Viking Pest Control has built a strong reputation as a regional expert in yellow jacket control and overall pest management throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. A yellow jacket infestation at your home or business is a recipe for disaster, whether it’s painful stings or aggressive behavior. Viking Pest Control has more than 45 years of award-winning experience dealing with these pests, and we have certified yellow jacket exterminators who are knowledgeable about the area, which proves that Viking is your best option for pest control services in NJ, PA, DE, & MD.
The yellow jacket is a bee-sized flying insect that feeds mainly on proteins and sweets. It’s a type of social wasp that usually nests underground in large colonies consisting of the queen, drones, and workers. They also build nests in tree stumps, hollow logs, under eaves, inside walls, and in attics. Yellow jackets are active in the spring and summer and normally die off in the winter. Each nest starts with a single queen but quickly grows to include up to 4,000 workers living in a nest the size of a basketball or larger.
The United States has three main species of yellow jackets: German yellow jackets (Vespula germanica), eastern yellow jackets (Vespula maculuifrons), and western yellow jackets (Vespula pensylvanica). The eastern yellow jacket is the type most frequently seen in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Yellow Jackets are bold and aggressive when pursuing threats, especially during the fall as the colony begins to die out. Yellow jackets spend the winter months hiding in tree stumps, logs, or tree bark until the fertilized queen emerges to build a paper-like nest for her eggs.
How to Identify Yellow Jackets
Yellow jackets have bright yellow and black heads, with yellow and black bands on the abdomen. You can distinguish the yellow jacket from other wasps by its vibrant color, hairless hind legs, and narrow, defined waist. Yellow jackets have six legs, large antennae, and range in size from 3/8 to 5/8 of an inch long.
The yellow jacket’s nest is made of a papier-mache-like material constructed from finely chewed wood fiber, with a small entrance about the size of a nickel. They are often hard to spot because they prefer hidden or out-of-the-way places. If you frequently see yellow jackets around your home or business, a yellow jacket nest is likely nearby, as these insects only forage for food a mile or less away from their colonies.
When Are Yellow Jackets Most Active?
Yellow jackets are typically most active during the summer. Populations begin to grow in the spring and peak in mid to late summer. The most popular months for yellow jacket exterminator calls are July, August, and September, with the decline beginning in October and lessening to zero in late November, when queens hibernate and await their reemergence in the spring.
Where Do Yellow Jackets Make Their Nests?
Unlike other wasps, Yellow Jackets don’t always create large, visible nests. They tend to build their nests in confined and protected areas, usually underground, but frequently in more troublesome areas, including inside gaps between your walls. Depending on the location, treatment procedures may not involve removing the nest because it could lead to minor damage to your property, especially if the nest is located inside your home. Also, mishandling a Yellow Jacket nest may cause the yellow jackets to break through your walls and into your home, where they can be far more dangerous than they are outside.
How Did I Get Yellow Jackets?
Yellow jackets are usually attracted to food. The smell of meat grilling outside, sweets left out at picnics, and open trash cans are all risks of drawing these pests into your yard. They primarily enjoy sugars, carbs, and proteins, so take care to keep food inside and clean all food residue off outside surfaces.
How Long Do Yellow Jackets Live?
Yellow jacket life cycles can vary. Queens can live up to 1 year, and most social yellowjacket workers live through the season and die off once temperatures drop below freezing. Yellow jackets lay their eggs in the spring or summer, which is why their populations reach their peak during this time of year.
What Are the Effects of Yellow Jackets In & Around My Home or Business?
Yellow jackets don’t typically cause structural damage to a building, but they sometimes construct their nests inside an opening in a building’s interior. Attics and walls are some of their favorite spots. If this happens, the stinging pests will defend their nest and themselves if disturbed. They can even chew through drywall to enter further into the home. You must not seal the entrance to the nest until all the yellow jackets are dead. Otherwise, the pests will attempt to escape through the inside of the building, causing a stinging hazard.
Do Yellow Jackets Die After They Sting You?
Unlike honeybees, wasps do not die after stinging you and can even sting you multiple times if given the motivation and opportunity, such as if you disturb their nest.
Yellow Jacket Stings & Reactions
The sting of a yellow jacket is painful. While they aren’t normally quick to sting, a yellow jacket can get aggressive when defending its colony. This insect has small barbs on its stinger, allowing it to deliver multiple stings.
Some individuals can have an allergic reaction to a sting. A localized reaction is the most common, with symptoms such as:
Redness
Swelling
Pain
Itching
Most symptoms subside after a few hours, but more severe reactions can take up to a week to resolve and may be accompanied by nausea and fatigue.
A more serious, systemic allergic reaction is rarer and requires immediate medical attention. Symptoms indicative of a worse reaction include:
Red, swollen bumps
Flushed skin
Difficulty breathing
Multiple stings may trigger a toxic reaction to the venom. Symptoms of this type of reaction include:
Headache
Fainting
Convulsions
Fever
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
It’s also possible to develop a bacterial infection if you fail to clean the sting site and repeatedly scratch the area. In rare cases, a delayed reaction may occur several weeks after the sting.
If you get stung, seek medical attention to treat the sting and get advice from a healthcare professional to avoid complications.
How Do I Prevent Yellow Jackets?
You can take some preventive measures to reduce the risk of yellow jackets on your property. One of the most helpful suggestions is to clean up any food that may attract yellow jackets looking to feed. Clear away trash and keep it sealed in clean trash cans. Pick up fruit that falls from fruit trees.
Taking action to keep pests away from your property, such as luring Yellow Jackets away from entry points with traps, is a smart strategy; however, if you notice frequent yellow jacket activity, it’s best to contact an expert in yellow jacket control to eliminate the problem. Yellow jackets can be aggressive and dangerous; DIY yellow jacket extermination is not recommended.
Yellow jackets become more aggressive when they feel their nest is threatened. They also become increasingly defensive during late summer once their colonies reach their peak and food sources have become scarce. Disturbing a nest will most likely trigger several yellow jackets to attack at once.
What attracts yellow jackets to my property?
Yellow jackets are attracted to: Sugary drinks and desserts Meat and protein-rich foods Open garage cans Pet food Compost piles Flowering plants Standing water Keeping these attractants to a minimum can help reduce activity around your home.
Can I remove a yellow jacket nest myself?
DIY removal is not recommended. Yellow jackets aggressively defend their nests and can sting aggressively if disturbed. Professional pest control technicians have the proper protective equipment and treatment methods to safely eliminate yellow jacket nests.
What is the difference between yellow jackets and bees?
Yellow jackets are wasps with smooth bodies and narrow waists, while bees are generally fuzzier and play an important role in pollination. Yellow jackets are more aggressive than most bees and can sting multiple times because they do not lose their stinger.
Why are yellow jackets invading my outdoor events?
Outdoor picnics, barbecues, and parties often provide exactly what yellow jackets are looking for: sweet beverages, meat, and sugary foods. As natural food sources decline later in the season, they become more attracted to human food.
Protecting Your Home or Business From Yellow Jackets With Viking Pest Control
Viking Pest offers expert treatment designed to effectively and efficiently control and prevent pests from invading your home or business in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. Our use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques focuses on finding the core of the pest concern and controlling Yellow Jackets from the source. Through IPM, pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner that minimizes risks to human health, pets, and the environment. Call Viking today for your FREE and NO OBLIGATION estimate at 1-800-618-2847 or Schedule Online today!
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