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Wasps, Hornets, & Yellow Jackets

Control Strategy

The best approach to controlling paper wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets that are nesting around your home or in your yard is to treat the nest as soon as it appears. That means having to inspect the outside of your home and yard regularly for active nests, especially in the spring to avoid having a bigger problem in the future. Check for visible nests underneath roof eaves and behind shutters, hanging from trees, on fence posts in hollow tree trunks, or stacked firewood. 

When you find a nest, use Maggie’s Farm Wasp & Hornet Killer foaming jet aerosol. It is best to spray the nest at dusk or dawn when the stinging insects are less active. To avoid being stung, wear long sleeves, long pants, and gloves. Spray when the air is calm, and stand away from the nest (don’t stand under the nest). Be sure to spray the nest and nest opening thoroughly.

Yellowjacket nests are extremely difficult to find since they nest underground. Look for a small hole in the ground, and if you notice yellowjackets going in and out of that hole (especially during the day when they are most active), you have found their nest. Their nests are often in a shaded area, so check under trees.

For ground nest treatment for yellowjackets, you can also use Maggie’s Farm Spider & Insect Dust, as well as Wasp & Hornet Killer. Be sure to cover as much of your skin as possible with clothing to avoid being stung. Treat the nest with the dust in the early morning or late evening when yellowjackets are in the nest. Coat the nest entrance with the dust, then carefully puff more dust into any entrance holes. If using the jet aerosol, thoroughly coat all nest entrances. 

If you are allergic to insect stings, have someone else do the treatment or call a professional.

Check Out Our Article on How to Identify Stinging Insects

Wasp, Hornets, & Yellowjacket Facts:

  • Paper wasps, hornets, and yellowjackets are “social” Insects (that is, they live  together in colonies, like ants).
  • Social wasps are the well-known stingers of the insect world.  Aggressive stinging is how they defend against predators and other possible dangers that threaten their nests (...like people!).
  • Springtime is when they construct their nests out of wood pulp, chewing the wood and mixing it with saliva, making a tough, durable paper for their nests.
  • Paper wasps and hornets build their nests high above the ground while yellow jackets build nests underground so that they are hard to detect.
  • A well-established colony of paper wasps can have 200+ members in the nests.  An underground yellowjacket nest can have 5,000 + members.
  • Social wasps are actually beneficial insects when they feed on plant pests and  help pollinate plants.
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