A Simple Question with a Complex Answer

At Viking Pest Control, we are often asked about bees.  It is impossible to overstate the importance of bees to our world: bees play a critical role in the world’s ecology and are responsible for fertilizing the majority of the world’s food crops.  However, bees are in jeopardy; the world bee population has been in continuous decline, which actively threatens our food crops. Furthermore, bees generally do not present a hazard to people and, whenever possible, bee infestations or hives should be moved or relocated rather than eradicated because of the declining bee population.  That said, there are two particular instances where the risk from bee sting is unacceptably high.

Africanized honey bees.

Africanized honey bees are a hybrid between African honey bees and several types of European honey bees.  Intentionally introduced in Brazil in an effort to boost honey production, these bees have steadily migrated north and are present in many parts of North America, including the United States.  They are far more aggressive than other types of honey bees, and tend to attack in swarms.  Over 1,000 humans have been killed by these types of bees, who have also been implicated in the deaths of livestock.  While these “killer bees" are frightening and are now present throughout the American southwest, they are not a problem in New Jersey or the tri-state area.  In fact, while they have been able to out-compete European honeybees in tropical climates, it is not believed that they can out-compete European honeybees in colder climates, so they are not expected to become a large problem in the Northeast, though one may see isolated groups of these bees as they continue to migrate north.

Bee allergies.

While European honeybees, which are prevalent in New Jersey and the surrounding states, do not present a health hazard to most people, their stings can be dangerous.  First, bee stings can be seriously harmful and even fatal to infants, the elderly, the immune compromised, and to any person who receives multiple stings at the same time.  However, the most at-risk group is composed of people with known or suspected allergies to bee stings.   In bee-allergic people, a simple bee sting can be enough to bring on anaphylactic shock, which results in constricted airways and can lead to death by suffocation.   Anyone with a suspected bee allergy should consult with a doctor and carry an Epinephrine injection pen with them at all times.

Yellow Jackets… They’ll Be Ready, Will You?

Story from a few years back: It’s a typical fall Saturday and I’m coaching my daughter’s soccer team. The lineup is done, the kids are ready and the referee is ready to start the game. Life could not be better right? All of a sudden I take a drink from my coffee cup and a sharp piercing pain hits the top sensitive area of my lip. Not knowing what it was, I grab for my lip and low and behold, I’m holding a yellow jacket. SHE is mad as “you know what” and stings me again on my fingers. By now I know what’s going on and I just crush this poor insect with my bare hand. As you know, the skin and tissue around our lips is quite sensitive and I just got a lesson from Mother Nature on just how sensitive my lips are and just how aggressive yellow jackets are! I try to think of something else to try and reduce the pain, but nothing is working. I flash back to my grandfather showing off by grabbing wasps and squeezing them to show us grandchildren how strong his skin was and that he was not afraid of them. My grandfather was a painter and had lots of experience with yellow jackets, especially in the fall months. Back to the soccer game and now I have a small crowd watching me “dancing” with this aggressive yellow jacket and within no time at all, my lip is swollen up and hurting a lot. We don’t have any anti-histamine in the first aid kit, so I know I’m just going to have to tough it out. I’ve been stung a lot over the years by stinging insects, but I have to tell you this sting on my lip caused me the most pain I had experienced in quite a while. Of course the kids on my soccer team know I work in Pest Control and deal with issues like this all the time, so I have to toughen up and not let them know how much pain I’m in. Soon a parent comes over with some ice and in a few minutes I’m feeling a lot better. I didn’t spill my coffee and after removing the lid and taking a quick look to make sure no more yellow jackets are in my coffee, I finish my brew. We were playing a tough team and we did win the game. September starts the fall season (Thursday September 22nd 2016 is the first day of fall this year) and it’s that time of year when yellow jacket populations explode and everyone especially fall sport teams will see a dramatic increase in populations of yellow jackets. Here’s why. The nests of hymenoptera are mostly females during the summer months. Most all wasps, hornets and yellow jackets start off the season as fertilized females that have overwintered; usually beneath the frost line. While most all of these are social insects, the females would rather make their nest, find food and care for their young, which are larvae. They really don’t care much about humans, but when you get in their way or disturb them, they go into the “defense mode” and will sting at will. Once the first one stings and gives off the defense pheromone, look out. The rest of the females will come and start stinging, over and over till you run away. The increase in numbers in the fall is because the males are produced late in the year basically to mate with females that will overwinter. Males basically mate and die and the fertilized females will start the process again next year. There are studies that suggest cool and wet months like we had in April and May this year could reduce the numbers of yellow jackets. Like most hymenoptera, yellow jackets are beneficial and should be left alone. Be careful in the month of September as yellow jackets, especially the ground nesting German yellow jacket will be more noticeable due to the increase in numbers. Editor’s Note: William A. Kolbe, BCE is a Board Certified Entomologist for Viking® Pest Control based out of Warren, NJ. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Entomology with a minor in Ecology from the University of Delaware. Bill is a member of The Denville NJ Community Gardens. He can be reached at 800-618-2847 or visit preview0.dev1.snyderpreview.com

It’s that time of year when yellowjackets (Vespula germanica), those black and yellow wasps that seem to increase in numbers in the early fall months of September and October besiege our homes and gardens. The reason for the increase in numbers is because the colony begins to produce males for mating purposes. The males of this species are produced to mate with females and then the males die. Females overwinter as fertilized females. After overwintering and when the weather turns warm, they start their life cycle and make colonies for the upcoming spring. Many of you will experience them this fall when you attend outdoor sporting events such as soccer and other fall sports. The good news is that while irritating, they are welcome visitors in the garden.

Yellowjackets: Fall pests in Gardens and Homes!

Yellow jackets wasps feed their young liquefied insects, with caterpillars, flies and spiders comprising the largest food groups in the yellow jacket diet during most of the summer. In late summer, yellow jackets start looking for flower nectar and other sources of sugar, which are necessary nutrients for the next season’s queens. At this point yellow jackets become an obnoxious presence outdoors, whether they are trying to steal your sandwich or swarming over apple cores in your compost. Preferred food for yellow jackets are, honeydew, and other sweet substances. If your garden (or your plants and shrubbery around your home) has a lot of aphids, leafhoppers, treehoppers, scale insects and other plant juice feeders that product honeydew; yellowjackets and other wasps will be close by to dine on this sweet substance. The queen of a vigorous yellowjacket colony may lay 25,000–30,000 eggs during her lifetime. The same cell may be used two or three times for rearing larvae. Development time to complete the larval and pupal stage is about30days. For species that have large colonies, the queen maintains control of the colony with a queen pheromone. Yellowjackets do not store honey as do bees and some other vespids. They feed their larvae malaxated portions of arthropods, especially insects, and also nectar and honeydew. Adults feed on nectar, liquid from the larval food, and larval secretions. The first workers to emerge in the colony assume all duties of maintenance and food gathering; the queen confines her activity to laying eggs and remains with the nest. There are three castes in each colony: the queen; males, which are produced from unfertilized eggs; and workers, which are infertile females. Late in the season, workers build large reproductive cells in which males and queens are produced. During this period workers are more aggressive and likely to sting, even when away from the nest. When new queens and males emerge they leave the nest and mate. Males die after mating, and fertilized queens enter a period of reproductive diapause, and in cold climates they overwinter. They hibernate in protected locations, such as under loose bark of trees, under boards and debris around buildings, and in other peridomestic locations. Nest construction materials include plant fibers from decayed or weathered wood, the cortex of dead plants, and domestic debris, such as newspaper, cardboard, and paper bags. Nest building is continuous until the colony declines. They do little damage to agricultural crops, except for the cases where their presence disrupts or prevents harvesting. Yellowjacket stings result in intense pain to most people, and can result in death from anaphylaxis in sensitive individuals. Ground nests of Dolichovespula and Paravespula create problems when they occur in peridomestic habitats or recreational areas. Below-ground nests are usually unnoticed until people and pets come near or into direct contact with them. Simply allowing selected nests to remain in place is all you must do to receive free pest control service from yellow jackets. Coexisting peacefully with yellow jackets is another issue, especially if you grow tree fruits. Yellow jackets eagerly feed on fallen apples, pears and other fruits, so wear a light glove when cleaning up the orchard. Bury fruit waste beneath 2 inches of soil, or establish a fruit waste compost pile far from your house, where the yellow jackets can eat their fill.