By Russell W. Dickson

As our thoughts turn from cold weather and snow storms to sunny days and barbecues and we enjoy our outside activities we quickly realize we are not the only ones out and about this time of year. Stinging insects like wasps, hornets and yellow jackets are on the prowl too and can quickly become a problem. If you are allergic to stinging insects or just don’t want to get stung, then it is best to try and avoid them, if you know where they are.  Stinging insects are more likely to get you when they are guarding their nests.  So be on the lookout when you are outdoors this time of year.  If you see them concentrated around a particular spot and flying to and from it, then it is probably a nest.

Most of us encounter them while attending outdoor events,  it always seems that  the minute we sit down and pour that glass of soda or start to enjoy an ice cream, wasps and bees quickly show up to spoil the fun. Believe it or not, you are not as likely to get stung in these situations as you are when you encounter a nest because scavenging insects are not in a defensive mode while buzzing around your drink. When they are present you should calmly get up and move your food away or cover it until they move on. Bear in mind though, that once food is discovered stinging insects like wasps will patrol that area for quite a while after the food source is gone. If you have a stinging insect problem, especially if you discover highly aggressive yellow jackets or hornets the safest thing to do is call your Clifton Park pest professional to deal with them.

Most of us have a deep seeded fear of these raiders of barbeques; stinging insects have a bad, not always deserved reputation. Most people are unaware that these actually provide an extremely beneficial service to us by eliminating large numbers of other pest insects through predation. In fact we should be protecting and encouraging them to live in areas where we will not come in contact with them.  Nature has its own methods of dealing with stinging insects. Birds, reptiles, some mammals, preying mantids, and bald-faced hornets all have been known to feed on them.

Use caution this time of year and when stinging insects are present or invade your home or structure. It is better to play it safe and avoid the areas all together.  If you do discover a stinging insect nest on your property, you need professional removal of yellow jackets, wasps, honey bees, hornets and other stinging insects. Contact our bee removal services in Saratoga, Clifton Park, Schenectady as well as the Capital Region to prevent unwanted insect stings keeping you and your family safe. Avoid "swatting" or treating on your own, as stinging insects will become more aggressive! Get started, contact your professional bee removal specialist.

About Russell W. Dickson

Russell is a service associate with Thomas Pest Services with over fifteen years of experience in the pest management field. Along with his passion for helping individuals each day with their pest problems, he also loves to write!