Paper wasps are often called umbrella wasps because of the shape of their nests that hang under our rooflines.

They are not very aggressive and they normally will not sting unless they are stepped on or handled. Easy to control! Just hit the nest after dark with any commercial wasp spray (read the label and look out for drift), and then knock down the nests the next day. Pinpoint does not charge for wasp control for our regular customers. Contact us if you would like service or advice.

Mud Dauber Wasps are very common in our communities and they are often considered to be quite beneficial because they help to control nesting spiders. An adult, female will actively seek out spider webs and will stroke them to lure the spider out for a meal, but the spider becomes the meal for the larval wasps. Mud Daubers construct a series of small mud tubes on the wall of your porch under the overhang to house the paralyzed spiders that she catches. These wasps are not aggressive and the nests can be scraped down with a putty knife or a spatula, but the mud stain cannot be totally erased.

Bumblebees are pretty much gone from North County because of depredations caused by the Varoa mite. They are starting to make a comeback, but it is unlikely that they will build up great numbers and large nests like they did in the past. Normally if you leave them alone for a few weeks they will control themselves, or you can Contact us.

Yellowjackets can be very dangerous, especially to children and pets. Yellowjackets like to build their nests in the ground, usually in old gopher holes. They are very aggressive defending their nests and, unlike honeybees, they can sting painfully multiple times. They become very dedicated foragers in the autumn months when they aggressively seek out picnics where they fight for their share of the sandwiches (Heavy on the mayo please)!

Yellowjacket nests can be treated with dusts, aerosols, or liquid sprays, but the paper nest that is underground has to be penetrated and destroyed, or the colony will repopulate. Picnic and patio marauders can be controlled with a determined baiting program, but commercially available baits are seldom effective. It takes between two and three weeks to control Yellowjackets with bait, so Contact us well in advance of your outdoor dinner party or reception for help and advice.

More Yellowjacket info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowjacket