Is it a wasp, a yellow jacket or a honey bee?
Look at where the nest is. UF/IFAS says paper and red wasps — the Florida wasps most likely to sting when provoked — build nests under house eaves or hidden in shrubbery, while Florida's yellow jackets usually build big colonies underground, sometimes in palm fronds or loose debris. Honey bees build wax comb inside cavities: walls, tree hollows, water meter boxes.
| What you see | Likely insect | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Open, papery comb hanging under an eave, porch ceiling or in a shrub | Paper or red wasp | Stings when the nest is bumped; nests grow through summer. |
| Wasps flying low and disappearing into a hole in the lawn or a stump | Eastern or southern yellow jacket | High: large colony, defends aggressively. |
| Large gray paper ball in a tree or on a building | Baldfaced hornet (actually a yellow jacket) | High near the nest. |
| Bees streaming in and out of a wall, soffit or meter box | Honey bees | Can't tell Africanized from European by eye; keep away. |
Why are yellow jackets more dangerous than paper wasps?
Bigger colonies, hidden nests and a group defense. UF/IFAS notes that, unlike honey bees, yellow jackets can sting again and again, and an injured one releases an alarm pheromone that sets off the whole colony. Southern yellow jacket colonies underground can hold more than 2,000 insects, and the usual way people find one is by running a mower over it.
Should I remove a wasp nest myself?
A small, quiet paper wasp nest — maybe. Yellow jackets, hornets or anything in a wall — no. UF/IFAS advises hiring a pest control operator for large nests or nests that are hard to reach, such as inside a wall, and says any DIY attempt should be at night, when activity is lowest — but that a disturbed nest reacts instantly even then. It also recommends protective clothing that covers the skin.
- Keep children and pets away from the area and mark the spot.
- Don't mow, string-trim or spray near an underground nest.
- Anyone allergic to stings should stay well clear — and have their emergency plan ready.
Bees in a wall: who can remove them in Florida?
A registered beekeeper (removing them alive) or a licensed pest control company (eradicating them). UF/IFAS explains that Florida recommends nuisance honey bee colonies be removed alive by a registered beekeeper or eradicated by a licensed pest control operator, and that dealing with them is the property owner's responsibility. Under Florida rule 5E-14.151, removing bees as pests is pest control unless a registered beekeeper is relocating them.
The reason for caution: Africanized and European honey bees look the same to the eye, and Africanized bees turn defensive within seconds and chase further. When hiring a company, UF/IFAS says to make sure it removes all the dead bees and comb — honey and brood left in a wall attract roaches and other pests, smell, and stain.
Where do stinging insects nest around Plant City homes?
Eaves, porch ceilings, shrubs, the lawn and anything hollow. Paper wasps often attach nests to eaves and porch ceilings, or to shrubs and ornamental grasses, and their numbers peak by summer; yellow jackets also use stumps, tree cavities and the gaps between a home's siding. Yellow jackets love sugar — UF/IFAS suggests picking fruit as it ripens and disposing of rotten fruit, which matters in the Winter Strawberry Capital, where backyard berries and fruit trees are common.
Young families in Dover should check play sets and toy bins, and owners of bigger lots in Thonotosassa have palms, stumps and sheds to walk. Wherever you are, one call connects you with a company that handles stinging insects as part of our pest control service for Plant City. Widow spiders like the same sheltered corners — see spider control.