Roaches Long Island
Wasps, hornets and bees can be a serious nuisance, particularly late in the summer when certain yellow-jacket wasps forage around garbage and outdoor food areas. On the other hand, bees, hornets and wasps are also beneficial in their natural routines, particularly as predators of other pest insects, and as pollinators.
In any case, it is strongly recommended that you bring in a professional to handle bee, hornet and wasp problems due to the dangers they can present and because control methods differ from species to species.
German Roaches Long Island
Although most yellow jacket nests are underground, they are often considered a pest due to their nesting in recreational areas, homes and buildings.
What Do Yellow Jackets Look Like?
Yellow jackets are common on Long Island and typically have a yellow and black head/face and patterned abdomen. Yellow jackets are often considered beneficial because they are pollinators and also eat other harmful pests. However, they are also known scavengers who eat meat, fish and sugary substances, making them a nuisance near trash receptacles and picnics.
To avoid injury, it’s important to know how to properly get rid of yellow-jackets that are posing a threat to humans.
Yellow Jacket Habits
Yellow jackets are social insects that live in nests or colonies. They are most active in the late summer and early fall when a colony is at its peak. Yellow jackets feed on sweets and proteins, which is why they typically invade outdoor events.
Yellow jackets can be found anywhere humans are found. They build paper-carton, comb-like nests out of chewed up wood or other sources of cellulose. Their nest structures are open, unlike paper wasps and bald-faced hornets, whose nest chambers are enclosed in a papery coating. At its peak in late summer, a yellow jacket nest can contain up to 1,000 workers. Yellow jacket nests are usually well hidden in the ground, or in large, open spaces, such as eaves and attics, and behind exterior siding. On occasion, yellow jackets will chew through sheet-rock walls and ceilings to enter living spaces.
Yellow Jacket Threats
Yellow jacket stings pose significant health threats to humans, as they are territorial, aggressive, and will sting if threatened. They are known to sting repeatedly and can cause allergic reactions. Yellow-jackets and other stinging insects send over 500,000 people to a hospital emergency room each year.
Yellow Jacket Prevention
Remove garbage frequently from inside the home, keep trash cans covered with tightly fitted lids, and make sure that all doors and windows have screens that are in good condition. People should also avoid wearing sweet-smelling perfumes and lotions because such scents will attract yellow jackets.
Yellow Jacket Treatment
Treatment for the elimination and control of yellow jackets should only be performed when they pose a stinging threat to people or pets. Our Yellow-Jacket Elimination Program begins with a thorough inspection of your home or business so we can correctly identify the pest and develop the best course of action. Once the nest is located, your Paramount Pest Management Professional will utilize his/her expertise to determine the most effective control products and methods needed to eliminate the nest, and prevent yellow jackets from coming back to the treated area(s).
Got Yellow Jackets? Give Us a Call for Help > 516-362-2005
Hornets - Long Island
The bald-faced hornet is the most common hornet found on Long Island, a relative of the yellow jacket, and gets its name from its largely black color and mostly white face.
What Do Bald-Faced Hornets Look Like?
Bald-faced hornets look much like their yellow-jacket relatives, but are larger with black bodies and a white-pattern on their faces. They also have two slanted lines running from their midsection towards their head, as well as on the latter part of their abdomen. This stinging insect is named a hornet because of its large size and aerial nesting behavior.
Bald-faced worker hornets range in size (depending on age) from 1/2 inch to 5/8 inch long, and the queen is larger at about 3/4 of an inch long. They build nests above ground that are grey in color and paper-like, but they are enclosed, unlike the open cone structure made by yellow jackets.
To avoid injury, it’s important to know how to properly get rid of hornets that are posing a threat to humans.
Bald-Faced Hornet Habits
Bald-faced hornets are social insects and are most active during the day. They build and live in nests with colonies that typically contain between 100 and 400 members. Bald-faced hornets build their nests out of paper, generally at least three or more feet off of the ground, and their nests are typically found on/in trees, shrubs, on overhangs, utility poles, corners and eaves of houses, sheds or other structures. Bald faced hornet nests can be as large as 14 inches in diameter and more than 24 inches in length.
A bald-faced hornet nest attached to an electric box on a home. There will also be worker bald-faced hornets flying around the nest and nearby area.
Bald-faced hornets usually appear in late summer when their colonies are at their peak. Around the end of summer, male hornets emerge from unfertilized eggs inside the nest and impregnate new females to give birth the next season. The inseminated females are the only ones that hibernate (or overwinter) when the weather cools, while the remaining members of the nest die off. This process repeats the next spring and summer. Unlike other stinging insects, bald-faced hornets do not reuse their nests season after season. The new members will build a new nest each season, from new materials, in a different area.
Bald-Faced Hornet Threats
Bald-faced hornets are aggressive and will attack anyone or anything that invades their space, unlike other stinging insects that may only rarely sting when they feel extremely threatened. These hornets have smooth stingers, so they can sting repeatedly, whereas other stinging insects, like honeybees, lose their stingers after they attack once. Bald-faced hornet stings contain venom that is painful, itches and swells for about 24 hours. Humans are at the same risk of allergic reactions from bald-faced hornet stings as with other insect stings.
Bald-Faced Hornet Prevention
Avoiding contact with bald-faced hornets is key to preventing stings. Keeping food covered, especially when outdoors, will also help keep them away. When spending time outside, avoid wearing strong fragrances and use unscented hygienic products instead. Also wear shoes that cover and protect your feet from foraging hornets!
How to Get Rid of Bald-Faced Hornets
If you find a bald-faced hornet nest on your home or property, do not attempt to remove it on your own as this can aggravate the colony and cause the hornets to sting. In addition, treatment for the elimination and control of hornets should only be performed when they pose a stinging threat to people or pets. Our Hornet Elimination Program begins with a thorough inspection of your home or business so we can correctly identify the pest and develop the best course of action. Once the nest is located, your Paramount Pest Management Professional will utilize his/her expertise to determine the most effective control products and methods needed to eliminate the nest, and prevent hornets from coming back to the treated area(s).
Need Help with Hornets? Give Us a Call Today > 516-362-2005
Paper Wasps - Long Island
Paper wasps get their name from the paper-like material out of which they make their nests. Paper wasps are sometimes called umbrella wasps, after the shape of their distinctive nests.
What Do Paper Wasps Look Like?
Paper wasps generally look like yellow-jackets, but are larger with a noticeably thin midsection. Known paper wasp species share similar coloration of brown and yellow, but they may also have different bands of colors and markings that separate them from one another. Some species of paper wasp may even have hints of bolder colors like red, or even brighter colored lines compared to others.
To avoid injury, it’s important to know how to properly get rid of paper wasps that are posing a threat to humans.
%20.jpg)
Paper Wasp Habits
These stinging insects are semi-social creatures who typically live in small colonies without a worker class. Paper wasps often build nests in residential yards, so one of the main signs of an infestation is the physical sighting of the nest itself, and wasps moving around the nest. Paper wasps feed on nectar and other insects, including caterpillars and flies.
In the spring, paper wasps emerge and begin to build their paper-like, umbrella-shaped nests. Paper wasp nests typically hang from branches of trees and shrubs, porch ceilings, the tops of window and door frames, soffits, eaves, attic rafters, deck floor joists, railings and more. Each nest contains comb-like and uncovered cells where the eggs are laid. Female paper wasps help each other with nest building, but only one queen lays eggs for the colony in each nest. Once that queen dies, a new egg-laying female will take her place. In the fall, future queen paper wasps will seek safe, warm places to spend the winter and often find their way indoors.
Paper Wasp Threats
While not an aggressive species by nature, paper wasps will sting if they are disturbed or their nest is threatened. It’s unusual for an impregnated paper wasp to sting, but it can happen. Paper wasp stings can be very painful, itchy, red, swollen, and can cause the same risk of allergic reaction to humans as other insect stings.
Paper Wasp Prevention
The best way to prevent a paper wasp infestation, and the potential of getting stung, is to make the home less attractive to them. Be sure to carefully check shrubs, hedges, and/or hanging fruit for paper wasp nests before trimming/picking to avoid contact with these stinging insects. Seal cracks and crevices in the home with a silicone-based caulk, repair any tears in screens, and try to keep exterior doors closed as often as possible to prevent paper wasps from entering the home.
How to Get Rid of Paper Wasps
If you find a paper wasp nest on your home or property, do not attempt to remove it on your own as this can aggravate the colony and cause the wasps to sting. In addition,treatment for the elimination and control of paper wasps should only be performed when they pose a stinging threat to people or pets. Our Wasp Protection Program begins with a thorough inspection of your home or business so we can correctly identify the pest and develop the best course of action. Once the nest is located, your Paramount Pest Management Professional will utilize his/her expertise to determine the most effective control products and methods needed to eliminate the nest, and prevent hornets from coming back to the treated area(s).