As the warmer weather arrives, you and your family are probably eager to shed your cold-weather layers and head outside to bask in the sun and the warmth. While the higher temperatures definitely bring us out of our winter hibernation, the heat also attracts an entirely new onslaught of pests — bees and wasps.
While your first instinct may be to take a bat or stick and knock down the hive once you notice one on your property, Dan Bradbury, who serves the New York and New Jersey area as the vice president of Viking Pest Control, says that this is the absolute last thing you should ever do.
For starters, he says, knocking down the hive or nest will only aggravate the bees. And, by doing that you you are putting yourself at high risk of getting stung. Furthermore, even if the nest is knocked down or removed, the insects will just relocate elsewhere on your property and create a new nest, or sometimes even multiple new nests.
When you call a pest control company like Viking, you can guarantee that the situation will be properly taken care of. Getting rid of the bees or wasps is a multistep process, Bradbury explains. First, the nest itself needs to be taken care of so that any bees present in the hive currently will be terminated. The treatment that Bradbury and his team use ensures that any bees who try to fly back into the nest later will also be exterminated. This works to greatly decrease the population around your home, he adds.
Sometimes though, the problem isn’t always originating on your property. It could be that your neighbors have a hive, and their bees have found their way over to your house. Unfortunately, says Bradbury, there really is nothing you can do to prevent the bees from nesting in your backyard. And remedies like over-the-counter sprays will be ineffective.
Paper wasps, which are common in the New York region, can have multiple nesting points for just one colony, he says. So, if your neighbor says that he has a bee problem, there is probably a nest somewhere near your home as well. These bees can make a nest pretty much anywhere, Bradbury continues. Fences, decks, and overhangs are some of the most common areas.
Just as you would if you had originally found a nest in your own backyard, you should contact a pest control company who specializes in bee and wasp removal so that you can focus on having fun by the pool without worrying about being stung.
