All hornets are wasps, but not all wasps are hornets. Hornets are a larger, more aggressive subset of the wasp family, and they build enclosed paper nests rather than the open-comb nests common to other wasps.
You have a large, angry-looking buzzing creature in your yard. And you’re probably trying to figure out exactly what you’re dealing with. That’s a good instinct because getting stung hurts a whole lot and knowing what’s nesting near your home will help you decide how to respond.
Wasps are a broad category that includes yellow jackets, paper wasps, mud daubers, and hornets. The ones most people picture when they hear "wasp" are paper wasps. These are the slender, long-legged insects that build small, open, umbrella-shaped nests under eaves and deck railings. Paper wasps are generally not aggressive unless you get close to the nest.
Hornets are bigger and bulkier. The most common species in New Hampshire is the bald-faced hornet, which is black with white facial markings and builds large, enclosed, football-shaped paper nests in trees, shrubs, or under overhangs. Bald-faced hornets are more defensive of their nests than paper wasps are. Disturbing a nest, even by mowing too close or vibrating a branch, can trigger a rapid, coordinated response from the colony. And unlike honeybees, hornets can sting multiple times.
Then you have yellow jackets. They’re technically wasps, not hornets, but that’s not the kind of detail you’d care about when they’re chasing you. They’re aggressive. They tend to nest in the ground and inside wall voids, which means they’re likely to sting you when you don’t expect it. If you’re getting stung near a hole in your yard or around a gap in your siding, you can often blame yellow jackets.
The main difference as far as you’re concerned will come down to nest location and how defensive the stinging pests are. Paper wasp nests are small and usually manageable. Hornet and yellow jacket nests are larger, better defended, and typically a lot more risky to remove without proper equipment and training.
If you’re a Central New Hampshire homeowner, and you’ve found a nest that you’re not comfortable approaching, Mosquito Squad of Central New Hampshire can help. Mosquito Squad provides stinging insect control services that include nest identification, safe removal, and treatment of the surrounding area. A technician will come to your property, identify the species and find the nests. Then they’ll treat accordingly.
