Wasps And Hornets
Bee and wasp stings
A bee or wasp sting results in local pain, swelling, redness and itching for most persons. To minimize the sting, a poultice of meat tenderizer or salt can be applied to the site as soon as possible after the incident and left on for about 30 minutes. Use about 0.5 teaspoon mixed with enough water to produce a paste. Commercial swabs are available that do about the same thing.
Some people may react violently if they are stung. Symptoms can include difficulty in breathing, dizziness and nausea, as well as the more common symptoms listed above. With severe reactions, medical attention is needed. Anyone with a history of hypersensitive reactions should have a sting emergency kit available and should wear a medical alert bracelet or other alert item. Consult your physician about desensitization treatments.
Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets are named after their yellow-and-black-striped body markings.
Worker yellowjackets are about 0.5 inch long. Their nests consist of multilayered
combs surrounded by a paper shell. The eastern yellowjacket and the southern
yellowjacket usually build their nests in underground holes and only occasionally
in aboveground cavities. The German yellowjacket almost always nests in
aboveground cavities. A large nest usually is about the size of a basketball.
In late summer, nests may contain up to 5,000 workers.
In late summer, colonies produce a group of new queens and males. After
mating, these new queens go into hibernation and those surviving start
new colonies the following spring. The rest of the colony does not survive
the winter. Old nests are not reused.
All yellowjackets will aggressively defend their nests, but this aggressiveness
increases in late summer and fall. Because yellowjackets forage for meats,
sweets, ripe fruit and garbage, they pose a threat to humans even when
they are not near their nests. They are usually a problem in picnic areas
and orchards and around garbage containers.
Control of yellowjackets
Individual yellowjacket foragers are a difficult problem. A single wasp
in an automobile can be gently pushed out an open window using an object
such as a folded newspaper. A single yellowjacket on the lip of a soft
drink container also should be gently coaxed away. Never swat a wasp,
particularly while it is on your skin -- that may prompt a sting. Good
sanitation practices in picnic areas are essential. All food garbage and
empty beverage cans should be placed in containers with tight-fitting lids.
Bald Faced Hornets
The bald-faced hornet, is about 0.7 inch long and is black with whitish markings. It is technically a yellowjacket but builds a distinctive pear-shaped, basketball-sized nest covered with grayish paper like material.
It usually constructs its nest in a tree or shrub or under the eave of a building. Some people have tried to remove these nests by suddenly covering them with a plastic trash bag, tying it tightly to the branch, and then sawing the branch off. Don’t do it! Bald-faced hornets can escape from trash bags with ease.
Paper wasps
Several species of paper wasps of the genus Polistes occur in Kansas All are about 0.7 to 1.0 inch long, slender and variously colored with brown, red and yellow. They build their single-comb unprotected nest from the eaves or porches of buildings or other sheltered locations. As with all the other wasps, only the female queen survives the winter to start new colonies in the spring.
Paper wasps are not as aggressive as yellowjackets or hornets in defense of their nest. These nests should be eliminated only if they are located near human activity. To do so, spray with a pressurized spray stream as described above for the bald-faced hornet. Return a few hours later and remove the nest to discourage others from nesting there.
Mud dauber wasps
Mud daubers are solitary wasps of the family Sphecidae. They vary in length
from 0.5 to 1.25 inches and are very slender with threadlike waists. They
build mud nests in sheltered areas. These nests are tube like cells often
positioned side by side.
The female wasp stocks the nest with insects or spiders that she has captured
and stung into paralysis. After laying an egg on the prey, that cell is
closed and she starts on the next cell.
Mud daubers overwinter as larvae in the mud nests. One of Kansas's most
common species is the black and yellow Sceliphron caementarium. A related
common species, Chalybion californicum, is metallic blue with bluish wings.
It steals the nests of S. caementarium, replacing nest contents with its
own spiders and eggs.
Mud daubers usually sting only when pinned against the skin. They are beneficial
except for their unsightly mud nests, which often are placed around human
habitation. Undesirable nests should be knocked down and the residual
soil washed off with water and a brush. No insecticide treatments are
necessary.
Cicada killer wasps
The cicada killer wasp is 1.5 to 2.0 inches long, and is brownish black with yellow markings on the abdomen and face. While their size is intimidating, cicada killers are not aggressive and will sting humans only if pinned against the skin.
The female digs a burrow in the soil. It captures cicadas, paralyzing them
by stinging, and places them in the burrow. An egg is deposited on each
cicada and that cell is closed off. Cicada killer wasps produce one generation
per year, and the larvae spend the winter in the nest cell in the soil.
The only damage these wasps cause is the unsightly dirt piles dug out to
create nests. The piles usually disappear with the first rain. Killing
individual wasps is virtually impossible unless you spray them in the
act of digging or soak the soil to kill developing larvae. Since cicada
killers are so beneficial, control efforts are not recommended. If you
feel control is necessary call Haley Pest Control.