Bee And Wasp Control Services
The Pest ops way
Keeping bees and wasps away from your home or business is vital to pest control in Knoxville. These stinging insects can be quite aggressive when defending their nests and may even pose a mortal threat to certain individuals. The good news is we have your back here at Pest Ops. Learn more about our other services, or fill out a form to receive a free inspection!
How to Tell if You Have a Carpenter Bee Infestation
Typically, the first sign that you have an infestation is seeing the bees flying around your property. However, another way to tell is seeing piles of sawdust below where they drilled to form nests. Carpenter bees often leave yellowish stains from their excrement near the entry points. There will also be perfectly round holes, about half an inch in diameter, drilled into wood surfaces like decks, eaves, or fences.
The problem
Bees and Wasps Cause
Free Inspections
For both bee & Wasp
As soon as summertime approaches, there’s nothing better than spending quality time outdoors with your friends and family. However, one thing that can quickly ruin this outdoor enjoyment is stumbling across a beehive or wasp nest. A sting from one of these insects can be dangerous, especially if you or a loved one is allergic. However, bees and wasps not only pose a threat to you, they also can significantly damage your property. One of the major local pest problems we encounter in Tennessee is property damage due to carpenter bees and wasps. These stinging insects are attracted to exposed wood and search for favorable places on your property to safely build nests. For your safety, it’s important that you don’t try to remove these nests yourself. Instead, let our licensed and certified Knoxville bee and wasp control specialists at Pest Ops handle it for you.
Our Process
Bee & Wasp Control
Inspection
When we come out to inspect your property, we follow a seven-step inspection process that encompasses your entire property to look for existing issues and conducive conditions that could attract future infestations.
Our techs will look at structural attachments on your property, such as porches, decks, and overhangs. We will check out your doors and windows, which often provide hanging shelter for aerial bees and wasps. We’ll also check your eaves and gutters and even your plumbing, HVAC, and crawl space, which can all provide shelter for stinging insects.
Treatment
Once we complete our inspection, we will better understand where existing problems are and what conditions on your property could attract future infestations. This assessment allows us to tailor a plan that fits your needs and budget. This plan will eliminate existing problems and help you eliminate any conducive conditions that we found that could lead to future issues.
EXCLUSION
Our exclusion process is a quarterly treatment program that allows us to visit your property once every three months to keep stinging insects at bay. Our plans are effective and affordable, and our number one goal is always your satisfaction. So let us protect you and your family from painful and potentially dangerous stings.
Identifying Bees and Wasps
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It’s not uncommon for people to mistake carpenter bees for bumblebees because they’re roughly the same size and are black with yellow markings. However, there’s an easy way to differentiate the two. A carpenter bee’s abdomen is shiny and black while a bumblebee’s abdomen is fuzzy and covered in hairs. Here are the most common types of bees and wasps in East Tennessee.
Honeybees
These bees establish colonies in walls or attics. They are covered in brownish fuzz with black stripes that aren’t as distinct as those on wasps or hornets.
Carpenter Bees
These bees are large, black, and yellow. They drill holes into wood to lay eggs, and do not live in nests and colonies like other bees. You’ll find them in your decks, siding, eaves, or fences.
Bumble bees
Bumble bees have a hairy, black and yellow body. They nest in the ground, and also in soffits or attics. You’ll find them around patio areas or decks.
Yellow Jackets
Yellow jackets are usually found nesting in wall voids, attics, crawlspaces, or even underground near buildings. They are also attracted to trash cans or outdoor food areas.
Paper Wasps
Paper wasps have a reddish body and yellow wings. They are found under eaves, in doorways, garages, attics, or other sheltered outdoor areas where they build umbrella-shaped nests.
Bald Faced Hornets
These hornets can be found building large, enclosed nests on trees, shrubs, or attached to building exteriors, near doorways, or overhangs. They are black with a white pattern on its face.
How Carpenter Bees Damage Property
As soon as the temperature begins to warm up, carpenter bees mate and the females begin to search for a site to lay their eggs. When they find a suitable site to nest, they bore into wood, chewing with their mandibles to create a round half inch hole.
Typical nesting sites include:
• Trim around windows or doors
• Fascia boards behind gutters
• Wood siding
• Deck railings
• Underside of decks
Frequently ASKED QUESTIONS
hOW CAN WE HELP?
Are bees and wasps dangerous?
Bees and wasps can definitely be dangerous. Social wasps, like hornets, yellow jackets, and certain types of bees, will chase anything they perceive as a threat, stinging as many times as possible.
Bees and wasps can also trigger anaphylaxis in those allergic to their venom. Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening allergic reaction that can kill within minutes if left untreated.
What attracts bees and wasps to my property?
Bees and wasps are attracted to food, water, and convenient shelter. If you have a lot of overhangs or holes in the ground, aerial and ground-nesting wasps will set up shop in them. Likewise, if you have lots of flowers and fruits on your property, these can be big bee and wasp attractants.
For the best bee and wasp prevention; you should take the following measures:
- Remove flowers that provide food for these insects.
- Harvest fruits from trees immediately after they fall.
- Keep outdoor garbage cans tightly covered.
- Never leave sweet drinks or foods of any kind sitting out.
- Fill holes in the ground to prevent ground-nesting wasps from setting up shop.
Taking these measures can make your property less attractive to all sorts of stinging insects, encouraging them to move on.
