About Yellow Jackets
The yellow jacket is a well-known stinging social insect. The workers, which are all female, will readily deliver a powerful sting. Their paper-covered nests are often underground. You can also find nests in wall voids, attics, or crawl spaces. They’ve even been seen rodent holes in the ground, and in bushes & shrubs, with the population exceeding 5000 workers by late summer.
Often times, property owners locate a nest on their property through an unfortunate accident of getting stung while working outside. They also, at times, attempt their own control methods, trying to rid their site of these vicious pests. Novice exterminators often realize that Yellow Jacket control should only be attempted by a trained professional.
Getting Control
The professional pest management technician knows his foe. Yellow Jackets are very protective of their nests and can be very aggressive if threatened. A very small portion of the reproductive individuals overwinter each year, and choose a new nesting spot each spring. In a matter of just a few months the colony can grow to thousands of individuals.
Calling a Professional
A trained technician from a reputable pest control service can study the site and learn where the activity is originating from. Yellow Jackets workers will leave and return to their nest frequently during warm weather as they gather food from plants. The technician will find the main entrance to the nest and inject an insecticidal dust into these areas. The dust will float into recesses in walls making a more thorough application than a liquid material. Liquid control may be used, but it’s a last resort. This dust has very low toxicity to humans and animals, but works very well on the stinging insects. They live in close quarters, so it’s not long until they carry the materials to the rest of the colony. In most instances, it takes only about 24-48 hours to control a single colony.
Control is best and most-safely achieved by the professional pest management service with proper equipment, training, and materials. If you notice an abundance of individuals making their way inside of your structure, this is a good indication that the colony is inside your structure. Remove yourself from the premises until a pro can remedy the problem. There can be the possibility for multiple stinging insect nests on even a small home in just one year. This is why a Quarterly Pest Control Service with free call-backs is a valuable option versus a one-time pest control treatment.
If you would like to learn more about controlling Yellow Jackets and other pests please don’t hesitate to contact us.
