Wasps, bees and hornets pose obvious threats to human safety. For some, their stings can even be deadly. For this reason, a bee, wasp or hornet nest in a human home should be dealt with swiftly. According to the team at ABC Humane Wildlife Control and Prevention, a company that provides wasp and bee removal in Naperville, Illinois, eliminating a wasp or bee problem without injury requires skill, experience and a deep understanding of the insects’ biology and behaviors.
Bees, wasps and hornets are found in several different places within human homes. Where they’ve chosen to live will determine how to best address an infestation.
Suspended Nests
One of the most common types of wasps in the Chicagoland area, Polistes wasps (also called called umbrella wasps) are often found hanging in small nests suspended in the eaves of homes, in the pipes of lawn furniture, and frequently in barbeques.
Often, when a homeowner discovered a Polistes wasp nest, he will attempt to deal with the problem himself by purchasing a can of wasp spray from the local hardware store. What many people don’t understand, however, is that it’s in the wasps’ biology to attack in defense of their nest by attacking the eyes of the affronting animal. The reason for this is that the eyes and nose as the most vulnerable areas of animals with fur, the wasps’ most common natural enemies.
Because dealing with a wasp problem on your own poses such serious risks, the team recommends consulting a professional. ABC Humane Wildlife Control and Prevention has highly trained technicians who are equipped with appropriate protective gear and use more environmentally-friendly products to deal with suspended wasps’ nests.
Nests in Holes
Nests in a hole, as are common for honey bees and yellowjackets to establish, are dealt with in a much different way than suspended nests. It’s absolutely crucial that nothing is sprayed in or around that hole. Too often, homeowners take it upon themselves to deal with a bee problem by spraying a commercially available product into a hole. What this often results in is literally hundreds of thousands of bees entering the inside of the home once they discover that the exit from their nest is contaminated.
Just as a professional should be consulted to deal with a suspended wasp nest, a wildlife control company like ABC, which employs biologists and beekeepers, should be called in to deal with any bee, wasp or hornet situation that’s occurring within the walls of a human home.
Swarms of Bees
It’s important to note that swarms of bees pose no real danger to humans if left alone. A swarm is formed when honey bees create a second queen and take half of the population of the hive to live in a new location. This is the way that honey bee hives spread and multiply, and is an important part of maintaining healthy honey bee populations.
Supporting honey bees is extremely important now, as they are facing serious challenges (including the well-publicized colony collapse syndrome). Honey bees are extremely important pollinators, and play a critical role in agriculture. In fact, it’s estimated that upwards of one third of the US diet depends on honey bee pollination.
For this reason, when ABC receives a call about a honey bee swarm (which often looks like a ball in the sky or several thousand bees gathered on a tree branch), the company considers it an educational opportunity. A swarm of bees should never be considered a problem, the team says. Instead, she recommends taking this unique opportunity to observe nature at work until the bees eventually move on.