Identifying Wasps

Wasps can be a beneficial insect, although the sight of them often elicits fear in people–whether or not they are allergic to them. If you see one wasp hovering around your garden or landscape, odds are there’s a wasp’s nest nearby, and weighing the benefits is something you may want to to consider carefully before you eliminate it.

Wasps can be a beneficial insect, although the sight of them often elicits fear in people–whether or not they are allergic to them. If you see one wasp hovering around your garden or landscape, odds are there’s a wasp’s nest nearby, and weighing the benefits is something you may want to to consider carefully before you eliminate it.

Wasps and hornets are often confused as being two different species, when in fact a hornet is a member of the greater wasp family. One of the most threatening aspects of wasps is how they can sting repeatedly, unlike bees that sting once before dying.

Yellow jackets and other “social” wasps are the only ones likely to sting. Other wasp varieties are perfectly happy preying on insects or spiders, and even wasp larvae gets into the game, acting as a parasite to several garden pests.

You can recognize a wasps nest by it’s papery texture. If you see the “wasps” swarming near the nest, they probably aren’t wasps, but bees. Wasps do not generally swarm. Wasps’ nests can vary in size from a golf ball-sized ball to a football sized-nest. Watch the nest for several minutes to see if a wasp returns to determine whether the nest is active or an old one from a previous year. Nests are generally built in dry, out-of-reach locations, like eaves, inside bushes or underground.

If you find a wasps’ nest around your garden, it won’t do much harm to leave it alone. They may even give you a hand with pest control! However if you are allergic or concerned for children or pets who play in the area, contact professionals to remove the nest. Do not try DIY methods—those are a sure way to get stung!