Size: 1/4 to 1” Shape: Oval Color: Black with Yellow stripes Bumble Bees are especially beneficial to plants and crops. They help pollinate and are very social insects. Most often they nest or build colonies in ground but will build above ground around the eaves of homes/buildings, roof beams, patio areas and/or decks. Bumble Bees feed their young and colonies with the pollen and nectar from flowers. They will sting multiple times when threatened. Prevention: Contact us for a free inspection if activity is noted. … [Read more...]

Size: 1/2” to 1” Shape: Oval Color: Blue Black Carpenter Bees are known for boring through wood to lay their eggs. Some of the tunnels can be as long as 10 feet. They feed on pollen and nectar from flowers that are passed over by the Honey Bee and return to the nest sites to feed their larvae and the colony. Their boring can and will weaken structures. Carpenter Bees prefer bare wood so painting or staining may deter them but when dealing with any species of Bees caution is needed. Prevention: Carpenter Bees prefer bare wood. By painting or staining it may deter them but when dealing … [Read more...]

Size: 1 to 1 5/8” Shape: Color: Black to Rusty with Yellowish markings Cicada Killers are a solitary wasp that burrows into bare ground, once they have found Cicadas (large winged - stout bodied insects), stinging it which paralyzes it. They will bring it back to the burrow then laying an egg on it so that the wasp larva can feed on it. Cicada Killers may nest in the same general area but not in the same burrow. The female of the species can sting bug only if stepped on or handled, while the male cannot sting. The Cicada Killers are beneficial insects by helping control Cicada … [Read more...]

Common Name: Honey bee Scientific Name: Apis mellifera Linnaeus Order: Hymenoptera Honey bees are somewhat variable in color but are some shade of black, brown or brown intermixed with yellow. They have dense hairs on the pronotum and sparser hair on the abdomen. Microscopically, at least some of the body hairs of bees (Apoidea) are branched (pumose). The abdomen often appears banded. Larvae are legless grubs, white in color. Worker bees are generally not aggressive (defensive) during foraging or swarming activities. However, when the hive contains developing larvae and … [Read more...]

Size: 5/8 to 3/4" Shape: Color: Brownish with Yellow markings This species of Paper Wasps are non-aggressive and are a nuisance but will sting. Paper Wasps build small comb like nests from tree branches, twigs, shrubs, porch ceilings, top member of door and window frames, soffits, eaves, attic rafters, deck floor joists and railings, basically any protected place imaginable. They do aide in the control of many insect pests. Prevention: Contact us for a free inspection is activity is noted. This stinging wasp is a serious pest and should be dealt with promptly. … [Read more...]

Size: 1” Shape: Color: Rusty Red Red Wasps are from the family of Paper Wasps. They get their name from their color, and are an aggressive species when provoked and will sting. Their nests are built from wood and plant fibers and can be found under eaves, in old tires, nesting in warehouses, hollow trees and wooden structures. Red Wasps feed on as well as feed their larvae on sweet nectar and live prey. Prevention: Contact us for a free inspection if activity is noted. This species of wasps should be dealt with promptly by a liscensed pest professional. … [Read more...]

The southern yellow jacket, also known as vespula squamosa, has a black body with yellow characteristic markings on the head, thorax, and abdomen. Workers are about 1/2 inch long, with clear wings. LIFE CYCLE: The colony is initiated by a single queen that survived the winter. The queen is very large and predominately orange, differing from the worker and male wasps in a colony. After feeding on nectar and arthropods in early spring, the queen's ovaries develop and she seeks a nesting site. There she constructs a nest of 20 to 45 cells and produces eggs that hatch into larvae. The … [Read more...]