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What are Yellow Jacket Wasps and How to Eliminate Them?

When thinking about a yellow and black flying insect, a bee immediately comes to mind. But, there are far more dangerous bugs than a bee. There are hornets, wasps, and there’s the yellow jacket, an aggressive type of wasp.

In Arizona, wasp extermination services are quite popular. It’s because Arizona has about 4 types of species including the common yellow jacket. Most people could get sting and let it heal, but it’s extremely painful. But for others, it could be fatal. People who get terrible allergic reactions may need immediately medical care or they could lead to death.
The problem is that yellow jackets often nest around houses. When someone accidentally disturbs the nest or encounters yellow jackets, they would likely attack. The reason why they nest around homes is that they’re after sources of human food.

It’s important to act and to eliminate wasps and yellow jackets as early as possible. If not, people are at risk of getting stung. Control measures are crucial especially if there are children in the household.
Here are some yellow jacket wasp extermination steps that you can do at home.

Keep a Clean Environment

Cleaning the environment around the house will take away their food sources. Always keep garbage containers covered or empty them on a regular basis. Yellow jackets would munch on sweet foods and meats so, keep these away from them especially during summer to autumn.
If there’s a garden infested with other insects, it’s also a good idea to clean that area. Yellow jackets also like to feed on grubs, caterpillars, and other insects.

Use a Yellow Jacket Trap

A yellow jacket trap is an effective way to kill swarms of yellow jackets. This is a good product for people who aren’t brave enough to take down a nest. There are many brands, so try to choose the best one. You can also make a DIY yellow jacket trap.

Bait Yellow Jackets

There’s also the option of using bait to eliminate wasps. It only needs meat or fruit as bait that has been in unfused with insecticide mixture.
Once the yellow jackets try to eat or forage these baits, they would be killed. This is most effective on common yellow jackets in the spring and summer.

Get Rid of the Nest

The best way to completely eliminate yellow jackets from a property is to get rid of their nest.
The first thing to do is to find the location of the nests. Do not try to find them at night. Observe yellow jacket workers and locate their exit and entry points. Mark these areas.
Then, start the elimination at night since yellow jackets can’t see well in the dark. Also, the entire colony would be inside the nest. This makes the elimination the most effective at night.
There are different kinds of solutions that may be used to treat yellow jacket nests. Try using a pyrethrum gas spray. This chemical can fill holes and kill the wasps on contact.
Once the pyrethrum is dry, apply insecticide dust in the cavity. The insecticide dust will prevent any wasp eggs to hatch. Don’t forget to also dust the entrance, surrounding areas, and the nest itself.
The next day, check if there’s still some yellow jacket activity around the house. The treatment was effective if there’s a decrease in yellow jacket activity.
If the problem persists, it’s possible repeat the treatment or there may be more than one nest around the home.
At a certain age, yellow jacket females would leave the colony to create their own nests and become the queen. Eliminating them as soon as possible will prevent the increase of their numbers.

Catch Them Off-Guard in Winter

Yellow jackets wouldn’t survive the cold. That’s why they may try to hide and nest in walls or somewhere warm. The worst case is that they try to nest in the house or deep in the walls.
There’s a chance that they would die, but they may also survive to pester the household again in spring.
That’s why try to eliminate their nest during winter when they’re most vulnerable. Just follow the same method in getting rid of nests. Just remember to do it at night to avoid attacks or danger.

Call the Pest Control

To get rid of the nest, the homeowner must first locate it. But in many cases, it would be difficult to find nests that are well hidden.
Traps and baits may be a good way to eliminate a bunch of them. But, they’re not permanent solutions.
To permanently remove wasps from a property, it’s best to call yellow jacket pest control services.
They would be able to identify and locate a wasp next easily. They would also have the right equipment and chemicals to finally get rid of yellow jackets.
Calling exterminators would also be the best idea for people who have allergies to wasp stings. Instead of risking getting hospitalized, calling experts would be the best option.

Prevention

One the yellow jacket nests are eliminated, it’s crucial to do measures that will prevent them from coming back. Preventive measures are quite easy and are rewarding.
Always keep garbage containers covered and closed shut. Keep the environment clean especially from food wastes such as meat, juices, and sweets.
If there’s a fruit tree on the property, constantly check for overripe and fallen fruits. These would definitely attract yellow jackets to nest on that property. Try to burrow them under the soil to make them into fertilizer so there won’t be any wastes.

When making compost using food waste, make sure that they’re buried 3 inches or deeper under the ground. This is to prevent the yellow jackets from getting attracted with the food waste.
Fill holes on the ground, structures, and any place where yellow jackets may create a nest. Any cavities or small openings should be permanently covered with the right materials such as rocks and caulks.
It’s also possible to trick yellow jackets by hanging fake nests around the home. This will serve as a warning to other yellow jackets that the area is already occupied by another colony.
Fromms Pest Control is experienced in yellow jacket extermination and safely remove them form your property.