Wasps and yellow jackets are very common in Lawton, and they are especially troublesome for people because their stings are incredibly painful, and they are far more aggressive than bees.
They are very easily provoked if they sense some kind of danger near the nest. They have pheromone receptors that give off a scent when they get injured, and other wasps will detect it and come after anything they see as a potential threat. That’s why you hear stories about people trying to knock a nest down with a stick and getting stung over and over again. Unlike bees that lose their stinger and die after they sting you, wasps can sting repeatedly without harming themselves, and the resulting injuries can take over a week to heal.
Some wasps make nests out of mud, others make them from a type of pulp they create by chewing fibrous material, and others make their nests underground. A typical nest is only a few inches across, but it can house over a dozen wasps. Paper wasps build umbrella-shaped wasp nests suspended underneath eaves and overhangs, hornets construct football-shaped nests, and yellow jackets make their nests underground.
If you have a visible wasp nest you’re concerned about, or if you have noticed a lot of wasps flying around your home or office lately, give us a call so we can take care of the problem safely and quickly.
