Strategy to take care of a stinging insect problem

Mel Whitson, Senior Field Technical Service Manager, Zoëcon Professional Products

Stinging insects like wasps and hornets can keep homeowners from enjoying outdoor spaces — and can affect your clients’ ability to maintain outdoor equipment, especially in the summer months. Thankfully, there is an easy strategy for taking care of a stinging insect problem efficiently:

1. Identify the pest species, and make sure the client knows whether it is a nuisance insect or a beneficial insect for lawns and gardens.
2. Find where these nest-building insects have set up camp. Inspecting trees, open structures, eaves and holes in walls is a great place to start. Then you can treat in a more targeted manner.
3. Knock down new nests as early in the season as you can, to ensure a small stinging insect problem doesn’t get out of hand.
4. Let clients know that reducing debris and properly sealing doors, windows, vents and any cracks will help keep their outdoor spaces free from stinging insects.