Don't stir up that hornets' nest

It's late summer, the time when wasps, yellow jackets and hornets hang around garbage cans and outside food areas.

While these stinging insects can be beneficial since they prey on other pest insects that destroy garden flowers and plants, they can also sting if they believe their nest is in jeopardy.

So, what exactly can be done to rid oneself of the threat of stinging insects and their nests?

It's all in the approach, according to Allan Boyer, owner of A.F. Boyer Hardware in Slatington.

"The number one thing is try to eliminate them at night because they're dormant, not totally, but it's way safer," Boyer said.

"They use their eyes more than the smelling; it's like a visual thing for them."

Boyer said if an individual believes they may be allergic to them, they should seek a professional to be on the safe side.

"It doesn't cost all that much, compared to ending up in the hospital," he said. "Municipalities have people that they refer, and they're reasonable."

However, such stinging insects can be beneficial because they prey on other pest insects that destroy garden flowers and plants, according to Jeanne Carl, a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill.

"Most of them are pollinators; without pollinators, we wouldn't have food, flowers, so that's definitely a bonus," Carl said.

"Some of the creatures we don't like are predators for other creatures; it all kind of goes hand in hand in terms of how it balances nature.

You might not like that creature, but there's a reason for that creature to exist, or they wouldn't."

Carl said it's only natural for insects to defend themselves if they feel they're at risk.

"We tell school students don't swing at them, don't try to swat at them or squish them," she said.

"Unfortunately, they can do more to us than we can do to them; you're probably better off leaving them alone."

The way people dress and the scent that they may give off can attract them as well.

"We don't need to attract them," she said. "But, we do inadvertently sometimes just by our appearance."