Pest Alert: The Wasps Are Out. Here’s What You Need to Know.

In New England, spring is a time when many overwintered pests emerge. It’s best to keep in mind that not all of them are of urgent concern right now. Wasp species, including yellow jackets, are starting to show their striped faces again this month; but unlike last summer, you may notice that they aren’t taking much of an interest in you. This is for several reasons, all explained by the season and knowing how wasps operate. Before you start locking the windows and calling up the Pest 911 hotline, we come bearing good news: These wasps mean you no harm. 

What Are We Seeing?

For starters, the wasps you are seeing right now are just the queens. That’s right – you’re looking at a future “queen bee” herself, and she has only one thing on her mind: Starting a colony. That means that she’s just not especially interested you, your kids, your pets, or even your open soda can: All she’s looking to do is find a spot to make her nest, lay her fertilized eggs, and put her babies to work. 

What we’re witnessing right now is the first step of this process: She’s woken up, but she’s still groggy. She may even be spotted inside your house if she overwintered there but, rest assured, she’s just looking for a way outside at this point.

The Takeaway

Obviously if you are allergic to wasp stings, you’ll want to continue avoiding wasps regardless of the season. If they’re inside your home this time of the year, a vacuum cleaner with a hose might just be your best means of managing the nomad pests, or you can simply open a window and encourage them outside. However, make no mistake in that seeing wasps now means that there is definitely something that wasps find favorable about your home, so it’s important to implement a tailored prevention strategy to prevent on-site wasp colonies later. At JP Pest Services, we specialize in successful prevention strategies, timed for maximum effectiveness so that you can rest easy.