Tips to Recognize and Avoid Stinging Insects

Yellow jackets, wasps and hornets are all considered aggressive stinging insects, and if you have them nesting in or around your Nebraska property you probably already know that they can be threatening to humans if they feel their nests are being endangered. Stinging insects are particular about where they build their nests- mostly looking for out of the way places where they can safely increase their populations and build their nests bigger. They will develop their nests in trees and bushes, but they will also find refuge in places around your home, including the eaves of your roof and under your deck.

There are several types of wasps, including yellow jackets, Polistes (also known as paper wasps), mud daubers and the cicada killers. Yellow jackets and paper wasps are the more aggressive of these, while mud daubers and cicada killers tend to only sting when caught in clothing or inadvertently touched. Most wasps tend to be 3/4 of an inch in length and are black with yellow or white markings. Their nests are made of papery material, and are large and globular. If you have stinging insects nesting on your property, there are several things you should do, and several things you should avoid doing to be sure that you and your family are safe from these insects.

If you find a stinging insect nest on your property, avoidance is the key. If you stay away from their nest, chances are, these insects will stay away from you and your family. However, later in the summer, when these insects are looking for food and building up their nests as their colonies grow, they will come into areas where humans frequent more often. If you find a nest on your property, do your best to stay away from it, and contact a pest control professional to have it safely removed. There are do-it-yourself treatments that you can purchase that are supposed to kill stinging insects in their nests, but these are not always effective, and can sometimes cause the wasps to attack as they try to protect their nest while the chemical is being sprayed. If applied improperly, these chemicals can also be damaging to any painted areas nearby, or even plants or trees that are in the vicinity. Some people recommend attempting to destroy a nest at night, but this is dangerous at best and often in-effective. Wasps can follow the beam of a flashlight and locate you at the other end and become aggressive. Wasps are not more docile during the nighttime hours, and some species actively hunt at night. If you try to destroy a nest with water or fire, the wasps could start to swarm as they try to flee the nest. Blocking the entrance to a wasp nest is also very dangerous, especially if the nest is inside your home, as the wasps will create a new exit in the nest, sometimes chewing through wallboard and swarming into the living areas in your home.

It is important to realize that stinging insects can be beneficial for our environment and the fact that they feed on other insects makes them helpful in keeping your property free from insect activity during the summer months. If you are able to avoid them, then exterminating them is not necessary. But, if you find that avoidance of a wasp nest is just not possible, or if yellow jackets and hornets are coming too close to your family or home, it’s best to contact a pest control professional for assistance in removing these stinging insects. The sting of these insects can cause redness, swelling and pain at the site of the sting, but for some people, the venom of a wasp sting can be deadly, causing anaphylaxis which sets in shortly after the person is stung. Even if you are not allergic to the sting of these insects, if you receive multiple stings from a swarm of wasps, this can cause pain, illness and even death. Do not put your family in danger by trying to get rid of wasps on your own. Contact a pest control company in Nebraska for expert wasp removal and stinging insect control for your home and property.

For stinging insect control in Lincoln, Omaha or elsewhere in Nebraska, don’t take chances by trying to curb the problem alone. Let the professionals take care of your problem. For more information on how to get rid of yellow jackets and other stinging insects visit http://www.plunketts.net/.

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