Mexican Honey Wasp Control in Comfort, TX
When Mexican honey wasps come up in Comfort, TX, it is usually because someone spotted a gray, football- or basketball-sized paper nest up in a tree or a tall shrub and wondered whether it holds bees. Texas A&M AgriLife describes these small wasps as docile and says there is usually no need to remove the nest. If it sits where you have to prune, build or let kids play, have it handled by someone with a bee suit; Pest Trappers takes calls and texts at (210) 281-1064, or you can book online.
Do Mexican honey wasps live as far north as Comfort? #
We can't give you a clear yes. AgriLife's publication on the species says it ranges from Texas to Nicaragua (AgriLife), and an AgriLife fact sheet by Wizzie Brown limits its North American range to Arizona and Texas. None of the AgriLife or Texas Apiary Inspection Service sources we use name Texas counties or describe how far north it reaches.
So a gray paper ball in a Comfort tree could be a Mexican honey wasp nest, a baldfaced hornet nest or something else. Identification comes first.
Paper ball, not wax comb #
The key difference from honey bees is the building material. AgriLife's E-346 bulletin notes that the nest is paper, while honey bees build sheets of wax comb. So a round, papery ball in a tree belongs to wasps, not a bee colony.
Brown's description of the wasps and nest:
- Small: about 1/4 to 1/3 inch, smaller than a honey bee.
- Dark head and thorax, teardrop-shaped abdomen striped yellow and black, rusty wings. (TAIS describes them as nearly all black and not very hairy.)
- Nest around 18 inches, shaped like a football or basketball, often high up where it won't be disturbed.
- Big colonies, from 3,000 to 18,000 wasps, sometimes with several nests clustered in one area.
A baldfaced hornet nest in Comfort is also a gray paper ball, but it is pear-shaped with an entrance at the bottom, and the hornets are larger, at about 3/4 inch, black with white face markings.
Up in the oak and juniper canopy around Comfort #
AgriLife says these wasps nest in the canopies of trees and shrubs. Comfort's surroundings give them plenty of canopy: Texas Parks and Wildlife describes the Edwards Plateau, the Texas Hill Country, as a region of juniper and oak woodland (TPWD ecoregions).
High canopy nests are easy to miss until leaves drop or someone climbs up with a saw. Brown notes that a nest can last about three years before it is abandoned, and the colony stores honey to get through winter, so a nest may be active in any month. That is worth remembering before winter tree work.
Where to get a second opinion locally #
For identification help close to home, Kendall County has a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office (county Extension office). A clear photo of the nest and a close look at one of the wasps, taken from a distance, gives the office or a technician something to work with.
Should the nest stay? #
Most of the time, yes. E-346 calls the wasp very docile, and TAIS says it often ignores human activity. Brown adds that these wasps help: they gather nectar and pollen, and adults hunt other insects, especially Asian citrus psyllids when available.
The exceptions are practical:
- The tree needs pruning or removal.
- You are building, roofing or clearing brush nearby.
- Children play or people gather right under it.
Brown is clear that the females do sting when the colony is threatened or they are provoked. Don't poke, shake or throw things at the nest. Since this is a wasp and not a honey bee, the Texas beekeeper exemption for honey bee removal and the TAIS beekeeper list don't apply to it.
How Pest Trappers handles a honey wasp nest in Comfort #
A technician confirms what built the nest, since a paper nest in a tree could belong to more than one kind of wasp. If removal really is needed, they explain the options, wear proper protective equipment, as AgriLife advises for this species, and apply any product exactly as labeled. Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549), family-owned and licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture, quotes after the inspection. The Mexican honey wasp guide has more background, and our Comfort page lists other local services.