Bees & Wasps

Bees and wasps have a painful sting, producing histamine in the human body which can be life threatening in some cases.

It is important to be careful if you identify a bees or wasps in or around your home or business, as bees and wasps aren’t only annoying and harmful to your family, they can also be quite damaging to your home. Bees and Wasps often set up nests, hives or swarms in the cavities of the structures, this can require costly repairs if left for long periods of time.  A bee hive is full of honey which can cause considerable damage to your home.

A wasp nest in a cavity of your home can eat at the plaster, if you see bubbling in your walls or ceilings don’t poke at it, you may get a nasty surprise.

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Have you found bees or wasps in your home?

DO NOT TRY TO TREAT THIS YOURSELF, our licensed, professional pest technicians use personal protective equipment.

Call us NOW on 1800 896 369 and we can be there today.

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Identifying Bees and Wasps:

European & English Wasps

 two commonly found wasps in New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. They build nests in sheltered locations with easy access various cavities, walls and ceilings, compost bins, trees or in the ground. Also known for causing painful stings. Their body is yellow and black but their markings can vary depending on the species and they can grow from 12 to 17 mm. This wasp queen only survives over winter and they start building nest where they lay eggs. The entire nest dies during winter, and that includes all the males and females. This type is feeding with insects and sweet food and their colony can grow up to 25 000 individual wasps. are predominantly black on their front half with yellow markings and yellow on their back half with black stripes and black dots down each side of the abdomen. 

Yellow jackets (social wasp) – worker wasp is around 15 mm in length and queen is a little bigger. They have alternating black and yellow bands on their body and two pairs of wings. They feed on insects but they can also eat food that is consumed by humans. Yellow jackets can sting repeatedly if they are provoked. Their nests are made in trees, bushes, attics, wall cavities, floors, sheds and similar buildings.

Bees

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A dull shade of yellow or a golden brown colour with black stripes around their body and black legs. Bees often nest in trees or wall cavities, but can also nest in compost bins and cavities such as old suitcases.

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Honey bee – they look alike wasps but are furrier and have more black coloration. Their habitats can be in hollow trees, chimneys, wall cavities or roof spaces. Honey bees produce honey and beeswax from converting nectar. A colony of them can grow more than 30 000 individual honey bees. If you have problem with honey bees, you should contact your local Bee Keeper or Environmental Health Department and they will need to relocate the swarm.

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Solitary bee – similar to the honey bee. They live in small nests which are guarded by females. Nests are made from various materials and can be found in soil, mortar between bricks and even in soft cement. They use honey and pollen for food and they rarely sting.

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Mortar bee – they got their name because they nest in cracks or holes in mortar. Usually they use walls that receive sunshine for much of the day. These bees are harmless and they will not attack.

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Carpenter bee – female faces are black and they have stinger while male faces are yellow and they don’t have stinger. They are between 20 and 25 mm long. They lay eggs in wood tunnels and can be found in eaves, siding, window trims, decks and outdoor furniture. For feeding they use flowers that contain pollen.

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