STINGING INSECTS
This is the time of year when wasps, yellow jackets, bumble bees and hornets become pests. What to do about them?
[NOTICE: Never spray wasp and hornet killer inside the house (the stuff that shoots a 20′ stream). It will ruin floors, walls, drapes and bedding. It also can cause life-threatening reactions in humans and pets.]
IF ONE INSIDE:
Open a window or door and let it fly away. Or catch it with a jar and a piece of paperboard and release it outside.
IF SEVERAL INSIDE:
Take a walk around the outside of your home looking for a “bee-line” coming and going near foundation, vents, around window frames, near soffits, or any other gaps. If they are showing up on the second story their entrance is likely at the transition point between floors or above.
[When it begins to cool at night in autumn, and you have a fireplace, wasps may just be stupidly falling down the chimney. They don’t fly well when cold. First thing to do is close off the fireplace with something like insulation at the flue (make sure to remove insulation with long sleeves and gloves before starting a fire in early winter). If they stop coming in, you’ve solved it without pesticides.]
Do NOT try to kill a hive or nest yourself. You likely don’t have the right pesticides or equipment. It is more likely you will drive them inside the house and make it more difficult for a pest control service to fully control. Sealing the entrance of an active nest is the exact WRONG thing to do.
If they have been professionally identified as Honey Bees (lots of other stinging insects have similar coloration), you need a bee removal company. They will smoke them, remove the honeycomb, the honey, and the bees. After removal leave the site unsealed for a few days to allow other honey bees to “rob” the excess honeycomb and any honey that has been left behind. Then paint the nesting area inside the wall with something like KILZ to seal the honey odor, allow to dry, then FULLY REPAIR the area (not a single crack or crevice unsealed … or you may get another colony there).
Inside, to keep more of them from invading your home, you may have to use something like Duct Tape to temporarily cover gaps around window frames, take the floor duct cover off and seal the edges of the duct where it meets the floor, or maybe around a loose-fitting wall outlet. This keeps wasps, German yellow jackets, or bees from creating a family safety concern.
You may think Bumble Bees are gentle. They are gentle in the clover field. They are wickedly dangerous when they have a nest nearby. They don’t give up trying to “get” you when their nest is inside a bedroom wall. Hire a professional.
Wall-void dwelling German Yellow Jackets are notoriously aggressive. Hire a professional.
Of course, European Wasps, which build nests with open cells anywhere they can, often are mistaken for Yellow Jackets, but only sting if you swat at them or step on one. A vacuum hose (attached to a working vacuum) to suck up those invaders could be your best friend .
DECKS, Kids’ PLAY SETS, and PATIOS:
Bees and other stinging insects love flower nectar. Why did you decide to plant flowers right next to your outdoor living spaces? Hornets love hummingbird feeders and people love to watch hummingbirds from their decks. Wasps use tiny wood splinters to build their nests … so re-seal your wooden deck or play set every couple years. Yellow Jackets will check out uncleaned grills to munch on burned-on meats. In other words, you may be INVITING stinging critters to your outdoor spaces.
Or, you may have a nest under the deck or behind the siding nearby.
IN YOUR YARD:
If you see mole tunnels in the spring, eliminate the moles because ground-dwelling Yellow Jackets or Bumble Bees might take over those tunnels later, especially where there are tree roots.
Clean up your fall or spring raking debris (in the early spring). Clutter anywhere is a nice home for bees. Some will even set up shop in your wood pile.
UNDER EAVES:
Wasps, aerial-dwelling Yellow Jackets, and Bald-Faced Hornets love soffits and overhangs. If you can’t treat these areas yourself in early summer, call a professional company.
PREVENTION IS LOOKING:
The best prevention is taking 20 minutes every June, July, and August to LOOK. Walk slowly around your house, garage, and the yard. Look for “bee-lines” of insects coming and going and visible nests.
Another prevention tool is caulk. Fill gaps anywhere you find them on the outside of your home. As you can imagine, it doesn’t take much of a hole for bees to start a nest. They are opportunists. Filling gaps in the spring also saves heating/cooling. I once treated a house that had 17 active German Yellow Jacket nests. Every nest was where the siding had a gap that hadn’t been sealed.
DON’T BE A HERO.
It costs far less to hire a professional than to pay an emergency room deductible. It takes less time, too. You don’t have a bee hood and suit. You don’t have the correct chemicals (no, you can’t find those at the hardware store). You don’t have the equipment or the experience. I can tell you lots of “do it yourself” horror stories…like the guy who imagined he could just pour gas on a ground nest. It was under a 50′ pine tree. His fire department fee was lots more than we would have charged. Or the guy who thought he could just caulk the entrance of an active German Yellow Jacket nest….then he suddenly had hundreds of them inside his whole house. The family had to stay in a hotel until we solved the problem.
Finally, stinging insects fly faster than you can run. Sometimes hundreds will chase you. You will either die or wish you had.
Rule # 1 “Get out of sight.” If you are being chased, duck behind a car, around a corner or just behind a bush. Being stung by 7 is far better than 50.
Rule #2 “Avoid being chased.” Look where you’re going. Pay attention when mowing the lawn or walking down a trail. I always take a long look at my lawn BEFORE starting the mower.
Rule #3 “Don’t be stupid.” Don’t agitate them. Don’t throw a stick at the nest. Don’t spray a nest with the hose. Don’t kick a log they are nesting in. Stay away and keep your dog away as well.
BEE SMART!!!
Copyright 2025 Donald Whelpley
[PLEASE NOTE that Don is always open to discussing the thoughts and opinions he shares here and welcomes comments as shared in the comment section. He doesn’t use other social media platforms and won’t see whatever you’d like to share with him if you post it elsewhere.
ALSO, Don is always open to offer his thoughts on various topics. If you have a specific request, you can let him know in a comment; he reads – and replies to – them all. ~ Sherry]
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