Pest Control in Wall, NJ

Challenge

Now that summer has almost come to a close, stinging insects have had enough time to find a suitable area to expand their colony and start nesting, which is exactly what happened to a homeowner in Wall, NJ. The homeowner called our office after accidentally discovering a bald-faced hornet's nest when he opened his window to get some fresh air. When I arrived, I began inspecting the entire exterior of the home and found the bald-faced hornet's nest at a peak above the garage area.

Bald-faced hornets are social insects and are most active during the day. They live in colonies that may contain between 100 and 400 members at their peak. They build paper carton nests in the area of the queen’s choosing at least three or more feet off of the ground. Bald-faced hornets usually appear in late summer when populations are largest. Males emerge from unfertilized eggs and impregnate the new females for the next season at the end of the summer. The inseminated insects are the only ones that overwinter when the weather cools, while the remaining members of the nest die off, and the process repeats the next spring and summer. Unlike other stinging insects, bald-faced hornets do not reuse their nests season after season—the new members will rebuild them each time from new materials.

Solution

To treat the nest from a safe distance I used my extendable pole, attached an aerosol flusher to it, and treated the nest directly. This application will neutralize the hornets almost immediately. After a few minutes, I used my scraper to remove the nest and then disposed of it properly.