The Queens are looking to NEST!
The past week has seen an increase in calls about wasps from customers in Howard County, especially in the Ellicott City and Columbia zip codes. Again these are just the overwintering queens starting to look for nesting sites. Carpenter bees are starting to drill wood on homes, decks, and play sets.
And the ANTS are arriving
Calls have been coming in for odorous House ants, pavement ants, and carpenter ants. Groundhogs and raccoons are being commonly encountered.
Have you seen any BEES this Spring?
One of the mid-Spring visitors nesting in ground areas around a home are digger bees. They resemble small honey bees and can nest by the hundreds close together. However, unlike honey bees who live in a social colony, digger bees are solitary nesters. This means that even though there are large numbers nesting near each other, they will not exhibit aggressive behavior like their social cousins so you can walk right through them without getting stung (just don’t step on any in your bare feet!).
They dig a small burrow (check out the photo of one digging) about the width of a pencil and provision it with a pollen ball. Digger bees usually are active for 3-5 weeks then disappear for the rest of the year.
Prevention Tip: If they become a nuisance, there are treatment options. Give us a call.