Summer introduces us to a lot of bee and hornet species, wasps, yellow jackets, and other flying insect species. It is when they reproduce and grow. Paper wasps are no different. Like honeybees, paper wasps are social wasps that live in colonies.
In North America alone, there are more than 22 species of paper wasps. This number increases by more than 200 worldwide. The majority of them live in colonies, while some are solitary.
But the question here is, why are we concerned about paper wasps and how do we get rid of them? So, before you get scared by the flying insect with yellow markings and black wings, let us start the discussion.
How Do You Identify a Paper Wasp?
In Tinley Park, we find many of our clients complaining about bee stings, but when we visit for investigation we see a wasp nest. Commonly, you may confuse paper wasps with honey bees or yellow jackets. So, here is how to distinguish the wasp. Paper wasps have a slender body with yellow markings and black wings.
However, their color may vary among species. These social wasps are about 3/4th to 1 inch in length. The queen wasp is relatively bigger. The female paper wasps carry a stinger at the rear end. Our experts have served several houses in Tinley Park. If you encounter these wasps around your home or garden, contact us to get rid of them before you fall into any trouble.
Where do paper wasps nest?
Many families in Tinley Park find the paper wasps nest close to their house. Paper wasps form or build their nests with a paper-like material. They collect fibers from dead wood and plant stems that they chew with saliva to turn into a paper-like material. They use this grey or brown material to build their nests.
You may find any paper wasps nest in areas like the eaves, wall voids, cracks, and crevices of homes, branches of a tree, the end of an open pipe, or on an old clothesline. The concern arises even more if the paper wasp colony is in a busy area of the home. If you find paper wasps colonies in and around your home, it is advised to contact a pest control service provider for treatment.
Do Paper Wasps Sting?
Paper wasps have a stinger at the rear. Unlike other stinging wasps, paper wasps are not very aggressive. However, if you threaten their nests, paper wasps will sting to defend the nest.
Unlike solitary wasps, paper wasps attack in a group, and it can be a painful experience. People who are allergic to wasp venom should always maintain a safe distance from their nests.
Are paper wasps aggressive?
Paper wasps, often known as umbrella wasps in North America, are not as aggressive as a hornet. However, you need to take a paper wasp's nest seriously if you have any children or anyone in your family is allergic to wasp venom. Stay away from the nest as much as possible and prevent any entry point into your home.
Can You Coexist with Paper wasps?
Generally, solitary wasps are seen to be less aggressive. Though paper wasps are not solitary wasps, they will cause no harm to you most of the time. It can be a complete peaceful coexistence without any mutual threat. Nevertheless, they may attack or sting when threatened. Wasps attack or sting in groups which makes it a serious concern.
Paper wasps do not leave the stinger once they sting. It gives them the ability to sting you several times. Wasp stings can be fatal depending on the intensity of the attack. People who are allergic to wasp venom are at very high risk and should take proper precautions to avoid wasp stings.
Why are there so many paper wasps around my house?
There are a lot of factors that attract wasps into your property. However, the main factors are safety and availability of food.
● Shelter: The insulated walls, cracks, and crevices are a safe place for the wasps to build their nest. If you have any crack or hollow unrepaired in the structure or foundation of your house, paper wasps may have built their nest into it.
● Availability of prey: The larvae of paper wasps feed on a variety of insects. The worker wasps go foraging and hunt insects to feed the larvae in the nest. Hence, if your property is a home to different pests, you may see many paper wasps around your house.
● Leftover meat and sweet food: Wasps prefer protein-based food. Hence, they are easily attracted to leftover meat in your trash bin. During fall or winter, wasps look around for sweet food sources. Soda cans, fruit trees are the common attraction for wasps in fall or winter.
● Flowers: The flowers in your garden are an easy attraction to a bee or wasp. They feed on the nectar and the second reason they are attracted to flowers is the fragrance. We advise our clients in Tinley Park to avoid using sweet perfume or flower-patterned clothes as the paper wasps may confuse you for flowers.
What does the presence of a wasp nest indicate?
If you have found a paper wasp colony on your property, often it is because food is abundant for them. Like other wasps, paper wasps feed on nectar. Hence, they play an important role in pollination. Their presence is a good signal for your garden.
However, the larvae feed on other insects. It indicates the presence of other pests on your property. The workers collect various insects, caterpillars that they serve to the larvae in the nest. This way they keep good control of other pests in and around your house.
How long do paper wasp nests last?
The life cycle of a paper wasp colony lasts one season a year. It starts in early spring when the queen selects a nesting place. When the queens find a safe place to build nests, they start building them and lay their eggs for the first generation of wasps.
When the larvae grow from these eggs, they become the workers who further extend the nest. Multiple queens may help each other build the nest, but by late summer, there is only one queen in the nests.
The colony keeps growing in this manner until winter arrives. Paper wasps, like other wasps, cannot live in cold winters. The colony produces males and new queen wasps by late summer and fall. After that, they abandon the nest and fly away. The males and worker wasps die due to cold weather. However, the queen looks for a safe place and hibernates throughout the winter. After overwintering, the queens form their colonies in the spring and lay eggs. This cycle takes place every year.
Is there a way to prevent wasps?
Preventing paper wasps nests in your property would be easier than removing a fully grown nest. The easiest way to do so is to take a 360-degree investigation into your property. Do it in the spring season of the year.
Check in the eaves, cracks, and crevices properly. If you find a nest in a very early stage, you can get rid of it by yourself. Take a long shaft or broom and wipe out the nest. It will discourage the queen and will force her to select a different location for nesting.
● Get Rid of Unwanted Food: Wasps love protein. So, get rid of food scraps from your outdoor cooking space. You may also like to remove any soda cans in the yard as wasps love sugary drinks.
● Seal Trash Cans: Make sure your trash cans are sealed properly. Trash cans contain food scraps or soda cans that may attract wasps.
● Repair Cracks: We always advise our clients in Tinley Park to repair any crack or hole in their house structure or foundation. Wasps prefer cracks on your structure for building nests. Search for any cracks in your structure at the beginning of spring and get them repaired as soon as possible to avoid any wasp infestation.
● Wasp-Repellent Plants: Spearmint, wormwood, thyme, eucalyptus, and citronella are some wasp-repellent plants that you can add to your garden or landscape. You may also add flowering plants like marigolds, pennyroyals, or marigolds. On the other hand, you should avoid plants like sweet fennel, yarrow, or Anne's lace as they tend to attract wasps to your property.
How do you get rid of paper wasps nests?
If the nest is very close to your home, or anyone in your family is allergic to wasp venoms, treat the nest before any accident occurs. If the nest is at an early stage, you can do it yourself with proper safety measures.
However, if the nest is grown in size and number of wasps, you should take the help of pest control professionals. Some basic DIY methods to get rid of wasps are:
● Soap and Water Solution: Soap and water solution works great in smaller paper wasps nests. Mix two tablespoons of dish soap with water in a spray bottle. Shake it well to mix the solution properly. You can now spray the solution on the nest. Conduct the spray treatment at night so that all the wasps are present in the nest.
● Essential Oils: Essential oils work against a wide variety of pests and paper wasps are no different. You may add a few drops of geranium, lemongrass, and clove into a spray bottle. Add some dish soap for better results. Now fill the spray bottle with water and shake it well to mix the ingredients. Your paper wasp repellent solution is ready to be applied to the paper wasps nest at night. Make sure to wear protective gear while treating the nest.
● Peppermint Oil Solution: Mix a few tablespoons of dish soap with a few drops of peppermint oil in a spray bottle. Fill the rest of the bottle with water and mix the solution properly. Now spray the solution on the nest at night.
● Wasp Trap: You can also use wasp traps to reduce the population of the wasps naturally. You can build a paper wasp trap yourself or may search for any commercially available wasp trap. One type of wasp trap is an inverted glass bottle hung with jam or meat at the bottom.
Note that the above-mentioned methods are preferred only when you have identified the nest in an early stage and you are not allergic to wasp venom. If the nest has grown in size, always contact a professional wasp exterminator to treat the nest.
Are paper wasps and hornets the same?
Paper wasps and hornets, both make their nest out of grey or brown color papery pulp. Though these hornets and paper wasps are stinging species and share many similarities, there are differences as well. Their similarities often bring confusion to many, but hornets and paper wasps differ in many ways.
One big difference is that paper wasps build their nest much higher from the ground, while many species of hornets and yellow jackets build their nests in the ground. Hornets are relatively more aggressive. Just like paper wasps, a hornet may sting you several times as the hornet will not leave the stinger after stinging.
Should I use wasp spray on the wasp nest?
You should avoid using chemical pesticides or aerosol sprays for any pests. It should be the last resort to control the pest infestation. Try to get rid of pest infestation by other methods instead of going for a wasp spray. It is way easier to treat the nest with pest control experts.
Should I kill a Paper Wasp Nest?
Did you see any paper wasps flying in and around your home? If yes, look for the possible places they may build a nest in your property. One should check the eaves of their homes, branches of trees, ends of open pipes, and other possible locations.
If you find their nest in a place that has low human activity, you can stay worry-free. Avoid getting close with them, and let them control other pest populations on your property.
However, if any nest is located in a busy place, it is advised to have them cleared. If anyone in your home is allergic to wasp venom, getting rid of the nest from your property is crucial. Take the help of professional service providers for safety purposes. For a small-sized nest, you may take up the task to remove or kill the nest yourself if you have access to the right insecticide.
- Use Pesticide Spray: Collect an aerosol spray pesticide or insecticide from the market. The insecticide spray should be made specifically to kill wasps. If you already have an insecticide to treat ants and other smaller insect species, it may not be effective with wasps. You will need a wasp-specific insecticide for the task.
Wear protective gear and follow other safety measures while treating the nest with an aerosol spray. Execute the treatment at night when the insects are less active and maintain a safe distance while spraying.
- Use insecticidal dust: You may use insecticidal dust when the nest is in a relatively accessible area. It is more effective than spraying aerosol. Get a bag of insecticide dust designed to kill wasps from the local hardware store or online.
Wear protective gears and apply the dust at the entrance of the nest but make sure not to block it. The insects will get in and out of the nest which will result in contaminating the entire nest. Observe the nest for a day or two and the nest should have died till now. If you still see wasps going in and out of the nest, repeat the process a few more times.
How much does it cost for paper wasp nest removal?
Removing a large wasp nest may cost anything between $300 and $1000, or sometimes more depending on the treatment required for the nests. The investment is worth the effective wasp control solution you receive.
The wasp species also play a role in the cost involved in the process. For example, paper wasp nests are easy to locate while ground-nesting yellow jackets make it very difficult to access their nest. We provide you a free quote to make the wasp control process easy and convenient for you.
● Easy-to-access treatment: Sometimes, the nests are located in easily accessible areas. In that case, you already know the location of the wasp when you call wasp extermination technicians. In such cases, the treatment cost of wasp infestation is around $300 to $500.
● Hard-to-access treatment: Do you see paper wasps or other species flying in and around your home but unable to locate their nests? It may be because they are building the nest in the ground or other inaccessible areas like cracks within walls, hollow tree branches, etc. Such nests are difficult to locate and require special tools and techniques to treat. It cost around $450 to $1000 for treatment and removal of a nest from these locations. Give us a call to receive a free quote for wasp treatment.
How do you permanently get rid of paper wasps?
While DIYmethods can give you partial relief, they may not solve the underlying problem. Take help from professional pest control service providers to solve your wasp problem permanently.
A.N.T. PEST CONTROL provides a quality wasp solution to keep away these unwanted guests from your property. We will also take care of other pests on your property like yellow jackets, various hornet or bee species, ants, carpet beetles, and more at your safety and convenience. We take special care of your pets and children while designing a treatment plan. Give us a call today for a pest and nuisance-free home or business.
