July is almost here and along with the Independence Day Holiday are all the Holiday activities like picnics, pools, and outside parties. And sadly and obnoxiously are the uninvited pests. We get 100’s of calls this time of year from homeowners who finally have had enough of what they call bees. Well, unless you are sitting in a field of flowers, the insect you are being pestered by is actually a wasp.

If you are seeing a flying insect that looks like a bee trying to get a piece of your fried chicken, or attracted to the grease of your grill, or your spilled soda on the picnic table, this is definitely the yellow jacket wasp. Honey Bees, which resemble the wasp, are not interested in grease or meats at all. They are true pollinators and are attracted to the flowering plants to feed. They are important to the environment, unlike the aggressive yellow jacket. More people are stung by wasps than bees. In fact, the numbers are not even close.

The yellow jacket wasp, which gets its name from its yellow outer exoskeleton, is a glossy sleek looking insect that has no visible hair on its body and is also a fast flyer. On the other hand, the honey bee looks “fuzzy” as it does have hair on its body. This helps the pollen to cling as he returns to the hive for the honey making. He is also a slower flyer, seems to hover around more and even up close, and is very non-aggressive.

On the other hand, try to swoosh away a yellowjacket, and he may sting you! And the wasp can sting you repeatedly. You may have heard that when a bee stings you they “leave the stinger” in your skin. That is true with the honey bee which rarely stings, but if it does as he pulls away, his barbed stinger is left in your skin. After he stings, he will fly away and will die because without the stinger and rear of his abdomen, he will dry out. The aggressive wasp WILL sting repeatedly and will not loss his stinger.  Also, the amount of venom from a wasp is much more, and this is why some people are deathly allergic to wasps as well as bees.

You want to enjoy your Summer and outside activities, so what should you do? If you are being visited on your deck or in your yard, chances are there is a nest somewhere close by. Wasps do not travel far to feed if they do not need to. They are also easily conditioned that if they “scored” by your grill or garbage can once, they put you on their route! There is a way to unsubscribe! Give us a call for an inspection and we will determine if there is a nest nearby. Sometimes in the ground, but most of the times under siding, or a hole in the brick that you will need to control right away. If left alone, these nests will multiply 100 times the size by the Fall, and sometimes even get so big, they expand in the wall into your home, chewing right through the drywall.

So you can enjoy your Summer, your fried chicken, soda, beer, and snacks, call Guardian Pest Control at 877-924-7378(PEST) today to set up an inspection by our trained staff.