Mexican Honey Wasp Control in Stone Oak, TX
What Stone Oak homeowners usually spot is a rounded gray paper nest, roughly the size of a football or basketball, wedged among the branches of a tree or a large shrub, with small dark wasps crawling over it. If it is a Mexican honey wasp nest and nobody needs to work near it, it can usually be left in place; if it is in the way of pruning, building or play, have it removed by someone with a bee suit. Call or text (210) 281-1064, or set up a visit online.
What to check from the ground #
Stand back and look at three things:
- The wasps. Mexican honey wasps are smaller than honey bees. AgriLife's Wizzie Brown puts them at about 1/4 to 1/3 inch, with a dark head and thorax, a teardrop-shaped abdomen striped yellow and black, and rusty wings (AgriLife, via Williamson County Master Gardeners). The Texas Apiary Inspection Service describes them as almost all black and not very hairy.
- The nest material. Gray paper means wasps. Honey bees build wax comb, never paper.
- The shape. Brown describes a nest around 18 inches, shaped like a basketball or a football, often high up where it won't be disturbed. A pear-shaped carton with one opening at the bottom and larger black-and-white wasps points to a baldfaced hornet instead.
Are they found around Stone Oak? #
Here is what the sources actually say. AgriLife gives the range as Texas to Nicaragua, and Brown says that within North America the wasp occurs in Arizona and Texas. TAIS confirms it in Texas. None of the material we checked names Bexar County or says the wasp is spreading, so we won't claim it is common in Stone Oak or anywhere in San Antonio. If you have one, you will know it by the nest and the small dark wasps.
Shade trees on the larger lots #
The city's 2026 draft plan for the area says about one-third of Stone Oak's land is designated Low Density Residential (Stone Oak plan, draft). Lower-density lots usually mean more room for mature trees and big shrubs, and AgriLife says this wasp builds in the canopies of exactly those. A nest high in a back-corner tree may go unnoticed for a long time, and Brown notes that nests can last about three years before they are abandoned.
That long life is why the nest is still there in January. Mexican honey wasps store honey to carry the colony through winter; AgriLife's honey bee bulletin calls this the only wasp known to do so. Brown counts 3,000 to 18,000 wasps in a nest, with several queens.
Will the city take it down? #
No. San Antonio Metro Health's vector control program works on public property inside the city limits and says it does not treat private property for insect problems (Metro Health). A nest in your yard is your decision.
It is also not a beekeeper job in the usual sense. Texas law lets registered beekeepers remove honey bees, and TAIS keeps a removal list for honey bee colonies, but this insect is a wasp, so those rules don't apply on their own terms.
Keep it or have it removed? #
Reasons to leave it:
- TAIS says these wasps are not very aggressive and often ignore people, and AgriLife's bulletin calls them very docile.
- Brown describes them as pollinators whose adults hunt other insects, especially Asian citrus psyllids when available.
Reasons to remove it:
- The tree needs trimming, or a fence, pool or addition is going in nearby.
- Children climb or play under it.
- Someone at home has a venom allergy.
Brown notes that females will sting to protect the colony or when provoked. Don't prune around it, hit it or spray it yourself, and keep mowers and string trimmers back from the trunk.
How Pest Trappers handles Mexican honey wasps in Stone Oak #
A technician confirms what built the nest and whether it really needs to go. AgriLife's advice is to use a professional who has protective equipment such as a bee suit, so the visit is planned with that in mind. You hear the options before work starts, any product is used per its label, and the price follows the inspection. Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549) is a family business licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture, and the office confirms appointment times. See the Mexican honey wasp guide and the Stone Oak page for related pests.