Wasps and hornets love to build their nests on flat, secure surfaces, like on the eaves of your roof, on patio ceilings or under decking, overhead piping, and on strong, secure tree limbs — basically anywhere high up that’s near enough to a source of food while also keeping them relatively safe from harsh weather and harsher predators.
Types of Wasps
Paper wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets are all types of wasps, but it is paper wasps and hornets that more often you’ll find building their nests on homes and buildings. Yellow jackets, the most outwardly aggressive wasp of this bunch, more commonly build their nests in even more hidden settings — deep in bushes or shrubbery, in abandoned animal dens, and in hollow logs or trees.
Though paper wasps and hornets are less aggressive than yellow jackets, they will still sting if they feel the safety of their colony is threatened, and due to the fact that they prefer to build their nests on residential homes, outbuildings, and commercial spaces, they should be dealt with accordingly.
Even if you don’t have an allergy to wasps, their sting can be very painful
Even if you don’t have a known allergy to stinging insects like wasps, their aggression can be painful and symptoms associated with anaphylactic shock, like headaches, swelling, breathing difficulties, and nausea can occur. For the safety and protection of your loved ones, the wasps must be exterminated and their nest should be removed.
Paper wasps — characterized by their black and yellow heads and thoraxes alternatingly striped abdomens of the same color — make their nests (and earn their namesake) by combining their saliva with the pulp of dead wood and other plant matter in order to produce a papier mache-like material. This ultimately is fashioned into nest housing as many as one hundred wasps, consisting of a queen, workers, and drones.
Queens are responsible for laying eggs and growing the colony. An all-female contingency of workers build, guard, and mend the nest as needed. Workers are also responsible for finding food, primarily consisting of pollen, nectar, and small insects like flies and caterpillar larvae. Drones — a smaller, all-male cohort of the colony — exist only to mate with the queen. Once their mating duties have been fulfilled, they die shortly thereafter.
Wasps don’t do much to damage homes, but their presence is a nuisance
The damage that paper wasps can do to the home is relatively minimal, but shouldn’t be ignored. If these paper-like nests are left untreated, they can absorb water and eventually cause wood damage. Usually, the simple removal of these nests (after the colony has been eradicated) takes little effort to clean off most homes.
“Well, then” you might be asking yourself, “How come wasps have been able to get into my home? How are building nests in my attic if they’re not damaging the house?” What this most often means is that your home was already damaged. Usually this is damaged wood or home building materials that are broken just enough for the wasps to enter. Once they have gained access to the home, if they’re close enough to a reliable source of food and they feel safe, they’ll start expanding their colony — a real nuisance to get rid of.
You see, paper wasps may not be responsible for destroying the structure of your home, but they can certainly be held responsible for damaging the atmosphere of your home. There’s nothing more unpleasant than trying to host family and friends in an outdoor setting when you’re having a wasp problem. Who can focus on having a good time when they’re worried about being stung?
Leave wasp removal to the experts
Should you find yourself dealing with any stinging insect infestation, inside or outside of the house, trust that you can call on the team at Effective Pest Services for all your home and commercial extermination needs. We have the training, experience, and the determination to help our clients feel the value of our services.
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