For the residents of Winter Garden, that means backyard cookouts, kids playing out in the open, and, if you are not careful about it, wasps moving right in next to you. As temperatures rise in the summer of every year, so does an alarming increase in wasp activity in Orange County neighborhoods. 

Nests pop up under eaves, in soffits, along the edges of fence lines, and at entryways, sometimes unnoticed until they are just too much to ignore. For Winter Garden homeowners who would like to avoid the risks of dealing with an active nest, Avata Pest Control can assist with effective and safe wasp removal.

Why Summer Triggers a Surge in Wasp Activity

Wasps do not just appear during the summer months on a whim; there are very certain biological cues that cause them to peak right around the time when homeowners in Winter Garden are spending the most time outdoors.

Queens spend the winter alone and start to build nests in spring. Colony size and worker populations peak by midsummer, when the workers are their largest and most aggressive. The warmer climate in Florida results in wasps becoming active by mid-spring and keeping activity to late fall, with queen wasps nesting in eaves, under trees, and next to your home. Some colonies reach sizes into the thousands of aggressive wasps.

Winter Garden has hot weather that makes this growth cycle much quicker. When pests are allowed to survive, the humid subtropical climate in Florida results in a breeding ground for these creatures; this causes them to breed and live longer than they would in cooler states. For wasps, that equates to bigger colonies, more rapid growth, and a longer season.

Where Wasps Nest Around Winter Garden Homes?

Wasps are also selective about where they build. Particular places on the residential landscape of Winter Garden reliably lure nesting:

• Roof eaves and soffits — protected, raised, and out of reach. Just the kind of places wasps seek

• Undersides of decks & patios — high foot traffic areas where stings usually occur

• Window and door frames — more mantle or caulking wears out, it permits a hole to appear where wasps can nest in the void of your walls.

• Outside electrical components — junction boxes, AC units, and outdoor light fixtures all give off heat that attracts wasps

• Tree branches and dense shrubs — much mature landscaping in Winter Garden’s neighbourhoods provides plentiful natural locales for nesting

• Garage interiors — especially mud daubers that nest on walls and in ceiling beams of low-traffic corners

The Health Risk Is More Serious Than Most People Realize

To most people, a wasp sting is just a painful irritant. For many in the population, at least this is much more serious.

CDC data also shows that 788 deaths from hornet, wasp, and bee stings occurred in the United States between 2011 and 2021. That equates to an average of 72 deaths-per-year. These stings result in about 220,000 emergency department visits nationwide each year.

It is estimated that between an observed 1.6% and a probable range of 5.1% of U.S. citizens have experienced life-threatening allergic reactions to insect stings. A lot of those individuals do not know they are at risk until their first life-threatening reaction. 

In fact, an unseen wasp nest can be much more than an inconvenience in a busy Summer Garden backyard filled with children and pets. It can be downright dangerous. It is a genuine safety hazard.

Next Steps: What to Do?

It is reasonable to spy a nest early and take care of it yourself when dealing with small, easy paper wasp nests. However, yellow jacket nests in wall voids, large nests of paper wasps near entry points, or any nest to which you cannot safely get close without causing an angry reaction from the colony. Those need professional removal.

Avata Pest Control understands the changing nature of wasp activity throughout Winter Garden’s summer, which species are busy in neighborhood spaces, and where nests can be effectively removed without putting your household at risk. Speak to them today!