If you’re anything like us, you hate wasps. First of all, they look evil. Second, they seem to pop up when it’s least convenient. You walk a few miles into the woods to find the perfect picnic spot by the river only to have wasps invade your lunch date. Or maybe you’re finally making progress on your new outdoor deck only to stumble upon a wasp nest full of angry insects. Whatever activities wasps have interrupted, it isn’t too late to do something about it.
Lewisville Wasp Problems
Lewisville homeowners might understand that wasps are an inconvenience on their properties, but they may not understand the different kinds of wasps that plague Lewisville homes. Three common kinds of wasps in Lewisville are paper wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets. You’ll be able to spot hornets fairly easily: they’re the largest of the three and make the largest nests. They build their nests in high places, like under your outdoor roof. Similarly, paper wasps have lofted nests as well. However, yellow jackets build their nests in cavities or in the ground, making them much easier to disturb unintentionally.
No matter which of the three kinds of wasps is threatening your property, their presence is bad news. Unlike bees, wasps have the ability to sting multiple times. If you manage to disturb a nest, their pack mentality puts you at risk for multiple stings that can cause a variety of health complications like shortness of breath, shock, permanent skin damage, and other cardiovascular effects. As territorial creatures, these wasps send distress signals to nearby wasps for defense purposes, increasing the health risks exponentially.
Prevention Techniques
To keep these dangerous pests off of your property, it takes an understanding of what attracts them and what can prevent them. It turns out, wasps have a bit of a sweet tooth. They’re usually drawn to your property because of easily accessible sources of sugar, like fruit trees. They interrupt picnics because they love fruit juice and soda. (Pro tip: don’t leave an open soda can unattended outside. Wasps can crawl inside, which could result in an awfully painful sip).
While you can avoid attracting wasps to an extent, you also want to focus on prevention. If you can focus on the following four activities, you might have a chance to avoid dealing with wasps altogether:
- Monitor the potential food sources around your house like hummingbird feeders and pet food.
- Use screens on windows or doors that you open frequently. Unscreened doors and windows left open for prolonged periods of time are a welcome mat for wasps.
- Cover up all of your garbage and compost to deny easy access to food sources.
- Deal with any wasp nests promptly before they can get a foothold on your property.
Along with these easy fixes, consider the kind of habitat you’re creating for wasps. Are there good places on your property for their nests? Since wasps generally use wood to form their nesting material, keep an eye on your outdoor wooden structures like porches, patios, and swings. Any sort of small cavities, cracks, or holes should be sealed up before wasps find the easy nesting opportunity.
If wasps do gain a foothold on your property, it can be very dangerous to deal with them yourself. Fortunately, there is a much safer solution: Contact the professionals at Texas Star Pest & Termite for more wasp prevention assistance or to remove an existing wasp nest safely.