door frames, from within sash-cord openings, and around light fixtures and ventilators. And since insects are attracted to light, they typically head toward the nearest window.

This is a temporary annoyance that will run its course as the weather continues to warm, adding that while emerging queens are not normally aggressive, they will sting if they are mishandled.

The easiest way to dispose of these insects found indoors is with a vacuum cleaner, broom or fly swatter, adding that when the insects first emerge from hibernation, they are sluggish and usually land on the nearest window.

There is little that can be done now to prevent wintering female wasps from finding their way into a house, but steps can be taken over the next few months to reduce the potential for a repeat performance next year. ”You want to inhibit the inward migration of the wasps, and the best way to do that is to spray the eaves with insecticide.

As new wasp colonies are being formed in the spring, many will build nests under the eaves of the house. So if steps are taken to dissuade the wasps from building nests on the house itself, it is less likely that the queens will find their way into the building when looking for a place to hibernate in the fall. Generally, early to mid April is the optimum time to spray the eaves, that an additional treatment in early fall will eliminate wasps not killed the first time around.

Removal of hornets and yellow jackets is best accomplished by a pest control firm.