Identifying Wasps and Other Invaders in Your Yard

Summer is a wonderful time for homeowners, with sunny days, warm temperatures, and more daylight to enjoy your yard. But, we’re not the only ones who love summer. It’s also the time of year when many different insects become more active in our yards. Wasps are among the most concerning, but ants, spiders, bees, mosquitoes, and ticks are also known to invade New England properties this time of year. Knowing how to identify these pests and understanding the risks they pose can help keep your yard safe.

Common Types of Wasps

New England is home to many types of wasps. Let’s look at some of the most common wasps and the risks they pose to homeowners.

For most homeowners, yellow jackets and wasps are the hardest to tell apart due to their similar colors. Get more tips on how to tell them apart.

Other Common Summertime Yard Invaders

While wasps get a lot of attention during the late summer and early fall, they are not the only pests homeowners find in their yards during this time of year. Other common invaders, and reasons to be on the lookout for them, include:

• Ants, such as carpenter ants, can damage property by weakening wooden structures.
• Spiders, like garden and wolf spiders, help control other insects but could be looking to move inside for the winter
• Bees, including honeybees and bumblebees, are important pollinators but can be problematic if nesting nearby.
• Mosquitoes love it when it’s warm, so summer is when they are most active and you are at the most risk of contracting diseases from a bite.
• Ticks reach peak activity in the summer and fall, and these are the times they are the biggest threat to disease transmission.

How to Prevent Summertime Yard Invaders

While there are many different pests to be on the lookout for, similar prevention tactics can help keep many of them away. Here are some helpful tips to keep your yard pest-free:

• Maintain your yard by mowing, trimming, and removing debris.
• Store trash securely.
• Eliminate standing water to reduce mosquito breeding sites.
• Inspect your yard regularly for signs of pests, such as nests, webs, or disturbed areas.
• Invest in preventative residential pest control, such as Ford’s Hometown Services’ Ultimate Plan, which provides strategically timed interior & exterior treatments to protect your home/yard all year round.