Ah, September. Basking in the sun. Bringing in summer’s bounty. And…swatting yellow jackets.
These ubiquitous little wasps come out of hiding in late summer and fall as their colonies mature. Adult yellow jackets feed mostly on sugars – flower nectar and fruit (and soda pop when they can get it.) The growing larvae prefer meat and other protein – and reward the adults who feed it to them with a sweet substance they excrete. But as the summer wears on and the larvae grow up, the adults begin to search more aggressively for their daily sugar fix. That’s when they begin to make pests of themselves at picnics and other places where people enjoy food outdoors.
Yellow jackets are some of the most aggressive critters out there. It’s nearly impossible to live in the country for any length of time without experiencing their painful sting – which they can inflict again and again. So you’ll want to do all you can to learn to deal with yellow jackets effectively. And there are plenty of ways to do it without resorting to noxious poisons.
Discouraging Yellow Jacket visits
First, understand that yellow jackets are scavengers. The best way to discourage them is to make sure you’re not attracting them. Keep your garbage sealed, cover the kitchen scraps in your compost pile with a layer of hay, dirt or other neutral material, and process your harvest indoors when possible. Bring uneaten food or open beverage bottles in from the picnic table or porch.
It’s also a good idea to fix holes in screen doors and make sure your home is free of cracks and crevices for them to nest in.
How to act around yellow jackets
If a yellow jacket hovers around you or lands on you, don’t panic. Yellow jackets don’t like fast movements and are more likely to sting people who jump around and swat at them. (That’s why kids are so often the victims of yellow jacket stings.) Move slowly and deliberately and you’ll probably be fine. It helps to remember that it’s just looking for food and won’t get aggressive unless it feels threatened.
Yellow jackets are attracted to bright and dark colors. So if you’re going to a picnic or other area where yellow jackets congregate, stick to white or other light neutral-colored clothing.
Also, make sure you wipe your kids’ faces and hands after they’ve eaten anything sweet.
Treating yellow jacket stings
No matter how careful you are, chances are you’re eventually going to get stung. Yellow jacket stings are painful but rarely serious (unless you’re allergic to bees or step in a nest and get stung hundreds of times.)
Yellow jackets have smooth stingers which usually don’t get stuck in the flesh. You’ll want to wash the area and put ice on it right away. Putting some meat tenderizer on the sting can help with the swelling. So can taking an over-the-counter antihistamine. If you experience any swelling of your tongue or throat, waste no time in getting medical attention.
Killing Yellow Jackets
Finally, if the wasps are a real problem and you want to take out the nest, you don’t have to resort to nasty poisons. Try this trick first: Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of sand and quickly upend it over the nest entrance (yellowjackets usually nest below ground.) Do this at night when they’re not active. In the morning they’ll burrow up through the sand but won’t be able to get back down. Leave the bucket there for a few days (weighting it down is a good idea) and your yellowjacket troubles should be over.
