Q. I saw some flying bees that look like yellowjackets going into a hole in the ground near our driveway. I thought yellowjackets made those big, round nests in trees?
VIEW MOREQ. Some kind of big wasp is attacking my lilac bush. It looks like it’s chewing on the bark. It looks kind of like a yellowjacket only bigger and darker. Do you know what it is?
VIEW MOREQ. Help! Woodpeckers are destroying our house! In the last week or so, woodpeckers have been attacking our cedar siding and pecking holes. We can’t seem to scare them away. They’re right back. How can we get them to leave our house alone?
VIEW MOREQ. Do you know what those mud tubes are that I see on the wall under my front porch? Do they belong to some kind of insect? Some of the tubes have holes in them.
A. What you’re seeing are the nests of the mud dauber wasp, probably the organ pipe mud dauber. This wasp’s long mud tube nests are stacked side by side, looking like the pipes of an organ. In early spring, you’re probably seeing what is left of last year’s nests. The holes mean that the wasps have already exited the nest.
VIEW MORE
Q. I’m starting to see little mounds of soil pop up in one area of my lawn. I’ve seen sand wasps before, but there are dozens of these things flying low to the ground and they sort of look like some type of bee. What are they?
Q. I’ve seen these huge wasps digging out soil in the stonewall that borders my driveway. My children are terrified of them and refuse to play outside! What are they?
