525 Mill St, Neustadt ON
1-877-509-2847
Proudly serving Southwestern Ontario since 2007
BEES & Wasps
Bees and wasps are often grouped together because they can both sting, but they are not the same insect. They have different nesting habits, behaviours, and levels of risk around homes, cottages, farms, and commercial properties in Ontario.
Some species are valuable pollinators and should be left alone whenever possible. Others can become a safety concern when they build nests near doorways, decks, eaves, playgrounds, outbuildings, or high-traffic areas.
Correct identification is the first step in choosing the right approach.
Bees
Bees are generally more focused on pollination than aggression. Many bees only become defensive when their nest is disturbed, stepped on, or threatened. In most cases, bees are beneficial insects. However, they can still become a concern when a colony or nest is located inside a structure, near people, or in an area where stings may pose a risk.
Honey Bees
Honey bees are less common as a household pest than wasps or yellowjackets, but they may occasionally appear around Ontario homes and properties. They are social bees that live in large colonies and produce wax comb, honey, and brood inside protected spaces.
When honey bees establish a colony outside a managed hive, they usually look for enclosed cavities such as hollow trees, wall voids, soffits, rooflines, chimneys, or other sheltered structural spaces.
A honey bee swarm may appear as a large cluster of bees on a tree branch, fence, post, or building. Swarms are often temporary while the bees search for a new nesting location. Because honey bees are important pollinators, live removal by an experienced beekeeper should be considered where possible. If a colony is already established inside a building, professional help may be needed to remove the bees, comb, honey, wax, and related materials properly.
Bumble Bees
Bumble bees are large, fuzzy bees that are commonly seen visiting flowers, gardens, clover, and flowering shrubs. They are important pollinators and are usually not aggressive when foraging.
Bumble bees often nest in protected cavities close to the ground, such as old rodent burrows, compost piles, dense grass, under sheds, or inside gaps around landscaping. Their colonies are much smaller than honey bee colonies and usually die off at the end of the season, with only new queens surviving to overwinter.
A bumble bee nest may become a concern if it is located near a doorway, walkway, patio, playground, or other high-use area. When the nest is out of the way, it can often be left alone until the colony naturally declines.
Carpenter Bees
Carpenter bees are large bees that can be mistaken for bumble bees, but they have smoother, shinier abdomens. They are commonly found around exposed wood surfaces, including decks, fences, fascia boards, sheds, barns, railings, and unfinished wood trim.
Unlike termites, carpenter bees do not eat wood. Instead, females tunnel into wood to create nesting galleries. A single bee may not cause major damage, but repeated nesting in the same areas can lead to visible holes, staining, and wood deterioration over time.
Carpenter bee activity is often identified by round entry holes in wood, coarse sawdust beneath the opening, and bees hovering near the surface. Preventive maintenance, sealing exposed wood, painting or staining vulnerable surfaces, and addressing existing galleries can help reduce future activity.
Wasps
Wasps are generally slimmer and smoother than bees, with a more defined waist and less visible hair. While many wasps help control other insects, social wasps can become a serious concern when their nests are close to people.
Wasps are often more noticeable in late summer and early fall, when colonies are larger and workers become more attracted to sweet drinks, garbage, fallen fruit, outdoor meals, and other food sources.
Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets are one of the most common stinging insect problems around Ontario homes and businesses. They are social wasps with black and yellow markings, and they can become aggressive when their nest is disturbed.
Yellowjackets may nest underground in old rodent burrows, under landscape materials, inside wall voids, under steps, in sheds, or in other hidden cavities. Ground nests are often discovered by accident while mowing, gardening, or walking across the lawn.
These wasps can sting multiple times and may defend the nest in large numbers. Activity around a small hole in the ground, a gap in siding, or an opening around a deck or foundation can be a sign of a yellowjacket nest.
Paper Wasps
Paper wasps are slender wasps with long legs that often hang down while they fly. They build open, umbrella-shaped paper nests with visible cells. These nests are commonly found under eaves, porch ceilings, deck railings, soffits, window frames, sheds, and outdoor fixtures.
Paper wasps are generally less aggressive than yellowjackets, but they will defend their nest if disturbed. Small nests found early in the season are easier to address than mature nests later in the summer.
Because paper wasps often build in exposed areas around homes, cottages, and outbuildings, regular inspection of eaves, rooflines, and outdoor structures can help reduce problems before nests grow.
Hornets
Hornets are a type of wasp. They are generally larger than many other wasps and can be highly defensive around their nests. In Ontario, the insects people call “hornets” are often either bald-faced hornets or European hornets.
Because hornet nests can contain many workers and may be located high off the ground or inside difficult areas, removal can be hazardous without the right equipment and experience.
Bald-Faced Hornets
Bald-faced hornets are commonly referred to as hornets, but they are technically a type of social wasp closely related to yellowjackets. In Ontario, they are one of the most recognizable stinging insects because of their bold black-and-white colouring and large, enclosed, papery nests.
Their nests are often found in trees, shrubs, under eaves, on utility poles, or attached to buildings and other structures. A mature bald-faced hornet nest can become very large by late summer.
Bald-faced hornets can be beneficial predators, but they are strongly defensive near the nest and may sting repeatedly if they feel threatened. Nests close to homes, entrances, patios, play areas, or workspaces should be taken seriously because of the risk of stings.
European Hornets
European hornets are large hornets that may be found in parts of Ontario. They are larger than yellowjackets and are often brownish with yellow markings. Unlike many other stinging insects, European hornets may also be active at night and can be attracted to lights.
European hornets usually nest in protected cavities such as hollow trees, wall voids, barns, sheds, attics, or other enclosed spaces. They can be intimidating because of their size and may defend the nest if disturbed.
If large hornets are repeatedly entering and exiting a gap in a building, tree, or outbuilding, the nest should be assessed carefully before any control work is attempted.