Wasps Pest Control Alexandria, MN

Wasps can be a threat to human health.  Every year, up to 100 people die from wasp stings.  Most die from an allergic reaction to their venom within one hour of the sting. About 1% of the population is allergic to wasp venom.  Other members of the wasp family include hornets, yellow jackets, and mud dauber.  A hornet is part of the wasp family.  They look similar to a yellowjacket.  A hornet will build a nest by chewing wood until it becomes cushiony.  Most of these nests are built in your shrubs and trees.  However certain species of hornets will build a nest underground.  Within each nest lies one queen.  This queen will lay eggs, however, a female is not able to lay fertile eggs.

Yellow Jacket

A yellow jacket is a combative insect that packs a powerful sting. Once it stings you, you will know it because it is extremely painful. Depending on the species, the areas in which you find their nests will be different.  Some nests will be built in your walls, in your trees, or underground.  You will notice them mostly in the summer.  They like meat, that’s why you will always see them around your BBQ during the summer.  Their other source of food is sweets.  They prefer protein during the summer, and as the temperature cools, they prefer sweets.  Yellow jackets will not lose their stinger once they sting, therefore they can sting you multiple times.

Mud Dauber

A mud dauber is exactly what it sounds like.  It builds its nest out of the mud.  A female mud dauber can sting, however, more times than not, they will not sting.  They will only sting if they are feeling vulnerable, therefore they should be left alone.  The active season for a mud dauber is spring and summer, however, if you are in a moisture climate, you will see them year round.  During the day you will see them around water that is dormant as they are collecting the water and mud to take back to their nest that they are building.

A nest is usually built in an area where water cannot affect the nest.  It is necessary to keep it guarded against rainfall, therefore you might find a nest in your walls, or in the fissures of wood, as well as within the cracks of brick or stone.  If their nest is disturbed some species will repair their nest from the prior year.

Bald-Faced Hornets

Bald-faced hornets resemble their yellow jacket relatives, with black bodies and a white-patterned face.  Like yellow jackets, the surface of their midsection almost looks triangular from the side.  These hornets live in colonies similar to honey bees and ants. The colony is contained inside the paper-like nest made from chewed wood fibers mixed with their saliva. The size of the nest and their reputation is often enough to alarm people.  A bald-faced hornet infestation is visible with the presence of a nest, which would be suspended above the ground, with bald-faced hornets flying around the nest.

Cicada Killer Wasps

The Cicada Killer Wasp looks like an extremely large yellow jacket.  They are one of the largest wasps known.  They can grow to be one and a half inches long with their long and segmented bodies.  Their main goals are to mate and paralyze cicada bugs to feed their young.  Males die shortly after mating and females die shortly after laying all the eggs.

Wasps or any member of their family getting out of control on your property or in your home?  Call Steffel Pest Control for a free estimate at 320-763-7046 today!