If you live in St. Petersburg, you’ve probably found a paper wasp nest on a pool cage, under a soffit, or behind a hurricane shutter. Wasps are a normal part of life on the Pinellas peninsula. Water surrounds the city on three sides, freezes are rare, and the sandy soil, palms, and screened lanais give wasps plenty of places to nest. Most local wasps are beneficial predators that never cause trouble. A few social species, though, will sting hard to defend a nest close to where people live and work.
For non-aggressive wasps I've had great luck spraying nests with this Spectracide wasp remover in the evening. For a nest up high in an eave, soffit, or tree, this Gotcha pole adapter clamps onto the can so you can spray from the end of an extension pole and treat the nest from 10+ feet away instead of standing right under it. And for anything aggressive I wear this ridiculous-looking upper torso beekeeping suit and keep my distance. It seems silly, but trust me, I learned the hard way.
This guide covers the wasps St. Petersburg homeowners actually see, how to tell them apart, how the local season works, where nests turn up on Pinellas County homes, and when a nest is safe to handle yourself versus when to call a professional. For the statewide picture, see our Florida wasps guide.
| Wasp | What it looks like | Typical nest site | Sting risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red wasps | Large, slender, reddish-brown, legs dangling in flight | Open paper comb under eaves, lanai ceilings, sheds | Moderate to high near the nest |
| Other paper wasps (Guinea and other Polistes) | Slender, brown with yellow or reddish markings | Pool cage framing, shutters, railings, shrubs | Moderate near the nest |
| Southern yellowjacket | Small (about ½ in), stocky, bright yellow and black | Underground in lawns and beds, sometimes wall voids | High: many defenders |
| Mud daubers | Thread-thin waist, black-and-yellow or metallic blue | Mud tubes on walls, garages, pool equipment | Very low |
| Cicada killers and scoliid wasps | Very large, or hairy with yellow spots | Burrows in sandy soil, or hunting grubs over lawns | Very low |
| Ensign wasps | Tiny, black, with a bobbing flag-like abdomen | No nest; develop in cockroach egg cases | Essentially none |
The first three cause nearly all wasp stings around St. Pete homes. The rest are worth recognizing so you don’t spray wasps that are helping you.
Paper wasps (genus Polistes) are the wasps St. Petersburg residents see most. They build a single open comb of gray paper cells shaped like an upside-down umbrella and hang it from a short stalk. Because the cells face downward and stay uncovered, you can often see the white larvae and capped pupae inside.
Paper wasps aren’t aggressive when they’re foraging on flowers or hunting caterpillars in your garden. Near the nest it’s a different story. Bumping a shutter, opening a grill lid, or brushing a hedge can trigger several stings at once. The good news is that paper wasp nests are usually easy to see, so a quick walk around the house every few weeks catches most of them while they’re small. For more detail, see paper wasps in Florida and our paper wasps hub.
The southern yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa) is the main yellowjacket in the Tampa Bay area. Workers are small, shiny, and bright yellow and black. Queens are larger and more orange. Unlike paper wasps, yellowjackets hide their nests. Most colonies are underground in lawns, landscape beds, or old root and rodent cavities, and some build inside wall voids, under decks, or in hollow spaces around buildings. Usually the only thing you’ll see is a single hole with a steady stream of wasps flying in and out.
Many St. Pete sting incidents happen when someone mows, edges, or weeds right over a nest they didn’t know was there. Yellowjackets defend the nest in large numbers and can sting repeatedly. In fall they also scavenge around trash cans, outdoor dining, and sweet drinks by the pool.
Florida’s mild winters create one extra hazard. In most of the US, every yellowjacket colony dies each winter. In Florida, a southern yellowjacket colony occasionally survives the winter, adopts additional queens, and keeps growing into a very large perennial nest. These nests are uncommon, but they’re a good reason never to treat a ground or wall nest casually. See ground wasps in Florida, yellow jacket nest identification, and our yellow jackets hub.
What to do: Don’t pour gasoline, boiling water, or chemicals into the hole, and don’t try to plug it. Mark the spot, keep people and pets away, and have a licensed professional treat it.
Mud daubers are solitary wasps with a long, thread-thin waist. In St. Petersburg you’ll see three main types:
All three stock their nests with paralyzed spiders, which makes them useful pest control. They rarely sting unless they’re grabbed. If the mud nests bother you, scrape off the old ones in winter. See the mud daubers hub and blue wasps in Florida.
St. Petersburg’s sandy soil suits ground-nesting solitary wasps:
St. Pete sits on a peninsula with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and Tampa Bay on the other, so it stays warmer in winter than most of central Florida. Hard freezes are rare. As a result, wasp activity slows down in the coolest weeks but often doesn’t stop completely.
| Time of year | What to expect |
|---|---|
| January–February | Paper wasp activity is low but rarely zero. On warm afternoons wasps fly, and some colonies carry on through the winter. Good time to scrape off old mud dauber nests and inspect shutters. |
| March–May | New paper wasp nests appear on eaves, lanais, and pool cages. Nests are small and are easiest to deal with now. |
| June–August | Colonies grow quickly. Cicada killers dig in sandy areas. Hurricane season starts, and shutters, stored panels, and outdoor equipment become prime nest sites. |
| September–November | Peak season. Paper wasp and yellowjacket colonies are at their largest and most defensive, and yellowjackets forage heavily around food and trash. |
| December | Activity tapers off with cooler nights but can pick back up during warm spells. |
Most wasps stop flying when temperatures fall into the 50s °F, so a cool morning in St. Pete may be quiet even when a nest is still active. See what temperature do wasps stop flying and when are wasps most active.
Check these spots regularly, especially from March through May when nests are still small:
After a storm: clearing downed branches, shrubs, and debris after a hurricane or tropical storm is one of the most common ways Pinellas County residents disturb hidden nests. Look before you grab, wear long sleeves and gloves, and back away slowly if wasps start flying around you.
Handle it yourself only if all of these are true:
If so, treat it at dusk or after dark when the wasps are all home and less active. Use a wasp and hornet spray labeled for that use, follow the label exactly, wear long sleeves and eye protection, and leave the nest alone for a day before knocking it down. Our how to get rid of paper wasps and best time to spray a wasp nest guides walk through the steps.
Call a licensed professional for:
Never use gasoline, fire, or other flammables on a nest, and don’t seal the entrance of an active nest in a wall. Trapped wasps can chew their way into the living space. For more options, see our complete guide to getting rid of wasps.
See what attracts wasps and how to keep wasps away for more ideas.
Wash the sting with soap and water, apply a cold pack, and take an over-the-counter antihistamine or pain reliever if needed. See our wasp sting treatment guide for full first aid.
Call 911 if anyone has hives spreading away from the sting, swelling of the face, lips, or throat, trouble breathing, dizziness, or many stings at once. These can be signs of a serious allergic reaction.
Paper wasps, including red wasps and Guinea paper wasps, are the most common wasps St. Pete homeowners notice, because they nest out in the open on houses, lanais, and pool cages. Southern yellowjackets are the most common cause of multiple-sting incidents.
Yes, but it’s long. Paper wasps start new nests as early as late winter, colonies peak from late summer through fall, and because hard freezes are rare in St. Pete, some activity can continue through the winter.
Not reliably. In colder climates, cold weather kills off social wasp colonies and only mated queens survive. In St. Petersburg, mild winters let some paper wasp colonies and the occasional yellowjacket colony survive the winter. That’s why you can find active nests in January.
The aluminum framing and screen corners of a pool cage give paper wasps sheltered spots to hang combs, and pool water gives them a water source. Inspect the cage often in spring and remove tiny nests early.
Usually not. The largest wasps in St. Petersburg are typically cicada killers or scoliid wasps. Both are solitary, don’t defend a shared nest, and rarely sting people.
Only small, easy-to-reach paper wasp nests, and only if no one in the home is allergic. Leave yellowjacket nests, nests in walls or shutters, high nests, and enclosed gray nests to a licensed professional.
For the full statewide picture, see our Florida wasps guide. For a region-by-region overview of which wasps live where in the US, see our Wasps by State: Regional Identification & Seasonal Activity Guide. For species-by-species physical identification, see the Wasp Identification Guide.
Nearby Florida city guides:
Florida species guides: