Peppermint oil: Yellow jackets are not fond of mint-based herbs like spearmint and peppermint. The great thing about peppermint oil is that it naturally repels all sorts of pests, including yellow jackets, wasps, flies and spiders.
An effective method for underground nests is to use a mixture of boiling hot water and dish detergent. Fill a bucket with scalding hot water and soap and pour the entire bucket over the entry and exit holes. This will likely kill the entire colony instantly but is not recommended for above-ground yellowjacket nests.
Yellow jackets will be drawn to any yard that has a lot of food. If there are many flies, caterpillars, spiders, or other insects on your property, there will also be wasps. Because of this, the only way to get rid of these pests is to treat and stop the problems that cause them to be around in the first place.
Use Peppermint Oil
The smell of peppermint is a yellow jacket repellant. Combine a few drops of pure peppermint oil, a few tablespoons of dish soap and warm water in a spray bottle. Locate any active wasp nests and carefully spray the concoction around the entrance.
Similarly, rats, weasels and skunks have been known to prey upon yellow jacket nests from time to time. When it comes to the larger mammals, the unrivaled giant of wasp predators is surely the bear.
If you have a problem with wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, or bees, Pine Sol can spare you from painful stings. Remember not to use it on honey bees – we need them to help pollinate our food plants – but for other hive insects, spray full strength Pine Sol as an insecticide.
Pheromone is a chemical released when a yellow jacket is killed. This chemical signals to the other members of the colony that a yellowjacket has been killed. As a consequence, it will attract the other members of the colony.
If you cannot find the source of your yellowjacket problem, set up a food bait trap. Yellowjackets will collect the food and allow you to carefully follow them back to their hive location. Be careful to not disturb the hive once you have found it, however, as a disturbed colony is likely to become defensive and attack.
Late summer and early fall is when they're most active. But you knew that. "They're more aggressive this time of year," said Carol Fusco, senior naturalist at Bergen County Zoo in Paramus. "And your leftovers could be their food."
The best time to look is after the day has warmed up - usually after 10 a.m. - when the yellowjackets are actively flying in and out of their nest. Yellowjackets are most active between 10 am and 4 pm, weather dependent. If the weather is too cold or too hot, yellowjacket activity will be a little sluggish.
They are most active during the day and return to their nest at night, which means the chances of being stung are reduced when it's dark. Spraying yellow jackets: Spraying a yellow jackets' nest with over-the-counter insecticide can be very dangerous.
A colony of yellow jackets only forages about a mile from home to gather their food, so if you are seeing them frequently, odds are you're close to their colony, or nest. Nests have populations of 2,000 to 4,000 worker yellow jackets (all female), some drone (male) yellow jackets and up to 50 queens at once!
Yellow jackets will chase you. The instinct to protect the nests is strong for this insect. For this reason, they have been known to give chase for several yards. They will even go around obstacles or hover near water and wait.
You also want to protect yourself from insecticide spray. Work at dawn or dusk. Yellow jackets are less active at night and most of them will be in their underground nest. Yellow jackets are less active when the ambient temperature is about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mothballs And Peppermint Oil Can Keep Yellow Jackets Away
It is important to note that mothsballs are safe for humans, but they can be effective at repelling yellow jackets. Peppermint oil, in addition to being a strong deterrent, may help to control these pests.
The aggressiveness in yellow jackets increases by the end of summer (during fall). The nest of yellow jackets is sensitive, so whenever they feel any vibrations, their nest may fall apart, causing them to get aggressive.
To kill yellow jackets and hornets underground, use Ortho® Bugclear™ Insect Killer For Lawns & Landscapes Concentrate. It can be used in a tank sprayer or with the Ortho® Dial N Spray® Hose End Sprayer to kill on contact and keep stinging insects from coming back to their nest for 6 months.
A: All pesticides are lethal to bees. Even soap and water kill them. Soap and water are used to kill bees when they have invaded home walls, block walls or irrigation boxes. Never spray a plant that is flowering with anything.
Repellents – Conventional mosquito and tick repellents will not prevent persistent foraging by yellowjackets.
Yellowjackets and other wasp species do not use the same nest again the following year. New queens start a new nest each spring; although a favorable nest site maybe chosen year after year if adequate space is available.