Wasps & Bees near you

Health Canada describes yellowjackets and hornets as medium-sized insects, 10 to 25 mm long, easily recognized by bands of black and yellow or white on the abdomen, and notes that German yellowjackets are considered the most aggressive. Bees look fuzzier and behave differently, and the difference decides who you call.

Bees are pollinators, so the goal is to move them, not kill them, whenever that is possible. Manitoba Agriculture advises that when honeybees have swarmed and are clustered in an undesirable location, you contact your local agriculture office or a beekeeper to see if the swarm can be safely removed. For ground-nesting bees in the wrong spot, it suggests that repeatedly dousing the area with water may be enough to persuade them to move.

Health Canada warns that nest removal can be dangerous because of the risk of attack by a large group of wasps. It says a homeowner with enough protection can remove a nest but recommends professional help, and its safety advice shows why.

Most stings cause a painful local reaction, which HealthLink BC describes as redness, pain, swelling and itching around the sting; it names bees, wasps, hornets and yellowjackets among the insects that cause sting allergies. Health Canada notes that severe allergic reactions to wasp venom have caused death, and advises getting medical attention right away if a reaction includes unusual swelling, itching, dizziness or shortness of breath.

Health Canada notes that social wasps build paper nests of different shapes and sizes, some quite visible and others hidden. The hidden ones cause the most trouble: yellowjackets slip through a gap in the siding, a soffit vent or a missing mortar joint and build inside the wall or attic, where the nest can grow large before anyone notices.

Health Canada notes that wasps are more abundant and active in late summer, and that they may sometimes attack people or animals even when seemingly unprovoked. By then a colony that began with a single queen in spring has reached its largest size, and workers turn to sweet drinks, ripe fruit, garbage and picnic food. That is when encounters around patios, barbecues and recycling bins become common.

Timing works in your favour at both ends of the season. A small nest found in spring, with only the queen and a few workers, is far easier and safer to deal with than a late-summer colony. And a nest discovered in the fall in a spot nobody uses may not need treatment at all: the colony dies off with the hard frosts, and only new queens survive the winter, sheltered elsewhere.