Wil-Kil Pest Control's Pest of the Month: Avoid the sting this summer with these four prevention tips!

It’s finally summer and yellow jackets, wasps and hornets are joining the cast of pests ready to ruin the day for outdoor enthusiasts. Stinging insects send more than 500,000 people to the emergency room each year and become increasingly more active as the summer progresses. So, if you’re looking to soak up the sun this summer, exercise extra caution around these pests and take steps to prevent them with these four tips.

Four tips to prevent getting stung:

1. Keep food covered. Stinging insects love to buzz around open food and trash areas. To avoid an unwanted encounter, cover your food and beverages, and keep the trash can closed tightly.

2. Avoid swatting. These pests sting when they feel threatened, so nature lovers should resist the urge to swat. Instead, remain calm and remove yourself from the area.

3. Adjust wardrobe and fragrance use. Before heading out for a picnic in the park, double check your outfit. Avoid wearing bright colors and floral prints and leave the sweet-smelling perfume behind. All of these wardrobe elements will attract more stinging insects to the party.

4. Stay away from nests and take care in removal. Insect nests should be treated as potentially dangerous situations and should be avoided when selecting an outdoor site. When removing a nest, pest control experts should be consulted to mitigate risk of serious injury.

These tips should give you a head start in telling stinging pests to “buzz off” from outdoor gatherings. However, it’s impossible to eliminate “the buzz” completely. In the unfortunate case of a sting, treat with a topical antihistamine or ibuprofen, and pay close attention to swelling as it may be a sign of an allergic reaction. For more information or assistance eliminating “the buzz”, visit our website at http://www.wil-kil.com/residential-pest-control.

Did you use one our tips in preparation for an outdoor picnic or gathering? Let us know how it worked us! We’d love to hear from you!

About Shane McCoy:
Shane McCoy is the Technical Training Director for Wil-Kil Pest Control, a regional pest management company providing quality pest management for residential and commercial properties throughout the Upper Midwest. As an Associate Certified Entomologist with over 18 years of experience in pest management, Shane’s blog provides expert tips and tricks, timely information and solutions for coexisting with the insect life and critters around us. To learn more about Wil-Kil Pest Control, please visitwww.wil-kil.com. You can also follow the company on Facebook and Twitter (@WilKilPest).