Abalon Yellow Jacket Control & Extermination

Destruction of all yellow-jackets in and around a recreational area is advised to reduce the possibility of a dangerous sting. Nests should be located during the day when the workers are going and coming on a regular basis; the location of the nest should be marked. Return late at night to treat the nest with a liquid insecticide. The destruction of individual colonies may not eliminate all the yellow jacket workers from an area in which food is available. This is because yellow jackets are capable of flying a mile from their colonies in search of food.

Effective management of yellow jackets can be achieved by:

(1) rigorous sanitation, and (2) use of physical exclusion from a food source.

The principle behind these practices is the denial of attractive food to the foraging worker wasps. If begun early in the summer and carried out through mid-autumn, proper sanitation will help to reduce the buildup of foraging yellow-jackets in an area. Trash containers should be kept closed (lid) whenever possible; open containers should be emptied regularly (every few hours when a large number of foragers are present). Use an aerosol insecticide to remove yellowjackets present around trash cans in order to empty them. Place a 1/4 or 1/2 in. section of a no-pest strip to the inside of the lid of a closed trash container to kill the yellow jackets that may become trapped inside.

The following measures are of no value in reducing the number of yellow jacket foragers in an area: (1) general spraying of an infested area, and (2) electrocuting devices employing UV light, i.e., bug zappers.

INTERESTING FACTS: Recent surveys indicate that between 0.5 and 1.0 percent of the population may be allergic to yellow jacket venom.