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SPECIAL OFFERSStinging Insect Removal Within 48 Hours
When you have problems with stinging insects, you want them gone from your home as soon as possible. The longer they’re around, the more danger you're placing your family in. When you call Miller Pest & Termite, we’ll send one of our qualified exterminators out to your home within 48 hours to take care of the problem. We even offer weekend hours so your Friday problem never has to wait until Monday.
Stinging Insect Control in the Midwest
Stinging insects like wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets have their place in the food chain—but not in your home! These pests can be dangerous when they decide to build a nest in, on, or near your home. If you see a hive around your home, call Miller as soon as possible at 515-518-8864 for our stinging insect removal. They can be territorial and aggressive if people and pets are a perceived threat to their nest, so it’s important to have a professional treat your infestation.
Our stinging insect control includes:
- Yellow Jacket Removal
- Wasp Removal
- Hornet Removal
- Bee Removal Recommendations
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How to Identify Yellow Jackets, Wasps, and Hornets
Since these three common stinging insects all look alike, it can be hard to tell the difference between them. Here’s how you can tell:
- Yellow Jackets: They have segmented bodies, no hair, and thin waists with a defined yellow-and-black striped pattern. A worker yellowjacket is about .5 in long, while a queen is about .75 in.
- Wasps: They have pinched waists, gray wings, black or brown bodies, and thin legs. Wasps can range anywhere from 1/4 of an inch to 1 inch long.
- Hornets: They have thin waists, 4 wings, and 6 legs with a black and white or a brownish-red pattern. Hornets are usually a little over an inch long, however the Asian giant hornets—or murder hornets—can get up to 2 inches long.
The Differences Between Hornets and Wasps
Hornets are a subset of wasps that are larger in size and live in large, highly organized colonies. Like wasps, hornets will attack whatever they perceive to be a threat to their colony—which is why hornet's nest removal should always be attempted by a professional! Unlike wasps, hornet nests can house thousands of workers, creating an impressive swarm when they have to be protective.
Never Attempt Wasp Nest Removal By Yourself
Wasps, as well as yellow jackets and hornets, are extremely aggressive insects. While yellow jackets are more aggressive as they sting with little to no provocation, wasps, and hornets become aggressive when disturbed. As many people are allergic to their stings, it’s important to contact a professional exterminator for nest removal. Each species likes to create their nests in different places, so a proper inspection by one of our wasp exterminators is necessary for proper removal.
The most common nesting sites for wasp, hornet, or yellow jacket nests include:
- Attics
- Treetops
- Hollow tree trunks
- Under the edge of roofs
- Underground in abandoned rodent burrows
- Beneath decks and patios
- In HVACs
- On playground equipment (swings, toys)
- Behind window shutters
When Are Yellow Jackets, Wasps, and Hornets Active?
Stinging insects are active at the worst times. When the weather is nice and you want to spend it outdoors, bees, wasps, hornets, and more are buzzing around. Colonies are at their peak numbers, and the worker bees are out foraging for food in the late summer and early fall. These are the times to pay special attention to your home for stinging insects. Both wasps and hornets are attracted to the sugars in food—it’s a source of energy for them.
How to Prevent Wasps, Yellow Jackets, and Hornets
While a professional is your best, most effective option for stinging insect control, there are a few ways you can help make your home safe against these dangerous pests!
To help make your home and yard less attractive to stinging insects, you can:
- Keep a tight-fitting lid or lock on all trash cans and compost bins around your home.
- Clean up any leftover food or drinks after eating outside—ants aren’t the only ones who enjoy a picnic!
- Keep trees, bushes, and shrubs off the exterior of your home.
- Place tight-fitting caps on all chimneys—this helps keep rodents, wildlife, and other pests out as well!
Still not sure what species you’re dealing with? That’s okay! The exterminators here at Miller Pest & Termite are experts in dealing with all sorts of stinging insects and can have your home bee-free in no time!
Schedule your stinging insect control service
Bee Hive Removal
If you find a colony of honey bees that appear to be setting up shop in your garden, you may need them to be removed. Honey bee removal is something you should never attempt on your own. Only experienced beekeepers and pest control professionals should attempt to move honey bee hives because:
- Protective clothing is essential to safely remove the hive.
- An appropriate vessel is needed to transport the delicate honey bees.
- The hive needs to be removed in a manner that won’t leave their nest open for wasps at a later date.
- The honeycomb must be removed.
Miller Pest & Termite does not treat for honey bees. Instead, we ask you to work with local beekeepers in your area to safely remove the hive from your home. If the beehive is an issue of customer safety, Miller will attempt to remove the nest and bring to a local beekeeper ourselves.
Honey Bees
Honey bees are often misidentified as bumblebees and vice versa. Honey bees will vary in color from yellow to black with brown or black bands across their abdomens, while bumblebees are much rounder, sometimes more colorful, and live in smaller hives than honey bees.
When stung by a honey bee, the barbed ends of their stinger will stick in the skin, removing the stinger from the bee and killing the bee. Bumblebees lack a barbed stinger, allowing them to continue stinging. The bumblebee is less likely to sting humans but will do so if harmed or their hive is disturbed.
Africanized Honey Bees
The Africanized honey bee has been found in Kansas City, and they’ve even been reported to have made it through the harsh winters in Colorado. While still a rare sight in our area, you should always be wary of the Africanized honey bee and call professionals if you believe they’ve invaded your yard.
The Africanized honey bee is very protective of its hive and will aggressively defend its nest at even the slightest provocation. Stings from an Africanized honey bee can be extremely painful and trigger allergic reactions. If the hive has been built inside your home rather than in your garden, you can run the risk of honey seeping into the walls or ceilings and damaging your home.
If the hive is especially heavy—which happens often—extra stress can be added to the area, puncturing sheetrock and causing a swarm to break out. Abandoned hives can attract a whole slew of other pests, including ants, silverfish, and rodents.
Africanized Honey Bee Nest Removal
Do not attempt to remove Africanized honey bees yourself! You can create a dangerous situation for yourself, your loved ones, and your neighbors. There are also special rules in some areas about who can handle bees and how they must be handled. Don’t risk breaking any laws—call Miller Pest & Termite!
Areas We Provide Stinging Insect Control
Miller Pest & Termite offers stinging insect control across the greater Midwest -- including Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Some of the services within our service areas in these states include:
