Your Guide To Yellowjackets

Yellowjackets are very common pests during the summer and fall in the US. They are stinging insects, similar to wasps and bees, with a black and yellow color pattern, and a visibly segmented body. This insect is not completely detrimental because it will prey on certain other insects that are considered agricultural pests. However, for homeowners, it is mostly known for being an unwelcome guest on the property, with a propensity to become aggressive when someone walks around its nest.

Identification

Yellowjackets and paper wasps are very alike from a physiological perspective. The only thing that sets them apart is the size and the width of their bodies, with the yellowjackets being larger. They can however be easily distinguished from bees, which have fat, fuzzy bodies, while yellowjackets are mostly hairless. You also have several yellowjacket subspecies that have atypical coloration, such as black and white.

Colony behavior

A yellowjacket colony will grow quickly between spring, when it is set up, and the middle of the summer, with the workers feeding the larvae with other insects. However, as the summer reaches its end, the colony will focus more on gathering sugar rather than protein. It is at this time of the year that the colony is mature and it starts to produce new queens and males.

Control

Getting rid of yellowjackets is best left to the professionals. These pests will become very aggressive when they sense someone near their nest, and they will attack in a swarm, with each yellowjacket being able to sting you multiple times.

Still, there are products on the market that you can use. You should generally avoid sprays due to the risk of being attacked by the insects, but there lure traps that can be found in retail stores and online. These traps are great if you want a respite from foraging yellowjackets, but they will not eliminate a nest. A common lure trap has the active ingredient heptyl butyrate, which only attracts yellowjackets and leaves other insects alone.

If you want to get rid of the nest itself so that the wasps will leave you completely alone, we can help you out. Contact us today if you have a yellowjacket infestation on your property and you want to get rid of it. We can set up an appointment and send someone over at your earliest convenience.