Frequently Asked Questions
How effective is the preventative program?
This application is based on products developed to provide the longest average effective residual
life span. This means that nest building can be deterred (in or on properties) for the duration of
the nest building season - normally late March through September in Western Pennsylvania.
How safe is the application?
Products used must be EPA approved and accepted by the PA Department of Agriculture. It is absolutely essential that
any product (be it detergents, dyes, pesticides, etc.) is used strictly as labeled to ensure the safety of humans and animals.
Why do I see wasps (and occasionally yellow jackets) indoors in the spring and fall?
Due to the climate in southwestern Pennsylvania, colonies of yellow jackets, wasps, hornets and bumble bees
die in the fall - but before they do, their industrious focus is on the production of new queens, which in
many instances can be considerable in number. It is these queens which seek out hibernation sites, and our
properties offer very attractive conditions. Hence the reason that many homeowners find these insects indoors
in the fall. In the spring, their appearance indoors reflects the queens emerging from hibernation.
To combat this, homeowners can seek a specialized preventative control application in the fall designed to
minimize these insects gaining access to the home.
There is a nest left over from last year. What should I do?
When wasp, yellow jacket, and hornet colonies die in the fall, the nest left behind is not reused the following year.
(Other scavenging insects such as beetles can inhabit the abandoned nests so it is a good idea to have the abandoned
nests removed if they have been constructed inside the property.) However, if a location has proven attractive for nest building during one spring/summer, it is very possibly going to prove attractive to new queens seeking nesting sites during subsequent years. Also note that honey bee colonies can continue to thrive from year to year in the same nest (hive). On occasion, bumble bees can become active in the same area as previously experienced.
I have a nest on the inside of my house. Can't I just plug up the entrance hole?
If their entrance is plugged, the insects will look for an alternative which often results in them entering
the property in large numbers via vents, light fixtures, etc. It should also be noted that yellow jackets can
and will chew through dry wall from the site of a nest located in ceiling or wall cavities.
We are available at all times to respond to situations involving stinging insect problems.
Our involvement ranges from fully comprehensive prevention applications to emergency response.
