WASPS & HORNETS

Wasps & hornets are feared because of their sting and swarming tendencies. Many wasps are quite aggressive, and their stings can be extremely painful.

The 4 common types of wasps here in Ontario are bald faced hornets, paper wasps, yellow jackets and mud dauber wasps.They may have different nesting habits, but all can infest your home, garage, shed, yard, or  other outbuildings and pose a hazard to you, your family and pets.

Because of their painful sting, the risk of getting stung by multiple wasps and hornets, and the risk of allergic reaction, getting rid of wasps and hornets can be a dangerous undertaking. Seeking help from a licensed pest control professional, with experience getting rid of wasps and hornet is the best course of action.

The bald faced hornet (or white-faced hornet) is a large social wasp that lives in a colony. They help pollinate flowers while in pursuit of nectar and help to decrease populations of nuisance insects. It's body is large and dark in colour with a pale face. They have white markings on its face, thorax, legs and abdomen

They build aerial nests out of paper which by the end of summer are the size of a basket ball and contain around 700 workers. Nests are most commonly found trees, shrubs, buildings, and overhangs. Sometimes nests are built on homes, garages or sheds that are near humans.

Like yellow jackets, they will fiercely defend their nest. They will chase after their victim for long distances to sting them. They are very aggressive and can sting more than once. The sting of a bald faced hornet is painful.

Paper wasps are semi-social and live in small colonies, with a cast system. They are also called ‘Umbrella wasps’ because their nests look similar to an inverted umbrella. Paper wasps are actually named after the paper-like material they make from combining wood fiber and their saliva, which they use to build their nests. Paper wasps may re-use old nests.

The average paper wasp is brown with yellow markings with 6 legs. They eat nectar and other insects, like flies and caterpillars. They are not aggressive, however they will sting if provoked, disturbed, if they feel their nest is being threatened. Do not attempt to knock down a paper wasp nest. You will likely be stung and the nest will likely be re-built by paper wasps.

Yellow jacket wasps are social wasps that live in colonies, with a caste system. They have bullet shaped bodies and yellow and black stripes that ring around their abdomens. They are often misidentified as honey bees. They scavenge trash cans and picnics, as they are attracted to human garbage.

Yellow jackets are super aggressive and more than willing to sting for any reason. They can and will sting more than once. They are often a huge nuisance in late summer when their populations are large and their nests are located near people. 

Yellow jackets are actually beneficial to our ecosystem as they eat house and blow fly larvae, and insects that can damage crops and ornamental plants in your garden, like caterpillars. Yellow jackets nest in the ground, on buildings, and in trees and shrubs. In homes and buildings, they commonly build their nests in underground holes, soffits, eaves, vents, behind shutters, in attics or wall voids. Nests grow from the size of an orange to the the size of a football.  A yellow jacket colony can grow as large as 5,000 yellow jackets in a single season.

Mud daubers are solitary wasps with long, slender bodies and a narrow waist. They can be solid steel blue or black in colouring, or have additional yellow markings. Mud daubers build small nests out of mud in or around homes, garages, sheds, barns, bridges and other similar sites. Depending on the type of mud dauber wasp, their nests will vary in appearance from a smooth fist-sized balls to cylindrical tubes.

Mud daubers do not defend their nests aggressively like social wasps, and are very unlikely to sting. In cases where they have stung a person, it was because they were mishandled.