Renovating your home can be an exciting and time consuming project. Whether it is the outside or inside, unexpected bumps in the road are likely to occur. From rotting planks to moldy drywall, anything can come up and some occurrences are slightly more dangerous. Termites are often found and are the leading cause behind the rotting planks. While termites are not dangerous to humans themselves, they can cause a great amount of damage to any wooden part of a house or deck, causing the base to become unstable and can often be costly to repair. While termites can seem bad enough, there is another dangerous visitor that will often set up shop under the eaves of homes and inside of large knot holes.

Bees can not only cause minor damage to a home but can also seriously injure anyone who happens upon their home. Many people are not aware that there are several different types. These include the infamous bumble bee and honey bee as well as a carpenter bee and ground bee. Often mistaken for a bee are wasps, hornets and yellow jackets. Among all of these, the wasp has the most painful sting. How do you determine which type of bee you have? The bumble bee is often the most commonly seen bee as they can be seen flying from flower to flower. Their job is to pollinate and make honey although, not as much as their brother the honey bee. A bumble bee home is often found in loose materials such as dried grass, leafs or even behind a seat cushion that is rarely used but, do not be deceived, they can also be seen under a wood or concrete porch or sidewalk platform. A carpenter bee is the type that builds its home in the holes in the wood along the house. While they sometimes take occupancy in a hole that is already formed, don’t think that because the wood on your house is hole free, that they can not make a suitable dwelling. These crafty little creatures can “drill” a hole that is 3/8 inch with their mandibles. A honey bee will build nests either outside or in your home but, if it is in your home it will not be in a spot that you can see. Typically nests are built behind your wall and if left untreated, it can grow to massive sizes with thousands of little workers flying in and out around the clock. If you happen to be one of the home owners with a bee city behind your wall, it is heavily advised that you contact a honey bee removal expert as the honey bee is crucial to pollinating and creating honey so every attempt to keep them alive is crucial. Now, while hornets, wasps and yellow jackets are not typical bees, they can be dangerous so you should be aware of what to look for. A yellow jacket likes to make their home high up in trees, or eaves of a home but, sometimes under decks. Their home is identified as a gray football shape and is made entirely by the yellow jackets. However, when a desirable outside source is not found, the jackets will build a nest inside of your home and just like the honey bee, it will not be detectable but, you will be able to hear them flying around within the walls. Keep in mind that not only do these flyers pack a painful sting but, they also damage the dry wall so it is crucial to remove these little creatures by use of an exterminator. Last but certainly not least is the wasp. As previously mentioned, this flyer has the most painful sting but, not only that, they will build their dwelling anywhere; in a grill, under an eave, in a tree or even by your front door. Wasp nests are easily knocked down if detected right away and when the area is sprayed, they should not return but, if the nests are fairly large, you will want to contact a professional to remove them as an unprotected human can become severely ill after receiving a large amount of wasp stings. So as you can tell, identifying the type of bee is crucial before you begin to remove the problem. While small nests can be removed by the home owner themselves, anything that could cause serious injury to an individual should be handled by a professional.