Yellowjackets are in fact wasps, but most people are more used to the idea of the paper wasp and the mud dauber. The yellowjacket closely resembles the Africanized honey bee which is why many people think it is not a wasp, but a bee, and while they are pollinators they are also aggressive and willing to kill the entire bee hives for food to feed their larva. They are dangerous insect both to other insects and to humans and animals. A swarm that attacks can kill a healthy adult human in mere minutes. So if you have these insects on your property you should certainly deal with them.
If you suspect wasp presence anywhere near or on your property, contact wasp removal Guelph for quick and safe removal.
The paper wasp or European wasp as it is often referred to is a large yellow wasp, bigger than a yellow jacket but smaller than a great black hornet. These wasps came from Europe and evolved to make use of the enormous amount of paper Europe was producing at the time. They use the paper and wood pulp they chew on wood furniture and houses to build a paper nest that looks like a honeycomb hanging off a stem. Like a geometric flower. The wasp lays eggs in each hole and deposits food for the larva to eat so it can grow to its Pupae stage and then into a flying fully formed wasp. This process is long and difficult and the larva needs a great deal of food to perform the transformation.
The yellow jacket is a very common wasp. It evolved convergently with the Africanized honey bee to resemble them and trick predators into underestimating their abilities. The yellowjackets life cycle is a textbook illustration of wasp life cycles. The queen hibernates through the winter and then takes her eggs to a safe spot where she makes a small nest, usually in the ground in an abandoned rodent burrow. She will lay the eggs and feed the larva and when they grow into full yellowjackets they will help build the nest and increase its size. If a yellowjacket nest is built in an attic or a wall it never needs to die and can continue growing all year round. This can result in what is called a super nest that can take days or even weeks to remove and will require gutting your home.
If you have a nest of any of these insects on your property you should take action. You can build or buy a wasp trap and you can also try killing the nest yourself. Make sure to follow the wasps to find where the nest is and only approach it at night when they are sleeping. If that sounds too hard call Wasp Control and we can have it gone within the hour.
