The wasps that matter around North Texas homes are paper wasps, which build the open honeycomb nests under eaves and porch ceilings, and mud daubers, which build tubes on walls. They nest in the same protected spots year after year, so removing nests without treating the site just means they rebuild there.
What Do Wasps Look Like?
Paper wasps are slender with long dangling legs in flight and build umbrella-shaped open cells. Mud daubers are thin-waisted and build tubes of mud. Yellowjackets are stockier, brightly banded and nest in the ground or wall voids, and they are the aggressive ones.
- Paper wasps: open honeycomb nest under eaves, soffits, porch ceilings and grill lids
- Mud daubers: mud tubes on walls, generally harmless and non-aggressive
- Yellowjackets: ground or void nests, defensive and the most likely to sting in numbers
- Spring is when queens start new nests, which is the cheapest time to stop them
Are Wasps Dangerous?
Stings hurt and for anyone with a sting allergy they are a genuine emergency. Paper wasps sting defensively when the nest is approached. Yellowjackets are the more serious problem because they defend the nest aggressively and can sting repeatedly.
Why Is My Yard Full of Wasps?
Protected overhangs and a food supply. Eaves, soffits and porch ceilings offer shelter from rain and predators, and paper wasps hunt caterpillars and other insects around your landscaping. A property with heavy insect activity attracts more wasps.
Julius on what draws wasps back to the same protected corners every spring.
How Do You Get Rid of Wasps?
The eave sweep is the whole strategy: knocking down nests with a web pole and treating the surfaces where they attach, done in spring before colonies build up, then repeated on each visit. That is why it is a standing step in our perimeter program rather than an add-on call.
Home Defender includes the eave and soffit sweep on every visit, from $35.99 a month.
See the Home Defender Plan
