Buzzzzz. Ouch! With the beautiful spring flowers and the warming weather, you can expect to see more stinging pests such as wasps, bees, hornets, and yellow jackets buzzing around. Instead of dealing with infestations and nasty stings, we recommend taking action to prevent stinging pest problems with these tips.
How to Prevent Stinging Pest Problems
Seal Up Sweetness
Stinging insects love anything sweet. Therefore, we highly recommend sealing up or covering anything sweet you take outside. Here are a few examples:
- Have picnics contained in sealable containers, and seal them shut after serving
- Place drinks (especially sugary ones) in cups with lids and a closeable drinking hole
- Ditch perfume or cologne when hanging out outside
Repair Holes & Screens
While stinging insects primarily nest outside, they certainly won’t turn down an invitation to your home. To prevent insect infestations, we recommend completing a house inspection to ensure there are no holes, cracks, crevices, or ripped screens that a stinging insect could sneak through. If you find one, seal it up quickly and ensure that nothing has made its home in your house so far.
Maintain Your Property
Keeping your property neat and tidy is key to preventing unwanted nests. By regularly mowing your lawn and weeding gardens, you will be able to identify any holes in the ground made by rodents. These holes are like a free house for stinging pests, so you want to fill them as soon as you find them. If stinging insects have already taken up residence inside a hole, you should call your local pest removal company to take care of it.
Plant Flowers on the Edge
Flowers are the primary attraction for many stinging insects. If you have issues with stinging insects taking over your property during the spring and summer, you may want to consider cutting back your flowering plants, switching to non-flowering plants, or only planting on the very edges of your garden.
React Calmly
Lastly, how you react to stinging insects is huge! When you encounter a stinging insect, it is natural to want to swat them away. However, swatting encourages them to attack you because you are essentially attacking them. Rather than provoking an attack, we recommend remaining calm and slowly walking away from the pest.
What Do I Do If I Have a Stinging Insect Problem?
A single stinging insect may be easy to deal with, but a whole nest can cause serious harm to your house or family, especially if anyone has an allergy. We highly recommend contacting your local pest control to have them remove stinging insect infestations, as they can do it safely and effectively while minimizing damage to your home. Additionally, knowing which stinging pests frequent your property is helpful. Check out our blog explaining the differences between the four main categories!
If you are located in Missouri, Iowa, or Illinois, we at Reliable Pest are your solution for pest problems. For more information about us, please visit our website. Please feel free to complete our contact form for questions or give us a call if you need immediate assistance.