Pests don't wait. Protect your home today.

Wasp Nest Removal in South Florida: Wasps, Yellowjackets & Carpenter Bees

Family-run, licensed and insured pest control in South Florida.

$50 OFF your first service + FREE inspectionNew customers · No code needed · No expiration

Call or Text 833-845-9284 Get my FREE inspection

Florida licensed
JB 500846
Bug Free Guarantee
Free re-service between visits
No contracts
No cancellation fees
Family-run
Family & pet friendly · Hablamos español

Found a nest under your eaves, inside your hurricane shutters or in the ground by the driveway? Pro-Spray handles wasp nest removal for homes and businesses across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, including paper wasps, yellowjackets, mud daubers and carpenter bees. We're a family-run, licensed and insured company with 30+ years in South Florida, and we offer fast scheduling. Until we get there, keep your distance. Don't try to knock a nest down or treat it yourself if it's large, hidden, in the ground or in a wall, or hard to reach.

Paper wasps: eaves, soffits, shutters, pool cages and play sets

Paper wasps are the nests most people see first. They build an open, umbrella-shaped paper comb with no outer cover, so you can see the cells, and it usually hangs from a single short stalk. Several kinds are common here, including the red paper wasp and a smaller paper wasp that loves eaves and shutters.

In South Florida, check these spots first:

Under eaves and soffits, especially on the shaded side of the house
Inside hurricane shutters, shutter tracks and accordion housings
On pool cage and lanai frames, and in the corners of screen enclosures
Under play set platforms, railings, mailboxes and light fixtures

Paper wasps are less defensive than yellowjackets, but they will sting if someone bumps the nest. Rolling down a shutter that has a nest inside is a common way to get stung, so look before you close them for a storm. More ID details are on our paper wasp page.

Mud daubers build tube-shaped mud nests on walls, in garages and under overhangs. They're solitary, rarely sting unless handled, and we remove their nests on request.

Yellowjackets: ground and wall-void nests

Down here, yellowjackets are mainly the southern yellowjacket. They're less common than in North and Central Florida, but they're found here, and their nests are the ones to take most seriously. Most are underground, often in an old rodent burrow or under tree roots. Some are inside wall voids. All you usually see is a small hole with a steady stream of wasps going in and out.

Disturbing a yellowjacket nest is risky for a few reasons:

Mowers, edgers and foot traffic cause most stings, because the vibration sets off a defensive swarm.
Yellowjackets can sting more than once.
Crushing or swatting one near the nest releases an alarm scent that brings more out.
In Florida's warm climate, some colonies survive the winter and keep growing into very large nests.

What many people call "hornets" here are usually yellowjackets or paper wasps. The bald-faced hornet is actually a yellowjacket, and the European hornet is mostly a North Florida insect.

Carpenter bees: galleries in fascia, decks and unpainted wood

Carpenter bees look like bumble bees, but the top of the abdomen is shiny and mostly bare. The female chews a perfectly round hole, about half an inch across, into bare or weathered wood. Then the tunnel turns and runs along the grain. Watch for coarse sawdust under the hole on fascia boards, rafter tails, deck rails, pergolas and unpainted trim.

Males hover and dive at people but can't sting. Females can sting but rarely do. Galleries tend to get reused and extended year after year, which is why it pays to treat them early. We treat the galleries in the wood. Once activity stops, we recommend plugging the holes. Painting or staining bare wood makes it less attractive. See our carpenter bee page for more.

Wasp or honey bee? How to tell, and when to call a beekeeper

We don't remove honey bees. Honey bee colonies should be relocated by a beekeeper. Here's how to tell them apart:

Wasps and yellowjackets have smooth, shiny bodies, a narrow pinched waist and bright markings, and they build paper nests.
Honey bees are fuzzy and golden-brown. They build wax comb, often inside a cavity, or hang in a cluster from a branch when they swarm.

Africanized honey bees are common in South Florida, so treat any bee colony as potentially defensive, and don't approach it or try to remove it yourself. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services keeps a list of registered beekeepers who handle bee removal. If you're not sure what you have, we'll identify it at the inspection. If it's honey bees, we'll tell you to call a beekeeper.

Is it safe to remove a wasp nest yourself?

A small, visible paper wasp nest can sometimes be handled with an over-the-counter wasp spray. For anything bigger, hidden, underground, inside a wall or up a ladder, it's safer to call a pro. Ladders and stings are a bad mix, because one sting can mean a fall.

What not to do:

Don't pour gasoline or other fuel into a nest. It's a fire hazard, it contaminates soil and water, and it's an illegal use.
Don't flood or block the entrance. The wasps will dig or chew a new exit, and a blocked wall-void nest can chew through into your living space.
Don't knock a nest down with a stick or a hose.
Don't seal a wall hole while the nest is still active.

Mark a ground nest and keep kids, pets and mowers away until it's treated.

Call 911 right away if someone has trouble breathing, swelling of the face, lips or throat, dizziness or fainting, or hives spreading across the body after a sting, or if they've been stung many times. If they have a prescribed epinephrine auto-injector, use it as directed.

How our wasp nest removal works

Free inspection. We find every nest we can, including ones tucked in shutters, cage frames and wall gaps, and identify the species.
Targeted treatment. We treat the nest directly with products labeled for that pest, applied according to the product label. For ground and wall-void nests, we time treatment for when the colony is home.
Removal. Some nests are left in place for a day or two so returning wasps contact the treatment, then we remove the nests we can reach.
Wall voids. We treat through the entry point and don't open walls. Once the colony is gone, we recommend sealing the gap.
Carpenter bees. We treat the galleries and recommend plugging the holes once activity stops.

Nests out of safe reach, like high rooflines or tall trees, are handled case by case after the inspection. Keep kids and pets away from the treated area until it's dry, and follow your technician's instructions. A few returning wasps may hover around the old nest site for a day or two. That's normal.

What's included and what happens after

Every job includes the inspection, species ID, treatment of the nests we find, removal of the nests we can reach, and plain advice on sealing gaps and keeping them from rebuilding. Wasps don't reuse an old nest, but new queens often choose the same sheltered spots next season. We won't promise they never return.

For a one-time job: if the treated nest becomes active again, call us and we'll come back.

Customers on our quarterly pest plan get our Bug Free Guarantee: "If pests come back between visits, so do we, at no extra cost." There are no cancellation fees.

We also handle nests for HOAs and businesses, including common areas, pool decks, playgrounds and storefront awnings, and we can provide an insurance certificate for HOAs. See commercial pest control and residential pest control, or read more about stinging insects in South Florida.

We serve Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, mostly within about 45 minutes of our office, including Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Davie, Hollywood, Miami and Boca Raton.

Get your free inspection

$50 off your first service + FREE inspection. New customers, no code, no expiration. Call or text 833-845-9284 anytime, or get your free inspection. Hablamos español.

Wasp nest removal FAQ

How much does wasp nest removal cost?

It depends on the type of nest, where it is and how hard it is to reach, so we give you a price after the free inspection. We don't post a flat rate because no two nests are the same. New customers get $50 off their first service.

Should a yellowjacket nest in the ground be removed?

Yes, if it's anywhere people walk, mow or play. Ground nests are easy to step on or run over, and the vibration sets off a defensive swarm. Mark the spot and keep kids, pets and mowers away until it's treated.

Will wasps come back after the nest is removed?

They don't reuse the old nest, but new queens often build in the same sheltered spots, like eaves and shutters. Sealing gaps and checking those spots helps. On a one-time job, if the treated nest becomes active again, call us and we'll come back.

What time of year are wasps worst in South Florida?

Wasps can be active year-round here, but nests are usually biggest and most defensive from late summer into fall. Paper wasp activity builds from spring on, and some yellowjacket colonies survive the winter and keep growing.

Do you remove honey bees?

No. Honey bee colonies should be relocated by a beekeeper, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services keeps a list of registered beekeepers. We remove paper wasp, yellowjacket and mud dauber nests and treat carpenter bee galleries.

Pests don't wait.
Protect your home today.

Get $50 OFF your first pest service and a FREE inspection & estimate. Ongoing protection is $125 quarterly (about $42/month), with no contracts and no cancellation fees.