Long Island Stinging Insect Season: A Month-by-Month Guide

Spring (March–May): Slow Start, Small Nests

Overwintered queens emerge as temperatures warm and start new colonies from scratch — which means spring nests are small and manageable if caught early. This is the easiest time of year to deal with a wasp or hornet nest, since colonies haven't had months to grow. Honeybee swarms also become more common in spring as established hives split and relocate.

Summer (June–August): Peak Activity

This is when we get the most calls. Wasp and hornet colonies are actively growing, worker populations peak, and nests that started small in spring are now substantial. Bee activity around flowering plants and pools also increases. If you spotted a small nest in spring and put off dealing with it, summer is when it stops being ignorable.

Fall (September–November): The Most Aggressive Stretch

Counterintuitively, fall is often the most dangerous season for wasp encounters — not summer. Yellow jacket colonies reach their maximum size right before colder weather, and as natural food sources dry up, workers get more aggressive around human food and trash. Hornet nests are also at their largest and most defended in early fall. This is the season we'd most encourage calling sooner rather than later if you've spotted a nest.

Winter (December–February): Dormant, Not Gone

Most wasp and hornet colonies die off in winter — only newly mated queens survive, overwintering in sheltered spots to start next year's colonies. Old nests are abandoned and won't be reused, but they're also a useful sign: if you had a nest last year, take a look at that same spot in early spring, since the location was clearly viable once already.

Serving Long Island Year-Round

MeriPro Solutions handles bee, wasp, and hornet calls 24/7 across Nassau and Suffolk County, no matter the season. Early spring and dormant winter nests are usually the simplest to deal with — late summer and fall are when we'd urge you not to wait.

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