Honey bees and other stinging insects are considered beneficial insects to have around as are yellow jackets because they prey on other insects. However yellow jackets are also considered summertime pests and are known to intrude on an afternoon picnic as well as sting with little provocation. Since Brc Pest Control Standards they are most active in the summer, their numbers larger and their nests more developed encounters of the stinging kind are more likely to occur unless you know how to find a yellow jacket nest and therefore avoid a chance meeting with any one of the several hundred workers that lives within.
Before we discuss how to inspect for a nest let’s first learn more about these aggressive pests, including identification and behavior. Yellow jackets are generally black in coloring and recognizable by the yellow markings on their bodies. They have the ability to sting multiple times and will become aggressive if disturbed Bird Control Jobs or irritated. Mowing the lawn or simply making noise is enough to throw them into attack mode. A sting from one of these black and yellow insects may produce a mild reaction but may also cause a severe allergic reaction that requires medical attention so it is best to evade yellow jackets whenever possible.
These social insects live in nests that may contain several hundred to several thousand workers. While yellow jackets in Maryland tend to nest in the ground their nests may also be found in attics, wall voids, rodent burrows and tree holes. There may also be more than one nest on a property. They construct their nests from a papery pulp comprised of chewed-up wood fibers mixed with saliva and a single nest consists of a series of rounded combs stacked in tiers and are covered by an envelope that is made up of several layers of pulp.
A yellow jacket nest is often difficult to detect because it may be buried in the ground with a hard to see entrance. Nests can also be hidden inside a wall void, under a house eave, under shrubs and logs or other areas that are protected sites.
Sometimes simply sitting back and observing will help you determine if yellow jackets have constructed a nest on or nearby your property. They are rapid fliers who usually fly in a straight line rather than darting here or there in a curved pattern. Another way to identify them is the way in which they enter and exit their nest. They leave their nest going in the same direction along the same flight path as they entered it. That means you can often find a nest by following or tracking workers.
As you mow your lawn, putter in your yard or take a stroll around your property watch for holes in the ground as they may be entrances to a nest. Stings often occur when a person accidentally makes contact with a nest and workers aggressively protect it and defend their queen against the perceived threat.
Attending to a yellow jacket nest is best completed in early summer when the population is not as strong as later in the season or the nest as large, however detection is often more difficult at that point because of the nest’s smaller size. Towards the end of the summer these stinging insects are more likely to become a pest problem because the insects that they typically feed on start to become sparse leaving them to forage for food. This is often in trash cans or other areas that tend to conflict with people.
If you have noticed a nest on or around your home and believe it to be a problem and a threat to your family contact a pest control company who help you eliminate the problem. Any attempts to get rid of these ill-humored pests by anyone other then an experienced pest professional trained in nest removal and yellow jacket control are likely to end in failure and may actually result in one sting or several.
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