Yellow Jacket Nest

Yellow jackets are one of the commonly seen wasps. They are aggressive in nature and can inflict painful stings. So, yellow jackets roaming around your premises can be a cause of concern. If you notice these wasps frequenting a specific area, then, make sure to check for the presence of a yellow jacket nest in the vicinity. Usually, these wasps are found in large colonies and removal of their nests can be a risky affair.

Yellow Jacket Wasp Nests

As stated above, these wasps are commonly seen and are infamous for their stings. They are small in size and are often mistaken for bees. But, yellow jackets have yellow and black colors on the body. In some species, you may find white color instead of yellow. These wasps are parasitic and prey on other insects. Apart from that, they also feed on left over food, especially, sweets and meats. They are social wasps that live in large colonies. Mostly, these wasps are found to build nests in hidden locations, like, in the ground and inside wall voids and other such places. They may also build their nests on trees and walls of buildings, beneath roof structures and attics. Yellow jacket nests are made of paper-like pulp, made by chewing wood fiber. It is said that a yellow wasp nest may contain several thousands of wasps (around 5000-6000) and in large colonies around 15000 cells can be seen.

In case of yellow jackets, life cycle is found to be yearly. The lone queen starts making a nest during the onset of spring and lays eggs, which hatch to form the first batch of workers, who indulge in collecting food. The queen concentrates on laying eggs, while, the larvae feed on the food collected by workers, who also build more cells in the nest to accommodate the growing colony. During spring and fall, these insects search for food and are found roaming around the premises. The colonies get the largest in size, by the end of summer and early fall. During this time, the new males and new queens mate. With the onset of winter, the workers, old queen and other members perish, but, the new queens burrow into ground, where they spend the winter.

Any kind of disturbance to their colony may lead these wasps to attack the intruder. Yellow jacket stings are painful, as it is said that these wasps can sting repeatedly. Such stings can be more dangerous for allergic people, as they may develop severe reactions. So, if you notice such a wasp nest in the ground, wall or any other location in your premises, it will be better to get rid of these insects or destroy their nests.

How to Get Rid of a Yellow Jacket Nest

First of all, if the wasp nest is in some hidden location, you have to find the site. This can be done by observing the flight path of these insects. If you find them entering and leaving a particular point, you can track the wasp nest without much difficulty. If the nest is very huge in size, it will be better to hire pest control professionals for wasp nest removal. If the nest is small, you may either leave it to die naturally or try some methods to remove it. Removing the nest can be a risky task, as these insects are really aggressive. So, you must take enough precautions, before venturing on to this task. Another important point is that if you are allergic, then, stay away from such tasks totally.

• If you want to get rid of this wasp nest, it is always better to do it in the late evening or night. Make sure to wear protective gear like gloves, face mask, hats that cover the ears, goggles, shoes and clothes (preferably, leather) that cover the whole body. This will protect you from possible wasp stings.
• It will be always better to get rid of a yellow jacket nest before summer, when the colony expands in size. You may either use dust insecticides or aerosol sprays meant for yellow jacket wasp insect control.
• If the nest is an aerial one, it will be somewhat easy for you to locate its opening and spray the insecticide into it. Saturate the nest with the insecticide. You must keep an extra can of insecticide with you, so that you can use it, if needed. Leave the site, as soon as possible and if you are not sure of the results, repeat the process for the next two days. Follow-up is necessary in case, you notice activity near the nest.
• In case of wasp nest in ground, you may resort to the above said method. All you have to do is to spray the insecticide into the opening and repeat it for the next two days. Once you are sure that the insects are dead, close the opening of the nest in the ground with stone and soil.
• Yellow jacket nests in walls can be tricky at times. It may happen that you locate the entrance, but, the nest is somewhere deep inside. In such cases, spray the insecticide through the entrance and leave it open, so that the insects that frequent through the opening carry the chemical to the nest, causing death of these insects. Repeat the use of insecticide for a few days.
• If you cannot find the entrance of the wasp nest in wall, but, you locate the nest inside it, you may drill a hole in the wall and spray the insecticide directly into the wasp nest. In such cases, seal the hole, soon after you finish with spraying the insecticide. If you find the entry point, make sure to spray the insecticide through it too.

Once you are sure that the insects are dead, you may or may not remove and dispose the nest. If removal of the nest is easy, without causing any damage to the existing structures, well and good. Otherwise, treat the nest with a long-lasting insecticide that will take care of the larvae inside, if there are any. In short, yellow jacket nest removal can be risky. So, do it with extreme caution. If you are not confident, leave it to pest control professionals.