Bees and wasps are insect that your Tulsa pest control company can help you eliminate. These stinging pests can be a huge nuisance, especially in the spring, summer and fall months. Not that the winner months are exempt from them, but we see the most activity during the rest of the year. Many people are allergic to the sting of these insects, and can suffer greatly if they are stung by them. So in this article, let us take a good hard look at bees, wasps and other stinging insects, their life cycle and what are you and your Tulsa pest control company can do to protect you and your loved ones from these insects.
BEE COLONIES AND TULSA PEST CONTROL
Bees are different from wasps and other stinging pests because they are a eusocial insect. This means that they live in a colony and split up their work by caste. There are three castes in the beehive. There’s the reproductive caste, the drone caste and the worker caste. The reproductive caste is simply made up of the queen. She lays all the eggs for the colony. The drones are the males. These males have no stinger, and are only tasked with mating with the queen or a new queen. Lastly, the workers do all of the other work of the hive. They will protect the hive, they will gather pollen and nectar, they will tend to the young, and everything else that is necessary to continue the process of the survival.
Bees are amazing pollinators. They gather the nectar of plants and other blossoms, and bring it back to the hive to create their honey from. In the process, their furry bodies will pick up much of the pollen and cross pollinate across different plants. This is the process by which they take the pollen from the stamen and bring it to a different blossom and cross pollinate it with the pistil of that blossom. This gives plants the ability to reproduce. Wasps are also an important part of this cross pollination process. The adult wasp also eats its share of nectar. Because of this, it also carries pollen back-and-forth between blossoms. Contact your Tulsa pest control company for more information.
WASP TYPES AND TULSA PEST CONTROL
Wasps are classified into two different kinds. We have solitary wasps and social wasps. The difference between the two is in the construction of their nests. When wasps build their nest, it will consist of a network of cells. A cell is a small room in the nest where the wasp will lay the egg and put food in for the newly born wasp to consume. A social wasp has multiple cells in the nest. A solitary wasp will have one cell.
So a paper wasp for instance, which is a social wasp, will gather plant material and chew it up mixing it with its saliva creating a kind of paper. It will build a large nest with multiple cells. Then it will go hunt for small grubs and spiders, paralyzing them with its stinger. It will bring them back and deposit these paralyzed insects into the cell and lay an egg on top of those insects. Then it will cap off the cell and move onto the next one and do it again.
The solitary wasp does the exact same thing, except only in one cell. The mud dauber would be a great example of a solitary wasp. It will use mud to build its nest and then hunt for food with a stinger and place an egg on top of that food inside the cell as well. Once these wasps hatch from their egg, they will begin to feed upon the paralyzed insects. Once they grow, they will then go to a pupa stage. Normally an insect in a pupa stage would require a cocoon. Because these insects are already inside a nest cell, so they don’t require any other protection. They will grow up into a full grown adult and then break through the cap. Contact your Tulsa pest-control company for help with bees and wasps.
ADULT WASPS AND TULSA PEST CONTROL
Once the adult wasp has exited the nest, it will have to dry off in order to be prepared to do the adult things and needs to do. In the case of the social wasp, many wasps will hatch at the same time, creating a large number of wasps drying out on the nest and flying around the nest, trying to dry out. Solitary wasps, will simply exit its nest and dry off by itself. Once this is finished, these insects with fly off in search for a mate. But when they’re around their nest, they can be very aggressive. It’s important to remove wasp nests that are close to any high traffic area or place where you spend a lot of time.
Bees and wasps both sting. The wasp sting contains a cocktail of neurotoxins that it can use to defend itself but also for paralyzing other insects. The bee on the other hand uses a substance known as melittin that causes pain in order to defend its nest. Bees don’t need to hunt for any other kind of insect so their stinger is only for defense. But some people have an allergic reaction to these stings. Most people can simply use some basic first aid to deal with a sting, but people with an allergic reaction must seek medical help immediately. If you are having an issue with wasps or bees then it’s time to call your Tulsa pest-control company for help with these insects.
ELIMINATING, BEES AND WASPS
If you’re having problems with any kind of stinging insect, such as bees or wasps, it’s time to call a Tulsa pest control company that you can trust. Here at TermMax pest control, we are the best in the business when it comes to dealing with bees, wasps, or any other insects. We service the greater Tulsa area, including Broken Arrow, Coweta, Catoosa, Claremore, Sapulpa, Prattville, Sand Springs, Bixby, Jenks, Owasso, Turley, and so much more. Call today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!