Wasps in Hurricane Shutters: Check Before You Close Them

Before you close your hurricane shutters, look first. Wasps love the sheltered spots shutters create: the top track and locking bar of an accordion shutter, the box above a roll-down, the gap between stored panels in the garage. Rolling down a shutter that has a nest inside is a common way to get stung. Check at the start of hurricane season, June 1, and again before you close up for a storm. A small, gray, umbrella-shaped paper nest with wasps on it is active. Don't close the shutter on it. Leave it alone and call us.

Shutter by shutter: where wasps build

Wasp nest in accordion shutters

Look at the top track, the locking bar and the stack of folded blades at each end. Paper wasps like the narrow, dry space where the blades fold together. Use a flashlight and look up into the track from a step or two back, not with your face right under it.

Roll-down shutters

Check the box or hood above the window and the side rails. If the shutter has been up all year, the box is the first place a nest starts.

Storm panels

Panels stored in the garage or the side yard make neat little shelters. Check between the panels before you pick them up and carry them. Tilt the stack slowly from the end and look before you reach in.

Bahama and colonial shutters

Look at the hinge side, the prop arms and behind the louvers. These shutters stay open all year, so nests can sit there for months.

Mud daubers in shutters

Mud daubers build tubes or lumps of mud, not paper. They rarely sting; nests are mostly a cleanup problem. Scrape off old nests with a putty knife and wash the area. See the mud dauber.

What not to do

• Don't close the shutter on a nest.
• Don't knock it down with a broom.
• Don't spray into a track over your head.

Paper wasps are less defensive than yellowjackets, but they will sting if someone bumps the nest. If the wasps are coming out of a hole in the ground near the shutters, read don't plug a yellowjacket nest hole. If it's honey bees, we don't remove them. Call a registered beekeeper; FDACS keeps a list. See wasp or bee: who to call.

If stung, wash the area and use a cold pack. If someone has trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, or dizziness after a sting, call 911 right away.