Parasitic wasps: Should I be worried?

Question: I was doing laundry in my basement yesterday and I felt a bee crawling up my leg! I freaked! Well today I went into the basement and saw another one! These are big fat bees! The second bee I found was on the ground as well. It seemed weird to me. Is this something I should be worried about? If so, do you come and do free estimates?

Answer: Probably what you have seen are parasitic wasp. There are many species, some brightly colored, and most with a long ‘egg-laying’ spine (ovipositor) at the end of the abdomen.

These are beneficial insects because they are parasites of other insects. They lay their eggs on or in the bodies of lawn grubs, garden caterpillars, and other insects that may be around the yard and garden. The developing wasp larvae (and sometimes there are many of them in the grub or caterpillar) eventually kill the host.

Unlike their social wasp cousins, parasitic wasps are solitary. They do not form large colonies or nests. They pose no threat to people or pets. Most are small and usually go unnoticed. Some parasitic wasps are attracted to lights and may find their way indoors. Some are parasites of wood-infesting beetle larvae and the adult wasp may emerge from firewood kept indoors in the winter, they are also harmless to people and pets.

Parasitic wasps require no control measures. They do not sting people and are not threatening. They rarely occur in large numbers, except for some of the wasps that are parasites of white grubs in lawns, and they remain for only a day or two.

Orkin also answered the following related question:

Question: Can you also give me some advice on the blackish wasps that are everywhere!

They have 2 long legs it looks like they fly around everywhere. We tried to find the nests but cannot seem to find them. I went out last night to watch where they were flying home but they just disappeared.

Thank you again I think this site is a wonderful idea,as I have tried to look things up on the internet,but there is so much information to try to figure it out and really you are still only guessing.