As the weather gets cooler and fall seems to just be a few cool nights away, we get more and more calls from concerned people regarding wasps, bees and other stinging insects and what can be done to get rid of them. Sometimes these insects can be beneficial, but they can also pose a very serious health risk if they’ve built their nests in the eaves of your home. Many people tend to have allergic reactions towards bee and wasp stings, so it’s important to keep these pests away from your structure and your family.

Now, what kind of stinging insect is swarming around your home? Yellow jackets, bald faced hornets and paper wasps are the most common type of wasp that people come into contact with. These insects have a smooth, shiny and slender appearance. Bees are fatter and tend to be larger, with fuzzy bodies that have dashes of yellow and black, or sometimes brown. Both of these insects will sting you if they feel they have been threatened, but wasps are the more aggressive of the two, with a desperate desire to protect their nests.