3 Types of Stinging Insects Every Southern Maryland Resident Should Know About

Apiphobia and Spheksophobia, or the fears of bees and wasps, respectively, are both among the top 100 fears in the world. Fear of ants and other insects are also included.

What do bees, wasps ants, and other insects have in common? Many of them sting, and nobody wants to be stung.

Creatures often inject a painful poison when they sting. In most cases, the sting is harmless but painful. However, being stung enough or being allergic can kill you.

There are many types of stinging insects around the word. If you live in Maryland or other parts of the South, there are a few you’ll need to know about. We’ll talk about some of them in the paragraphs below.

1. European Paper Wasps

Named after its native habitat, the European paper wasp has been introduced to the New World, and can now be found in various parts of the US. European paper wasp nests are easy to identify.

The paper wasp gets its name from its nest. This wasp gathers up bits of old wood and wood fibers. It then chews them and makes a nest similar to a honeycomb.

Whether or not you should get rid of paper wasps is a difficult question to answer. On the one hand, they are aggressive and will defend their nests, which is a problem because they prefer to make nests near houses or other places that are sheltered from the rain.

However, paper wasps are known to eat other insects, many of which are also pests that may damage your lawn or garden.

2. Yellow Jackets

Much like wasps, yellow jackets often kill and eat common garden pests. However, there are a few differences that are worth pointing out.

Unlike paper wasps, yellow jackets make their homes underground. This may not seem like much of a problem, but we all have to mow our lawns at some point, and this can disturb yellow jacket nests.

Yellow jackets are also fond of meat, sugar, and a lot of other foods we enjoy. For this reason, they’ve been known to crash picnics and sting people who are just trying to enjoy a meal.

The good news is that there are ways to get rid of yellow jackets and other potential pests without disturbing the environment.

3. Carpenter Bees

Like most species of bee, carpenter bees can be beneficial. They pollinate plants by drinking nectar.

It’s a bit awkward to list carpenter bees among types of stinging insects. They can sting, and will if you try to touch them or otherwise disturb them, but they’re not very aggressive compared to the other entries on this list.

However, they got their name by making their nests in wood. Unlike paper wasps, whose nests are just unsightly, carpenter bees will actually hurt your house. Not only do they make their nests in wood, but they come back to those nests year after year and continue building onto them.

A carpenter problem that’s not dealt with can cost a lot of money down the road.

Types of Stinging Insects in Maryland

There are several types of stinging insects in Maryland, and in the South as a whole. We’ve mentioned only a few in the paragraphs above, but there are others out there. We encourage you to do more research on your own if you’re interested.

If you want more information and advice on pest control, please visit our site. We can tell you about a few insects that might be a problem in the winter.