Tips for Keeping Your Home Wasp and Yellow Jacket Free

The buzzing of bees is always a nice warning of their presence, but bees are generally harmless. More dangerous are wasps and yellow jackets. These are much more aggressive than bees, especially when they’re feeling threatened. If you’re noticing an increase in the numbers of wasps or yellow jackets around your home, there may be a nest nearby. A business that specializes in pest control in Alaska can help explain how to keep your home free from wasps and yellow jackets. Here are some simple tips to keep these pests at bay:

• Nest location: Both yellow jackets and wasps tend to make their nests in or around homes and other structures that have food and water for them. Wasps tend to build their nests in trees, eaves, attics and voids inside walls. You may not notice a wasp nest until you see some of them gathering around the entrance. Yellow jackets, meanwhile, usually build nests underground. This makes them even more difficult to spot. Again, you should pay attention if you notice a group of them in the same area multiple times. A business that specializes in pest control in Alaska can help you find and locate any nests. Yellow jacket nests can be particularly dangerous. They have long tunnels that can cause instability in areas near the nest. This can cause damage to sidewalks, driveways and patios.
• When and how to attack: One of the best times to attack a nest is around 7 a.m., when the energy levels of the pests will be low. You can use a garden hose with a jet nozzle to spray it down. You’ll want to make sure you kill the queen to keep the pests from rebuilding. A ground nest should be handled differently. You can use hot, soapy water and pour it into the main hole. You’ll want to be careful because, if threatened, the queen can release an attack pheromone that will summon the entire hive. Once the colony is killed, backfill the hole with soil. If an infestation gets too large, you’ll want to call on your pest control experts in Alaska to handle it.
• How to deal with them: You can also use a variety of different traps to try and kill them and keep wasps and yellow jackets at bay. These traps include meat traps, water traps and sweet traps. The different traps can be tailored to your needs. These aren’t a way to eliminate a nest or infestation, but can help keep their numbers down.
• Pesticides: One of the more obvious answers is to use pesticides. Spraying the wasps and yellow jackets can help get rid of some of them. Be careful where you spray, though, as you don’t want to get too much inside your home or near your pets. You’ll also want to be aware that spraying a nest doesn’t mean the pests will die instantly—you’ll likely have to deal with them being very angry first.

For more than 50 years, Pied Piper Pest Control has provided unparalleled pest control in Alaska. Our highly skilled and knowledgeable staff can help you in many different situations. If you’re having any problems with wasps or yellow jackets, just give us a call. We’ll be happy to set up a service appointment!

Categorised in: Pest Control

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