(913) 232-8016
Kansas City
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St. Joseph
Kansas City
St. Joseph
Yellow jackets are bee-sized social wasps that build paper nests, usually underground. They are black and yellow with striped abdomens and yellow or white faces. Unlike honeybees, they are not hairy and do not collect pollen. Yellowjackets often fly quickly side to side just before landing. In late summer, when their nests are at their largest and natural food sources start to dwindle, they may become more aggressive and are more likely to be seen around soda cans, garbage, and food.
Their nests are made of paper, but unlike paper wasps, they are enclosed in a wood-pulp envelope, similar to bald-faced hornets. Most of the time, only the entrance hole is visible, with yellowjackets flying in and out. They live in colonies, are extremely aggressive, and will sting repeatedly to defend their nest. If yellow jackets are frequently seen on a property, locating the nest site can help prevent future issues.
Treatment involves carefully dusting the nest entrance with a pyrethroid dust while wearing a protective bee suit. The dust is applied inside the nest hole as deeply as possible, while avoiding large amounts on the surrounding surface. Aggressive activity is expected, but the suit prevents stings when worn properly. After treatment, technicians calmly walk away and inspect the suit before removing it to ensure no insects are clinging.
A follow-up visit is usually scheduled within 1–3 days to check the nest. Retreatment is often necessary because the actual nest is rarely visible, and only the entrance hole can be treated. Yellowjacket nests are not removed, as digging them up or accessing nests inside structures is unsafe. If yellowjackets are seen indoors, customers are advised to contact a service manager for guidance.
The bald-faced hornet is a large, aggressive wasp known for its striking black-and-white coloring and powerful sting. These hornets build paper nests made from chewed wood pulp, often found hanging under roof eaves, in trees, or inside dense shrubs. By late summer, a single nest can contain hundreds of hornets, making it dangerous to approach or remove without professional help.
Our professional bald-faced hornet treatment focuses on safety and long-lasting results. During treatment, our licensed technician carefully applies a specialized dust treatment directly into the nest’s entry hole while wearing full protective gear. This method effectively eliminates the hornets inside the nest.
Because of the hornets’ aggressive nature, nest removal is not done the same day as treatment. We schedule a follow-up visit 1–3 days later to confirm the nest is inactive and then safely remove it. The nest is placed in a tightly sealed bag to prevent any remaining hornets from escaping.
In some cases, small pieces of the paper nest may remain attached to surfaces. Homeowners can power wash or gently remove these remnants if desired. For safety reasons, nests located above two stories or in hazardous areas may not be physically removed, but they will still be fully treated to ensure all hornet activity is eliminated.
If you’re dealing with an active hornet nest, don’t risk getting stung. Call Pete’s Pest Control for safe, professional bald-faced hornet control and nest removal today.
Paper wasps are a common sight around homes and businesses during warm months. Their nests are easy to recognize — tan and papery, shaped like an open honeycomb, and hanging from a single stalk. You’ll often find them under roof eaves, decks, porches, or other sheltered areas. The wasps themselves are typically black or brown with yellow or reddish markings. They gather wood fibers from fences, benches, and other untreated wooden surfaces to build their delicate paper nests.
Our professional paper wasp treatment and removal process is designed to keep you and your property safe. When a nest is visible and within reach, our technicians carefully apply an appropriate treatment directly to the nest. Depending on the situation, this may include a dust, aerosol, or liquid product — all applied from a safe distance using professional-grade equipment.
In areas with heavy wasp activity or when working from ladders and tight spaces, our team wears full protective bee suits to prevent stings and ensure a safe, controlled treatment. We take extra care to avoid over-spraying with products like Wasp Freeze, since excess spray can drip or stain nearby surfaces.
For wasp activity inside structures, such as wall voids, attics, or vents, we apply a dust treatment to the suspected entry points. Any residual dust is cleaned up before we leave, leaving your property neat and safe.
Once the nest is treated and the wasps are inactive, our technician safely removes the nest using a web pole and disposes of it properly. Treating the nest before removal is essential — taking down an active nest can cause wasps to rebuild in the same area. Our process ensures that the entire colony is neutralized and helps prevent future infestations.
Carpenter bees look similar to bumblebees but have a smooth, shiny black abdomen instead of a fuzzy one. They’re mostly solitary and drill small, round holes (¼–⅜ inch wide) into wood to build their nests, often leaving sawdust below the entry point. Though they may hover or dart quickly, carpenter bees are generally docile and rarely sting.
You’ll often find nests under decks, railings, eaves, fences, or playsets. Our carpenter bee treatment targets these areas directly by applying a Pyrethroid dust into each entrance hole, eliminating active bees and helping prevent re-infestation. A bee suit is worn if needed for added safety.
Holes are usually not plugged right away; once all activity stops, sealing them helps prevent moisture damage and keeps new bees from reusing the holes. Plugging depends on accessibility, the number of holes, and material approval.
Because carpenter bees are considered a Wood Destroying Insect (WDI), a treatment diagram is required for services tied to real estate transactions. Our process helps protect your structure and prevents future damage.
If you notice round holes or hovering bees around wooden areas, contact us for safe, effective carpenter bee control.
Honeybees are ½ to ⅝ inch long for workers, with drones and queens being larger. They are brown with golden hair and black stripes on the abdomen. Worker bees, which are female, have barbed stingers that can only be used once; if a bee stings, part of her abdomen tears away, and she dies shortly after. Honey bees are usually seen foraging on flowers for pollen and nectar.
Honeybee nests are most commonly found in tree cavities, wall voids, attics, or beekeepers’ boxes, rather than in the ground.
Treatment of honeybee colonies is handled differently from other insects. A beekeeper must first attempt removal of the nest. If removal is not possible, management approval is required before treatment, and it is usually only considered if the colony poses a threat and is located inside a structure. Because honey bees are essential to our food supply, direct treatment without proper removal is a last resort, as it can also cause damage to the property.
The Eastern cicada-killer wasp is one of the largest wasps in Kansas and Missouri, often growing over 1½ inches long. They have clear, rusty wings and bold black-and-yellow markings that can look intimidating. However, despite their size, cicada-killers are generally harmless and rarely sting unless handled.
Male cicada-killers are often seen hovering in open areas to guard their territory. They may appear aggressive but cannot sting — they simply fly close to inspect intruders. Female cicada-killers dig nesting tunnels in sandy or loose soil and use their sting only to paralyze cicadas, which they bring back to their nests as food for their larvae.
Common nesting spots include lawns, garden beds, and pastures. A small mound of loose soil with a round hole or shallow trench is a typical sign of activity.
Our cicada-killer wasp treatment focuses on locating and treating as many active nest tunnels as possible. Technicians apply a pyrethroid dust directly into each entrance to eliminate the wasps inside. While this treatment removes active nests, it’s important to know that new cicada-killers may return from nearby areas to build new tunnels. These can be treated if they appear but cannot be completely prevented.
Because cicada-killers nesting or foraging in other areas can’t be controlled, our service specifically targets active nesting sites for safe, effective management.
Bumblebees are large, fuzzy bees with black and yellow (sometimes orange) banded coloration. Unlike carpenter bees, bumblebees have a fuzzy abdomen, making them easy to distinguish from the shiny, hairless abdomens of carpenter bees.
During the day, bumblebees are commonly seen foraging among flowers for nectar and pollen. They are important pollinators—some plants, like red clover, rely almost entirely on bumblebees for pollination. While bumblebees can sting if provoked or if their nest is threatened, they are generally not aggressive.
Bumblebee nests are typically found in cavities below ground, often in abandoned rodent burrows. They may also nest in brush piles, trash heaps, or birdhouses, usually avoiding direct sunlight.
Treatment is generally avoided, as bumblebees are beneficial and not aggressive unless disturbed.
Mud daubers are wasps with narrow or threadlike waists that can be in a variety of color schemes such as black and yellow, black with blue wings, and solid metallic blue depending on the species. These solitary wasps belong to several related groups, but we call them “mud daubers” because they all build their nests out of mud. You can identify the different species by coloration and by the distinctive nest architecture. They are rarely aggressive and can be found outside on structure surfaces as well as inside of voids such as eaves, behind siding, and inside attics.
Treatment generally consists of breaking the nest off the surface it is on (if in reach with our web pole) and spot treating the area with a residual liquid insecticide. Occasionally if they are located inside of a void, dust insecticide can be used in the same manner as for paper wasps/yellowjackets. If an attic nest is suspected, knocking down any safely and easily accessible nests followed by an attic treatment with Cimexa dust is usually the preferred method. Bee suit use is rarely needed but recommended in a confined space.
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