Wasp Nest Removal in Florissant, Missouri

Not sure what you have? Drop in a photo

Drop a photo in and we will tell you what you are looking at. Nothing is sent anywhere on the strength of that: the identification comes back to you, and then it is your call. If it is honey bees you can pass it to a local beekeeper, who will normally collect a swarm free. If it is wasps or hornets you can pass it to a local removal pro who works without putting nearby bees at risk. Most people cannot tell the two apart from a distance, and that difference decides who turns up and what it costs.

Where the nest probably is

• What to look for. Around St. Louis County the wasps recorded most often build an open comb with no papery shell around it, usually tucked under an eave, a porch ceiling, a railing or a door frame.
• How you spot it. You can normally see the whole nest and the wasps sitting on it, which is why paper wasp nests are usually spotted early and while still small.
• What it means for cost. Exposed and often within reach of a ladder, which is the cheapest case to deal with. Anyone quoting over the phone without knowing where the nest sits is guessing.

Before you reach for a spray can

Wasp and hornet sprays do not distinguish between a wasp nest and a honey bee colony, and neither do most people looking up at one. That is why the EPA requires a bee hazard warning on the labels of products toxic to pollinators, and why its 2017 policy on acute risk to bees exists at all.

• Sprays do not tell a wasp nest from a honey bee colony, and a colony killed by mistake is killed for nothing.
• If it is inside a wall, the comb and honey stay behind after the bees are dead, and the wall has to be opened anyway.

On that second point, extension services are consistent on this: the abandoned comb and stored honey are left behind, and in warm weather the honey can melt, ooze through the wall or ceiling, and attract ants, wax moths, hive beetles, rodents and roaches. Ohio State University Extension covers this in Honey Bees in House Walls, as does University of Georgia Extension. Both note that the residual comb and its odour go on attracting new swarms to the same cavity, so the wall has to be opened and cleared either way.

Checking a photo first rules that out in a minute. If it is wasps, you have also learned where the nest is, which is what decides whether this is a ladder job or a wall-opening job.

When do wasps go away around Florissant?

Yellowjacket and hornet colonies live a single year. The workers die off with the cold and the nest is not reused. In St. Louis County the first frost usually arrives around November 1, and most years somewhere between October 29 and November 8. Some activity carries on into November here.

What people find around Florissant

The wasps recorded most often around St. Louis County are paper wasps, which build small open combs without a papery envelope, usually under eaves, overhangs, porch ceilings and railings. Polistes metricus is the single most-recorded species here. Yellowjackets and bald-faced hornets and aerial yellowjackets also turn up almost as often. Bald-faced hornets, European hornets and German yellowjackets are recorded here too.

Honey bees are a different season, and a different call

Honey bee swarms around Florissant are reported most in April, months earlier than wasp and hornet nests reach full size. A swarm is normally collected free by a local beekeeper, while a colony already established inside a structure is paid work the beekeeper quotes directly. Either way it is worth checking a photo first.

Common questions

When do wasps go away around Florissant?

Yellowjacket and hornet colonies live a single year, and the workers die off with the cold. In St. Louis County the first frost usually arrives around November 1, and the nest is not reused the following year.

Is it wasps or honey bees?

Send a photo through the check on this page and we will tell you which you are looking at. It matters because a honey bee swarm is normally collected free by a local beekeeper, while a wasp or hornet nest is paid removal work.

What kind of wasps are common around Florissant?

The wasps recorded most often around St. Louis County are paper wasps. They build an open comb with no papery shell around it, usually tucked under an eave, a porch ceiling, a railing or a door frame.

How much does wasp nest removal cost in Florissant?

It depends almost entirely on where the nest is. An exposed comb within reach of a ladder is the cheapest case; a nest inside a wall or underground can mean opening a cavity, which is a different job. Anyone quoting before they know which one you have is guessing.

Will wasp spray hurt honey bees?

Yes. Wasp and hornet sprays do not distinguish between a wasp nest and a honey bee colony, which is why the EPA requires bee hazard warnings on the labels of products toxic to pollinators. If a colony inside a wall is killed, the comb and honey are also left behind and can melt, seep through the wall and attract ants, wax moths, beetles and rodents, so the wall has to be opened either way.

Do wasps come back to the same nest next year?

No. Yellowjacket, hornet and paper wasp nests are annual. The colony dies with the cold and next year's queens start somewhere new, so an old nest left in place is not what brings them back.