Beware of yellow jackets (Garden Talk) (2024)

By Bethany A. O'Rear

Q. I have seen a lot of yellow jackets lately. Unfortunately, several of the little devils got up close and personal! Wow- those things hurt! What should I look for to prevent another incident? How can I get rid of them?

A. So sorry for your mishap! I want to start swatting, just thinking about those little menaces! As you have recently figured out, yellow jackets seem to be at their peak in late summer, going into early fall in Alabama.

Yellow jackets are one of the common forms of wasps in North America, and get their names from the yellow and black coloring on their bodies. Yellow jackets actually consist of multiple species that come from two different genera of wasp: Vespula and Dolichovespula. The most common species of yellow jacket in the South is the Southern yellow jacket (Vespula squamosa). Yellow jackets are commonly mistaken for bees, but they are highly aggressive wasps, not bees.

They usually ground nest in areas such as old rodent burrows, beneath landscape timbers and heavy mulch, or in rock walls. They may also be found in the wall voids of homes.

Yellow jackets begin new colonies by mated overwintered females who become foundress queens. The new nests, which are usually constructed in May, may contain a dozen developmental cells. By fall, annual nests typically contain 300 to 120,000 developmental cells, depending on the species and environmental conditions.

Unlike other stinging insects, yellow jackets like to sting people. Each insect can sting repeatedly, generally attacking in large numbers, and are especially dangerous in summer.

As the yellow jacket's natural food supply begins to decrease during the fall, they tend to become more of a problem to humans. As the weather cools, we tend to picnic outdoors a little more. Yellow jackets will not hesitate to feed on our picnic foods (hot dogs, hamburgers, and soda) in order to fulfill their dietary needs for protein and carbohydrates. Yellow jackets can also become a problem around dumpsters and trash cans at public facilities.

So, how do you control these aggravating insects? Locate the nest during the day, if possible, and mark its location. Do your treatment at night. Yellow jackets are similar to people in that they "go home" at night. Do not shine a flashlight directly at the nest because you may startle the yellow jackets.

Use a dust formulation (preferred method) or at least 1 gallon of a liquid insecticide labeled for yellow jacket control. Gently puff the dust at the nest entrance, or thoroughly drench the nest with a liquid insecticide. It is recommended that you wear full protective clothing including a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, gloves, and a bee veil when attempting control. For safety purposes, it may be best to consult a professional pesticide applicator, especially if the nest is large or hard to access.

One more point to mention - under no circ*mstances should you attempt to kill yellow jackets by pouring gasoline or other generic chemicals into the nest. Doing so will poison the ground, killing both plants and animals. It may also prove to be a fire or health hazard to humans.

Garden Talk is written by Bethany A. O'Rear of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES). She is housed at the C. Beaty Hanna Horticultural and Environmental Center, which is based at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This column includes research based information from land-grant universities around the country, including Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities. Email questions to Bethany at Bethany@aces.edu or call 205-879-6964 x15. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M University and Auburn University), is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Everyone is welcome!