Summer is a real favourite season for people…and pests like bees, wasps and hornets. The sound or sighting of just one of these black/brown and yellow/white stinging insects can cause panic, fear, and anxiety, especially for those who are allergic.

Identifying bee and wasp nests is crucial for ensuring safety around your home and garden, and helpful when seeking professional help to remove it from your property. We’ve put together a simple and straightforward guide below to help you differentiate between the types of nests these insects make, so that you can take the appropriate action.

a wasp nest under a roof

How to Identify Bee Nests

Bumble Bees:

Appearance: Bumble bees are larger, fuzzy, and have a more rounded body with black and yellow stripes.
Nest Location: They nest close to the ground, often in abandoned rodent holes, bird nests, under compost heaps or piles of grass clippings, inside rotten stumps or rock walls, and even within the eaves of structures.
Nest Structure: Bumble bee nests are smaller and less organized compared to honey bee nests, typically containing several waxy cells.

Carpenter Bees:

Appearance: Carpenter bees are oval shaped, with shiny & smooth black bodies. Their thorax is fuzzy and yellow coloured.
Nest Location: They build their nests in dry untreated wood, often outdoors in trees. They also nest in man-made structures that contain untreated wood (cedar is a favourite), like frames, siding, eaves, fascia, decorative beams, decks, porches, railings, and lawn furniture.
Nest Structure: Carpenter bees nest individually in tiny circular holes that they tunnel 11mm to 15mm into the wood. These holes angle down slightly at the bottom (which is where females lay eggs). While they do chew through the wood, they do not eat the wood.

Honey Bees:

Appearance: Honey bees are typically golden-yellow with brown bands. They have a more robust, hairy body compared to wasps.
Nest Location: Honey bee nests are often found in hollow trees, walls, or attics. They prefer enclosed spaces.
Nest Structure: Nests are made of wax and consist of multiple hexagonal cells. They can appear as a series of stacked, parallel combs.

* For help with honey bee nests, contact a beekeeper in your area.

How to Identify Wasp Nests & Hornet Nests

Paper Wasps:

Appearance: Paper wasps are slender with long legs and distinct waists. They are usually brown with yellow markings.
Nest Location: These nests are commonly built in residential yards. They are found hanging from branches of trees and shrubs, fences, porch ceilings, window frames, door frames, soffits, eaves, chimneys, vents, and decks (railings and board joists). Indoors, paper wasp nests are commonly hung from attic rafters and cathedral-style ceilings.
Nest Structure: A paper wasp nest resembles an upside-down umbrella (which is why they are also called umbrella wasps), and have a single layer of exposed hexagonal cells. Nests are made from a papery substance they create by chewing wood fibers and mixing it with their saliva. Very resourceful!

Mud Dauber Wasps:

Appearance: Mud Dauber wasps vary in colour as there are many species. Often they are black with a metallic sheen or with pale markings, however some are solid steel blue or black and some have additional yellow or green markings. In general, mud daubers have 6 legs, range between ½ and 1 inch in length, and have a long and slender shape, with a narrow, thread-like waist.
Nest Location: These nests are commonly found in chimneys, wall voids, attics, garages, barn walls, and under eaves, porches, and decks.
Nest Structure: Mud dauber wasp nests are small and constructed out of mud collected by female wasps. Mud is rolled into a ball, carried to the nest and molded into place with the wasp’s mandibles. They construct side-by-side mud tubes, each around one inch long.

Yellowjackets:

Appearance: Yellowjackets are very aggressive (and will chase you). They have yellow and black striped markings on their short, stocky bodies. They are capable of stinging more than once due to the absence of barbs on their stingers. They are frequently misidentified as honey bees.
Nest Location: Their nests can be found both above and below ground. Common locations include wall cavities, tree stumps, and underground burrows.
Nest Structure: Yellowjacket nests are made from chewed wood fibers and are enclosed with a single entrance. The nests are typically spherical and can grow quite large. Yellowjackets guard and defend their nest so it is common to see at least one yellowjacket standing watch outside the nest. If it senses a threat, it will alert the rest of the colony to swarm and attack.

Hornets:

Appearance: Hornets are larger than yellowjackets and have a robust body with white and black or brown and yellow markings.
Nest Location: Hornet nests are often found in trees and bushes, but sometimes bald-faced hornet nests are built under eaves on homes, garages, or sheds that are near humans. In these cases, they become a serious concern due to their extreme aggressive nature. Like yellowjackets, they will fiercely defend their nest, and can sting more than once. They will also chase their victim long distances to sting them.
Nest Structure: These nests are large, football-like shaped, and made from a papery substance that fertilized females make by chewing cellulose from rotted or weathered wood. Hornet nests are enclosed with a smooth exterior and have a single entrance.

Safety Tips for Handling Stinging Insect Nests

Maintain Distance: Always keep a safe distance from any suspected nest. Both bees and wasps can become aggressive if they feel threatened. Some will chase and swarm, and some species can sting multiple times.
Don’t Disturb the Nest: Do not try to knock down or destroy a nest on your own. This can provoke the insects and lead to painful stings and allergic reactions, which can be mild, severe or even fatal.
Seek Professional Help: If you discover a nest in a problematic location of your home, cottage, or business, contact a reputable and licenced pest control professional like us. We have the expertise, equipment, and solutions to safely remove or treat the nest.

Get Rid of Wasp & Hornet Nests with Help from Environmental Pest Control

To learn more about bees, wasps & hornets, visit our pest library. We have lots of helpful advice and tips for preventing and addressing pest issues, especially these insects.

If you need professional bee pest control or wasp pest control, contact us! We've been expertly resolving stinging insect issues since 1988.