Recently I was walking into a recreation center when I noticed insects coming and going from a landscape bed. On closer inspection, it was Yellow Jackets.
It was close to the entrance, so I informed the manager. What were his options?
This is the time of year when yellow jackets are very active as winter approaches. The Eastern Yellowjacket, Vespula maculifrons, and most other yellowjackets build their nests underground that are usually started in an abandoned mammal burrow.
Joe Boggs points out:
"The overwintered queens began construction in the spring. Then the nest keeps expanding throughout the season as more workers are created and eventually more queens that contribute to more workers. It all ends at the end of the season when new queens and males (drones) are created. Once they mate, the new queens look for safe sites to spend the winter to start everything over again next spring. However, no one in the original nest survives the winter."
Not all wasps and hornets are alike. Nor do they construct similar nests.
Some bees and wasps are solitary. Two examples are a Cicada Killer Wasp
Picture courtesy of:
Edward L. Manigault, Clemson University Donated Collection, Bugwood.org
and Andrenids, a ground nesting bee.
Picture courtesy of:
B. Merle Shepard, Clemson University, Bugwood.org
They are both ground nesters and do not live in colonies.
Easter Yellow Jackets, members of the wasp family live in colonies in the ground.
They can construct their nests in ground cavities, around landscape stones or timbers.
The German Yellowjacket, Vespula germanica, is a species that commonly nests in wall voids, attics, crawlspaces, and other enclosed cavities.
They can even infest a void in the wall of a building structure through small cracks or spaces with an open space behind. They can enter through cracks in brick, concrete, siding, and stone walls.
Information about management is found on the attached OSU Factsheet:
https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/HYG-2075-11
Eastern Yellow jackets information from Penn State:
https://extension.psu.edu/eastern-yellowjacket
German vs. Eastern Yellow Jackets from Michigan:
https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/yellowjackets
If you have an infestation and do not feel comfortable treating it yourself following the guidance of the attached resources, call a professional exterminator.
These can be dangerous!
