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Wasps

Colour: Yellow with black stripes
Size: 1 to 2.5 cm

Though there are thousands of species, the most common in Eastern Ontario are the yellow jacket and the hornet. A social wasp colony consists of a queen and between a handful and 15,000 male drones and sterile female workers. Wasps play a role in insect control and can continue to sting as they do not lose their stingers. It is best to have a professional plan as the wasp has a pheromone which causes the colony to swarm when they sense danger.

Wasp Habitat

Wasps, Yellow jackets and Hornets live all over North America in meadows, orchards, woodlands, playgrounds, cemeteries, school yards and urban and suburban settings. All wasps build nests, although they vary in their nesting preferences.
A wasp habitat is a paper-like nest made from wood fibers that have been chewed into a pulp. A yellow jacket habitat is a nest built below the ground surface. On the other hand, a hornet habitat, like a wasp’s, is above ground. Wasps and hornets often build their large nests in trees as well as in structures such as decks, porch overhangs, even attics and house walls.

Wasp Life Cycle

The Wasp has 4 stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Colonies or nests are newly built in the spring. Having survived the winter by hibernating in a warm place, a queen will start a new nest from scratch. In the small paper nest, the queen will lay her eggs. The first egg hatchings will become a starter brood of adult female workers who will take over building the nest, taking care of the queen and other larvae, foraging for food and protecting the colony. At summer’s end, there will be thousands of wasps in the colony. Males are produced at the end of summer and mate before the colony dies off as the colder weather sets in.

Wasp Prevention

Clean outdoor trash cans frequently and always keep the lids on tight avoid putting out waste with soda cans and or sweet-smelling items like rotting meat. Keep leaves and yard debris swept up and orderly. Keep bushes and trees properly pruned over grown bushes and trees allow for hidden nests. Empty standing water from bird baths, rain gutters, animal dishes, and other items that collect rain water, wasps need a water source to build their nests.

Wasp Service Prep Guide

There are many things that should be done to prepare for a wasp treatment. For the full list of ways to make your wasp treatment successful, view our Wasp Service Preparation Guide.

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Greenshield Pest Control is a family business that has been providing exceptional pest control services for more than 30 years.
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