How to Keep Bald Faced Hornets and Nests Away from Your Absecon, NJ Home & Prevent Painful Wasp Stings

The New Jersey landscape has waken up. Flowers have bloomed and the insects have come out. One of the worst types of spring pests is the ones that sting. Wasps, hornets and bees will be out in full force, seeking food and shelter. One such species is the bald faced hornet. Bald faced hornets are a common stinging pest found throughout New Jersey. By late spring they will be everywhere. Ross Environmental Solutions will share more about bald faced hornets and what you can do to keep them away from your home and property.

Bald Faced Hornet Identification

Bald faced hornets got their name due to the whitepale marking on their face. Theyare black with white markings on their legs, thorax and abdomen. The whitemarkings on the bald faced hornet are unique which makes them easier toidentify. Bald faced hornets will grow ½ to ¾ of an inch in length.

Do Bald Faced Hornets Leave their Nest when it Gets Cold?

These stinging insects will die during the wintercold except for the fertile queen who will seek shelter and hibernate throughthe winter. When the warmth of spring arrives, the queen bald faced hornet willwake up. She will be very busy when she first awakens. She will need to find aplace to lay her eggs and care for the first generation of workers. The queenwill make the first stages of the nest by creating cells for each of her eggs. Thequeen, and eventually the workers, make the nest from cellulose such asweathered wood. They chew it, mixing the wood with their saliva to create apaste. Once the queen makes the first stages of her nest and the eggs hatch,she will care for her first brood until they are old enough to take over.Before the fall there can easily be 100 to 400 members of the colony. 

What Does a Bald Faced Hornet Look Like?    

Bald faced hornets will make their nest in hollowtrees, in dense vegetation, as well as along the eaves of homes. Bald faced hornetslike to keep their nest off the ground. They are known to build their nest aslow as three feet from the ground or as high as six feet. A bald faced hornetnest can also get very big. Some nests can get up to two feet long, one and ahalf feet wide and is in the shape of a football. The bald faced hornet nest ismost often gray. However, it will depend on the wood color they use for theirnest. Bald faced hornets feed on smaller insects and nectar and do play theirrole in keeping insect population in check.

How to Prevent Bald Faced Hornets

While it is still early in the year, your best betis to prevent a queen from building her nest near your home. Start by coveringyour attic vents with a fine wire mesh. Next seal up holes in the walls aroundyour home as well as those in trees as bald faced hornet’s queens love buildingtheir nest in a secure area. Keep the bushes, shrubs and trees trimmed. Again,they love dense vegetation. Remove early stages of the queen’s nest which withdeter her from wanting to nest near your home.

Stinging Insect Control

It is discouraged to directly kill bald faced hornets and attack their nest for a few reasons. One, they do play a major role in pollinating plants and keeping insect population in check. Additionally, attacking a bald faced hornet nest directly can result in hundreds of painful stings. If a mature nest develops on the property contact a professional service to deal with them. If you need help controlling bald faced hornets and other pests around your home, contact Ross Environmental Solutions today.