Q. Last year we had a problem with carpenter bees nesting in our deck. Finally, the nesting stopped and I figured we were done with it. Well, they’re back! How much damage are they going to do to our deck and how can we stop this? My husband tried to plug up a couple of the holes, but they were soon opened up again.
VIEW MOREAlthough the honey bee gets more press as a pollinator, the bumble bee is one of the hardest workers in the insect world: gathering nectar and pollen until the pollen sacs on her hind legs are so loaded that she can barely fly, until the stem of every flower she lands on bends toward the ground. She performs a valuable service, especially in the pollination of alfalfa and clover as grazing crops.
VIEW MOREQ. Last spring we had a whole bunch of what looked like tiny honey bees nesting in our front lawn. There were lots of little mounds with holes in the top and bees flitting around but they were only there for a few weeks. Do you know what they are? If they show up again this spring, I don’t want to hurt them if they’re honey bees.
VIEW MOREQ. While raking leaves in our back yard, I noticed a huge paper nest high up in an oak tree. We didn’t even know it was there. I did some searching on the Internet and it seems to be the nest of something called a bald-faced hornet. I can’t reach the nest to treat it or remove it. Is there anything I can do (or your company can do) to stop the hornets from nesting there?
VIEW MOREQ. My husband was painting the eaves on our house and found lots of round holes in the eaves on one side of the house. They’re totally circular and about the size of a dime, and they’re randomly spaced like they were made by some animal instead of an object. Do you think a woodpecker did this?
VIEW MOREWe think of yellowjackets nesting outside in the ground or up in trees. Fact is, more and more, yellowjackets are nesting in houses. If you’re lucky, you’ll never be confronted by them.
VIEW MOREQ. Yellowjackets are driving us crazy! If we try to eat on the deck, they find us. They’re chasing the hummingbirds away from the feeders. My son has been stung twice already. How much longer will yellowjackets be active? I’d like my yard back!
VIEW MOREQ. Do we have periodical cicadas in our area? When can we expect to see them?
A. We do have some broods of 17-year periodical cicadas in parts of the Northeast but not nearly in the numbers usually seen in the Midwest and farther south. We have no periodical cicada emergences this year though, and in fact, our next emergence isn’t until 2018. Before you say, “but I’ve seen cicadas this summer!” let me explain. What we see every summer is the annual cicada, not the periodical cicada.
VIEW MOREQ. We have this area on the side of our house where there are a bunch of very large yellowjackets nesting. I know yellowjackets usually nest in the ground and there must be a dozen holes there with wasps flying in and out, but I’ve never seen yellowjackets this big!
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