How To Tell Apart Wasps, Hornets, & Yellow Jackets

In our Atlanta service area, we have many stinging pests. The stinging pests most commonly associated with painful welts are yellow jackets. Have you ever wondered what the difference is between yellow jackets, wasps, and hornets? Well, the answer isn’t as straight-forward as you’d probably like. The problem with figuring out what each of these are is muddied by improper, or unhelpful, common names. A perfect example of this is the bald-faced hornet, which is actually a wasp. Here are some visual distinctions to look for.

Wasps: Yellow Jackets, Paper Wasps, Bald-faced Hornets

As you can already see, this is a confusing mixture of insects. Yellow jackets and bald-faced hornets are both in the classification of wasp. One of the primary visual distinctions of wasps is an almost complete lack of hair. You’ll have to look closely to see hair on a wasp. Bald-faced hornets are usually a white and black coloring; yellow jackets are yellow and black; and paper wasps can be brown in color or yellow and black, like yellow jackets. All of these wasps are social insects. That means they can attack as a group. But of the three, yellow jackets are the most aggressive.

Hornets: European Hornets

European hornets, Vespa crabro, are true hornets with a significant distribution through the Eastern half of the United States. The most significant difference you will notice, visually, is that European hornets have some hairs on them. Though not nearly as hairy as bees, the presence of hairs makes them very un-wasp-like in appearance. They are also thicker and larger than most wasps, around 1.5 inches. Their black and yellow coloring make some people mistake them for yellow jackets. But their size and slightly hairy bodies should be a dead giveaway to which stinging pest they are.

What You Should Know About All Wasps and Hornets

These insects are drawn to sweet things. Whether you have flowers in your yard or a cup of juice sitting outside, you’ll draw these pests into your yard. They will also be drawn to open trash, which can be a source of carbohydrates (sweet things) and proteins (meats). If you want to keep wasps and hornets away, make sure all of your exterior trash is sealed, and that you have no sweet smelling things in your yard. This includes perfumes and sweet scents.

Pest control for wasps and hornets is the same. It is vital to reduce nests, whether they be aerial nests or ground nests. Fewer nests mean fewer stinging pests, and fewer stinging pests will result in fewer stings.

If you need assistance to control the population of stinging pests on your property, or you have a nest that you need to have removed, we can help. Contact us today for a fast resolution to your pest problem.

Benefits Of Rodent Control

In our Atlanta service area, we see lots of rodent problems. Some are simple. Some are not so simple. But the worst kind of rodent problem is the kind that goes on for months, or even years, without a home or business owner realizing rodents are the cause. Here are some of the ways mice or rats may be affecting you.

  • If you don’t feel well, it may be rodents and not the flu. Often, rodent-borne illness is misdiagnosed as the flu or the common cold.
  • Mice and rats are good climbers and are able to jump a foot to two feet straight up. When they get into a home, it isn’t hard for them to find their way onto food prep surfaces and, since the mouse climbing on your counters and cutting boards is probably the same mouse that was climbing in your trash, this could lead to sickness.
  • When mice and rats get into a home or business and invade food storage areas they can contaminate food. Usually, this will not go unnoticed. It is hard to miss a package that has been chewed on–but it can happen. When it does, contaminated food can cause stomach illness to occur. If the illness isn’t connected to rodents, it can persist.
  • Rodents chew holes, and these holes give them access to places you wouldn’t expect, like the inside of your silverware drawer. That drawer may look like it is sealed, but there is often open access to drawers from behind. Rodents take full advantage of this.

If you have a tick, lice, flea, or mite infestation, rodents may be to blame.

  • When we get lice, the first thing we think is that our kids picked it up from someone at school. That lice couldn’t have started in “our” home. But, rodents can bring lice into a home on their fur.
  • If you have a flea infestation, but no dog, you’re probably scratching your head, along with those flea bites. But rodents crawl all around your home while you’re sleeping, and this can spread flea eggs everywhere.
  • If you have a house fire that can’t be traced to faulty wiring or a curling iron left plugged in, it might be rodents. When mice and rats crawl around in your walls, they chew. This can cause a wire to be severed and a fire to occur.

There are more examples we could give, but you probably get the point. The benefit of expert rodent control is simple. When you have an experienced and educated pest professional remove and seal out rodents, you don’t have to wonder if rodents are to blame when something goes wrong.

Bed Bugs and Family Visits

Do you love it when family comes to stay? Do you look forward to those times when you can catch up? Family time is important; but, when family comes to spend the night, they can accidentally expose themselves, and your home, to bed bugs.

Here in Atlanta, bed bugs have grown into quite a problem; just as they have across the country. These blood eating pests get into homes, multiply and cause misery. One of the ways they do this is by hitching a ride with your family. Here are some examples.

  • When your family travels a great distance, they often stay in a hotel or motel along the way. These are prime locations to pick up these bugs. It doesn’t matter how nice or how clean their room is. Bed bugs are not attracted to filthy places. They are drawn to places where they can get a blood meal; and since they are a hitchhiking bug, hotels and motels are at constant risk of having these pests brought in on other guests.
  • Let’s say your family decides to take a flight. Does that mean they eliminate the risk of picking up bed bugs? Sadly, no. Bed bugs have been found inside airplanes. It is hard to keep these pests out of planes because bed bugs come in on passengers. Airplanes are also at risk because it can get dark on planes, people sleep on planes, and CO2 levels can increase substantially on planes. These are all conditions that invite bed bugs to infest.
  • How about travelling by bus? While buses definitely get more sunlight and your family may be able to travel entirely during the day, bed bugs can be active at all hours. They are able to bite humans even when they are fully awake. And, bed bug larvae can be as small as the tip of a pen. This has caused bed bug infestations to become a problem for bus lines, and it can become your problem if they crawl into your family’s belongings.

The truth is that it doesn’t matter how your family travels to your home, bed bugs have been found in all forms of public transportation. These pests can grow their populations inside many strange places.

Here is the worse news of all: bed bugs can come with your family, even if they take their own vehicle and they don’t stay anywhere. How? Your family could have an infestation at their home and not know it yet.

Whenever you have guests stay at your home, make sure to do a thorough inspection when they leave. If you find signs of bed bugs, call a professional. These clever and resilient bugs are extremely hard to get rid of without experience and knowledge.

If you live in Atlanta, Active Pest Control has the answer you need. Our team uses state-of-the-art equipment and the most advanced pest measures known to the pest industry. When your family time is done, we’ll help you sleep tight and make sure those bed bugs don’t bite.