Stinging Insect Season in Vermont

a wasp siting on a flower outside

There are few things worse than when stinging insects invade your outdoor space in Vermont during the warmer season. It’s enough to ruin any pool party or family get-together, but that’s far from the only social causality. Even a few moments watching the sunset over the horizon can be a moment ruined if these pests build nests and swarm around your premises, annoying and endangering your health and safety. Luckily, Vermont Pest Control is here to help.

Which Stinging Insects Can Nest and Swarm Your Yard?

Here are the common stinging insects you may encounter in Vermont:

  • Bald-faced Hornet: This large black and white wasp builds nests of paper-like material in trees, shrubs, or buildings. They are very aggressive and will attack if you disturb their nest. Their stings can cause severe pain and swelling; you need wasp prevention to avoid them.
  • Bumblebee: This bee is fuzzy and black and yellow. It nests in the ground, under decks, or in wall voids. It usually does not attack unless you provoke it, but its sting can hurt and trigger allergic reactions in some people. It pollinates plants and flowers, so you should not bother it if you can.
  • Carpenter Bee: This bee is black and yellow and makes holes in wood to nest. It looks like a bumblebee but has a shiny abdomen and a loud buzz. It seldom stings, but it can ruin wooden structures and draw woodpeckers.
  • Cicada Killer Wasp: This black and yellow wasp is huge. It catches cicadas, paralyzing them with stings. It takes them to burrow in the ground, laying eggs on them. It does not attack humans but can scare you with its size and appearance.
  • European Hornet: This is a large brown and yellow hornet. It makes nests of paper-like material in hollow trees, attics, or wall voids. It is active at night and likes lights. It stings many times and causes severe pain and swelling.
  • Honeybee: This bee is golden-brown and small. It lives in hives with other bees in colonies. It makes honey and wax and pollinates many crops and flowers. It usually does not attack unless you threaten its hive, but its sting can kill those allergic to its venom. 
  • Mud Dauber: This wasp is black or metallic blue and slender. It makes nests of mud on walls, ceilings, or eaves. It does not attack and stings rarely, but its nests can look ugly and dirty.
  • Paper Wasp: This wasp is brown or yellow and slender. It makes nests of paper that are umbrella-shaped under eaves, decks, or roofs. It is not very aggressive unless you bother it, but its sting can hurt and cause allergic reactions in some people.
  • Yellowjacket: This is a small black and yellow wasp. It makes nests in the ground, under rocks or logs, or in wall voids. It likes sugary foods and garbage and attacks easily when you disturb it. Its stings can cause severe pain and swelling. You need to call a pest control expert for yellowjacket prevention on your property.

Stinging Insect Prevention Tips

  • Seal any cracks or gaps in your walls, roof, or foundation.
  • Keep your trash cans covered and clean, and avoid leaving food or drinks outside.
  • Trim your trees and shrubs regularly, and remove any dead or decaying wood that could attract carpenter bees or hornets.
  • Avoid wearing bright colors or floral scents that could attract stinging insects.

Call a Professional Exterminator

A professional exterminator can safely remove stinging insects from your property with their expertise and tools. Vermont Pest Control offers effective stinging insect control services to protect your family from these unwanted pests. We will inspect your home for signs of stinging insect activity, identify the type of insect involved, and apply the appropriate treatment to eliminate them for good.

Dealing with Common Late Summer Pests

An American dog tick

While what we refer to as “pest season” ends in the middle of summer, this doesn’t mean that the late summer season is free of pests entirely. In fact, there are several kinds of pests that thrive in these conditions in Vermont. Preventing these pests for the rest of the summer means making regular efforts to ensure that your property is in inviting them in. To learn about late summer pests and the prevention techniques that our technicians at Vermont Pest Control recommend you use against them, read on!

Pests to Look Out For in Late Summer

Several kinds of critters to just find in the heat and relative aridity of the late summer. These are the pests that we are most often called to deal with in August and September:

  • Ticks: These parasitic arachnids lurk in large numbers in the forests of Vermont. Because they breed in the late spring and early summer, tick numbers are at their highest right about now.
  • Wildlife: If an animal hibernates during the winter, it means that they will be out and about all summer, taking advantage of the favorable conditions. Raccoons, possums, and squirrels commonly cause property damage in the late summer.
  • Bees and wasps: If you host regular outdoor get-togethers or have a habit of leaving food out, you can easily attract bees and wasps, or even incentivize them to build a nearby nest.
  • Mosquitoes: Mosquitoes are a tricky pest to deal with because if you don’t prevent their ability to breed, they can stick around in large numbers through the summer and into the fall.

How Can I Prevent Pests in Late Summer?

While we encourage all of our customers to lead with natural, DIY pest prevention, it is important to know that any serious pest infestation should be addressed by a licensed exterminator right away. That said, we advise you to add these measures to your routines to keep late summer pests away:

  1. Seal gaps shut: You could have tiny gaps or cracks in your fencing, roofing, siding, foundation, windows, or doors that you’ve never paid close attention to. These holes could be used as pest entryways, so seal what you can with a silicone-based caulk and install screens where needed.
  2. Be cautious with garbage: Taking out the trash frequently and using sealable outdoor bins will go a long way in preventing bees, wasps, wildlife, and other pests.
  3. Eliminate standing water: Mosquitoes will breed in even the tiniest of standing water pools, so you have to cover or pour it out wherever you find it on your property. Be sure to double-check gutters, planter boxes, and other receptacles.
  4. Do regular yard maintenance: Get rid of grass clippings and leaf piles promptly, trim your trees and shrubs back, and take regular decluttering sweeps to prevent pests from finding hiding places.

Late Summer Pest Control in Vermont

Sometimes you discover a pest infestation before you have the time to do anything about it. If you’re dealing with an outbreak of any kind of pests that’s getting out of hand, let your local pest control company know. Our licensed and certified technicians at Vermont Pest Control can assess your property for the cause of the infestation, quickly handle the pest problem, and teach you how to prevent similar ones going forward. For a free quote, contact us today!

Can Bees Hibernate?

Winter bee hive in Vermont - Vermont Pest Control

Everyone associates the buzzing of bees with the spring or summertime. During these times of the year, bees and all other types of stinging insects are in full force, oftentimes through the fall. But what happens when winter rolls around? With our frigid temperatures here in Vermont, it’s hard to believe any insect survives the winter. Believe it or not, certain types of bees can indeed survive through the winter months depending on how low temperatures drop. Read on to learn all you need to know about winter bees with the experts at Vermont Pest Control.

Which Bees Hibernate in the Winter?

After certain bee species peak in the late summer or early fall, they can seemingly disappear. Typically, any temperatures that dip below 50°F will disable bees from being as active as they are in the summer.

There are three bees common to Vermont that all react to winter temperatures in differing ways:

  1. Honey bees: In order to survive the winter, a honeybee population must have an already robust population with a secure hive and plentiful stores of honey. Male honey bees die off, leaving the female bees to crowd tightly together in their hive with the queen in the middle. The female worker bees will vibrate and shiver around the queen bee, keeping alive until warmer days return.
  2. Bumblebees: All bumblebees in a colony except the queen will die off when temperatures become inhospitable. The queen bees will “overwinter”, or hibernate, by digging small holes into the dirt or in hollow logs to keep warm.
  3. Carpenter bees: These wood-destroying bees can hibernate through the winter in their nests. Young carpenter bees that hatched in the late summer months will return to their nests in the winter to hibernate. Older bees will die during the summer after larvae are laid.

Winter Bee Prevention Tips

While you don’t need to worry about a full-blown infestation in the winter, it’s a great time to start preparing for the months ahead. Before bees become active in the spring, here’s what to do:

  • Seal cracks and crevices around the exterior of your property to keep pests from getting indoors..
  • Plant your gardens far away from your property, or stick to grasses and non-flowering shrubs.
  • Mow your lawn regularly and avoid letting areas become overgrown.
  • Install tight-fitting screens on your windows and doors.
  • Fill in holes in the yard left by animals to get rid of nesting sites for bees and other wasps.
  • Invest in tight-fitting lids for outdoor trash and recycling cans.

Need Advice on Bee Control in Vermont?

If you’re dealing with bee problems any time of year, it’s important to reach out to your local experts in bee control. Our experts can help pinpoint areas around your property that may harbor nests or overwintering stinging insects. We also can help better prepare you for the pests come spring and summer. Contact us today to get started! 

Do Carpenter Bees Sting People?

What carpenter bees look like in Vermont - Vermont Pest Control

Bee stings can feel anywhere from annoying to extremely painful, depending on the species of bee. Regardless of what kind of them are around, no one wants to be on the receiving end of a bee sting.

Some bees are more on the timid side, however, and will only sting if they sense serious cause for concern. So, if you are worried that you have a carpenter bee problem at your house, should you be concerned about being stung?

Carpenter Bee Stings

First, make sure that what you are dealing with is a carpenter bee issue. Here are a few factors that will help you tell them apart from other bees:

  • They have shiny, black-colored abdomen
  • Their wings are longer and darker than a bumblebee’s
  • You’ll find groups of small holes in the wood in your house that look like they’ve been drilled
  • You will see them up around your roof or window sills, not in flower beds like most bees

If you determine that you have carpenter bees, don’t worry too much about them stinging you. Male carpenter bees don’t have a stinger at all, and females will only sting when they’re swatted at, stepped on, or when their home is endangered. They have to feel seriously threatened, so if you leave them alone, you should be just fine.

Are Carpenter Bees Good?

When people realize that they have a carpenter bee population growing around their home, they might fear that there could be serious damage being done to their house. In reality, any damage carpenter bees will do is largely superficial, and won’t compromise your house’s structure.

Additionally, carpenter bees play a part in pollinating plants on your property. They don’t actually eat the wood that they chew through, instead, they feed on nectar from plants, helping many beautiful flowers and other flora grow stronger and healthier.

Although they are a critical contributor to their ecosystems, they might not be ideal to keep around. Hosting too many carpenter bees could make for porches, railings, window sills, and roofs that look less than perfect.

Get Rid of Carpenter Bees

If you’re ready to get rid of the carpenter bees in your house, contact your local extermination experts. Our technicians at Vermont Pest Control are trained to remove bees, hornets, and wasps using the most efficient methods and adhering to EPA regulations. We re-license our employees annually through the Vermont Agency of Agriculture to ensure that we are up to date with all of the latest and safest techniques. Reach out today for a free quote!