Wasps

When I think of wasps I think of the upside down umbrella type paper nest you find in the corner of your window or under the eave of your roof, but did you know that yellowjackets were also wasps?

Yellowjackets are aggressive and very unfriendly and because if this my phone rings off the hook in the mid to late summer months by people looking to rid their homes or yards of these pests.

They can be found almost anywhere. In your yard in the ground, in a stone wall, going up under the siding of your home, in a crack in your steps, in a hollowed out tree stump, anywhere there is space for them to grow.

People usually find out about them the hard way. They might be mowing their lawn and the vibration from the mower stirs up the ground nesting bees, or while your trimming the bushes and they fly out from under the siding. It’s not too long after that when I get the call!

One thing I would not recommend is trying to eliminate the yellowjackets yourself. They can be very nasty and they can be very dangerous. The other thing you never ever want to do is close up a hole, especially if that hole is anywhere in the walls of the house. Why? Because they will find their way out the other end, and that “other end” is out into your house inside! I can’t tell you how many call I get by people in a panic because the bees have overtaken their living room or a bedroom. Once their inside, a very simple fix becomes a very difficult and expensive fix.

So what do you look for in order to determine if you have a yellowjacket nest? Look for a very distinctive flight pattern. You will notice the yellowjackets flying in one way and out the other, almost like an airport flight pattern. If you see this then you know it’s time to call a professional pest control person to help.