Question We had several yellowjacket nest holes in our yard last year. Is there anything we can do to keep them from nesting there again this year? Will they re-use the same ground nests from last year? Answer In my experience, the best way to prevent ground nesting yellowjackets is to make sure you treat any nests the summer before. That advice is not going to help prevent yellowjackets for you this year, but it should make a big difference next year. Here’s the logic Yellowjacket nests ...

Question We had a problem last year with those big black bees making holes in our deck railings. Will they be back again this spring? Is there anything we can do to reclaim our deck!? Answer You’re talking about carpenter bees. They look a lot like bumble bees, which nest in the ground, except carpenter bees have shiny black abdomens instead of fuzzy black abdomens. Carpenter bees make their nests in wood, particularly soft woods that are weathered and unpainted or ...

Question I’ve got wasps inside my house! It’s hardly even spring yet but I’ve seen 5 or 6 large, blackish wasps around my patio doors. Could I possibly have a nest in the house somewhere? Answer At this time of year, there are no active wasp nests anywhere. They have yet to be built. What you have are wasps that have been spending the winter in your house (maybe in your attic) and are just now becoming active. You most likely have been playing host to overwintering paper wasp queens. Of ...

The name makes them sound like bad dudes -- “Cicada Killers.” You have to figure that any wasp that can kill a cicada is pretty scary. And these are big, intimidating wasps. The larger female can be up to two inches long! That wasp must be mean and aggressive with a really bad sting. Not so, cicada killers are gentle giants, sort of the Shreks of the wasp world.The author of a very extensive website, Massachusetts Cicadas (www.masscic.org), stresses how docile these wasps really ...

Most reactions to bee and wasp stings are mild, resulting in a slight swelling and an itching or stinging sensation that disappears within a day or two. People who are allergic to wasp or bee stings can have an immediate, life-threatening reaction (called anaphylactic shock) that requires medical intervention. Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction requiring immediate medical attention include nausea, stomach cramps, facial swelling, difficulty breathing or speaking, anxiety, dizziness, rapid ...

Q. We had a really scary thing happen last summer. Yellowjackets emerged from a hole in the wall into my daughter’s bedroom!  A pest control company was trying to treat the nest that was inside the walls but I guess it drove them out into her room instead. Then we had a real mess. My daughter was stung twice and we ended up having to rip the wall open to remove the nest. Was this a rare occurrence or is there a chance this could happen again? We do see lots of yellowjackets outside ...

Q. What’s the big black and white wasp that we’re seeing around our deck? Is it some kind of a yellowjacket? How can we find its nest so we can get rid of it?A. You’re probably talking about the baldfaced hornet. Despite the name, it isn’t a hornet at all but is a type of yellowjacket, and is our only black and white yellowjacket. It’s named for its white “face.” Although baldfaced hornets are larger than regular yellowjackets, they are much more ...

Q. I have a question about those wasps that build the mud tube nests on houses. How do they get the mud to make the nests?A. You’re talking about mud dauber wasps, also sometimes called dirt daubers. They get their name because of their unique nests that are made of mud tubes. To start her nest, the female mud dauber finds a protected, shady site near a potential supply of mud. Nests are most often built on flat wood surfaces, but also on concrete or cement. She then visits an area that ...

When pin-sized holes and “sawdust” are discovered on hardwood floors, the culprit is usually a powderpost beetle. There are two types of powderpost beetles, lyctids and anobiids, that could infest the floor but lyctids are the usual culprit. Only an expert can tell the difference.When powderpost beetles show up in hardwood flooring, the question is often, “who is responsible? Were the beetles in the wood when the floor was installed by the contractor, or did they infest ...

Q. I’ve been seeing quite a few large, brownish wasp-like things hanging around the front porch of our house, and there’s something in the corner that looks like it could be the beginning of a nest. Do you know what these are? Will they go away on their own?A. If they’re brownish wasps, they are probably northern paper wasps. At this time of year, paper wasp queens are scouting, flying up and down outside walls, looking for a good nest site. A protected inside corner of a porch roof ...