With warmer weather approaching, yellow jacket season is also on the horizon. During the months of April and May, you might start noticing very large yellow jackets buzzing around. These are the queens, emerging from hibernation and searching for a suitable place to create their nests.

Yellow jackets typically build their nests in the ground, often digging holes or taking over abandoned gopher or mole burrows. They may also establish nests at the base of plants or trees. As the season progresses into June and July, the worker yellow jackets become more prevalent, and that’s when these insects start to pose a real nuisance.

Worker yellow jackets are known for their aggressive behavior. If you come within a few feet of their nest, they will not hesitate to attack. They are particularly attracted to the smell of food, especially barbecue and proteins like those found in sandwiches. This can make enjoying your yard or hosting outdoor gatherings a daunting task, as yellow jackets can make your yard uninhabitable and unsafe.

So, how can you enjoy your yard and host friends without attracting yellow jackets?

Yellow Jacket Control Solutions:

Simply hanging up yellow jacket traps from the hardware store is not the solution. These traps can actually attract more yellow jackets to your yard, exacerbating the problem. Instead, consider a professional yellow jacket baiting program offered by a licensed pest control company.

The difference between traditional yellow jacket traps and bait traps is significant. Bait traps allow yellow jacket workers to enter and exit freely, unknowingly being exposed to a pesticide within the bait. These workers then carry the pesticide back to the nest, gradually exposing the entire colony, including the queen, to the pesticide. Once the queen is eliminated, no more larvae will be laid, leading to a natural decline in the worker population until the colony collapses.