Why Repel Yellow Jackets ?

The yellow jackets are tiny wasps with black and yellow colors on its body. They can cause great nuisance during hot summers and fall seasons. Those who are involved in outdoor activities will be the ones suffering the most from these aggressive wasps. Yellow jackets turn agitated when their nest gets disturbed by even the ground vibration caused by a person walking around the area. The yellow jacket sting can get dangerous and fatal if the person is allergic to it. If the person stung by a yellow jacket starts developing hives on the body, experience difficulty in breathing, wheezing or any other allergic symptoms; then they have to seek medical attention as soon as possible. The best way to avoid being stung by these wasps is to repel them away from your premises. Read on to know how to repel them!

Here Are Some Great Repellents!

• Decoy Nests
  The decoy nest is a small bag, gray colored and suspended in downwards direction using a string. It is a natural yellow jacket repellent that scares the yellow jackets within a two-hundred-feet radius. To make this decoy nest, you need a foam rubber, a duct tape roll, a six-inch football, a small wire piece and a black color marker or paint. First, you have to wrap the duct tape around the football in a spiral pattern. Now poke a small hole about half inch size in the bottom of the football. You can make the hole seem to be a deeper one by using the marker or paint. Blacken it, and it will look deeper. Next, you have to hang up the repellent nest using a nail or thumbtack. You can hang it under a tree branch, eave, gutter or deck. It will instantly drive away the yellow jackets.
• Orange Stuck With Cloves
  If you have yellow jacket flying around your home, garden or picnic spots, you can repel them off using oranges stuck with cloves. Always wear light colored clothes and never wear bright clothes in darker backgrounds. Brighter colors tend to attract yellow jackets. It is better to avoid usage of perfumes. In case a yellow jacket lands on your body, don’t panic and agitate the wasp. Blow on it gently. It will fly away.
• Wormwood Plant
  There are many plants that repel yellow jackets efficiently, and one of them is the wormwood plant. You can take a sprig from the plant and wear it behind your ears. It will repel the wasps from coming anywhere near you. You can also plant wormwood near your house to repel away the wasps.
• Use A Paper Bag As A Fake Nest
  This is one of the easiest ways to repel away yellow jackets. Get a paper bag and fill it up with crumbled paper pieces so that it looks like the shape of a nest. Now you can hang it from a tree or in a corner of your house using a string. Yellow jackets never invade the area where another wasp has a nest. They will think that the paper bag is a wasp nest and fly away from it.
• Make Use Of Your Breath!
  Yellow jackets detest the smell of human’s breath. Hence, if a yellow jacket comes near you, just blow on it! It will immediately scurry away.
• Use Slices Of Cucumber
  If you are having a picnic or BBQ party outdoors, you can make use of cucumber slices to repel away yellow jackets. Make sure you take a large aluminum plate itself. Now, slice a fresh cucumber and place it in single layers on the plate. The cucumbers must be fresh as only fresh cucumber repels away the yellow jackets. Now, keep the plates near your picnic table or patio. When cucumber comes in contact with aluminum, it releases a chemical scent that is not detectable for humans but makes the wasps flee away.
• Ammonia And Water Solution
  You can mix up six ounces of ammonia in a gallon of water and use this solution in outdoor places. It can be applied to the trash cans and even sponged over the outdoor surfaces for preparing food or on the outdoor tables. Ensure that you use ammonia used in households and not the bleach named Clorox.

Use Yellow Jacket Repellent For Skin And Other Natural Ways To Repel The Wasps Away!

There are many natural yellow jacket repellents available in our home itself so that you don’t have to look elsewhere to find a repellent that drives away the aggressive wasps. You can repel away yellow jackets and also prevent them from nesting with the following easy and quick methods:

Make Use Of Aromatic Herbs
The aromatic herbs can be used as a great homemade yellow jacket repellent. You can use herbs like thyme, eucalyptus, spearmint, and citronella. Plant these herbs near your outside areas where you usually sit, in the patios and other commonly used outdoor spots.

• Spearmint
  Spearmint is easier to grow and quickly repels away the yellow jackets. It is a plant which keeps spreading everywhere. Hence, plant it only in those areas where it won’t become invasive. You can try planting it in a pot with a hole in the ground to prevent the spreading.
• Thyme
  Thyme, a perennial plant is also easy to grow and repels away yellow jackets. It doesn’t need much maintenance and can be used for cooking too. Place the plant in a sunny area and avoid overwatering it.
• Eucalyptus
  Plant the trees in your yard during spring or late fall seasons to repel away yellow jackets
• Lemon Grass
  This is one of the most popular herbs used to repel insects. It needs nitrogen and hence have to be fertilized on a monthly basis.
• Pennyroyal
  You can plant pennyroyal after the frost season. It repels away the insects effectively. Ensure that its bed remains moist always.

Are The Yellow Jackets Making Use Of Birdhouse?
If the yellow jackets are using your birdhouse as nests, then you can try using aluminum foil to line the area under the roof of the nest. A staple gun can be used to attach the foil to the roof. You can also rub the area under the roof of the nest with bar soaps like ivory soap. It also repels away the yellow jackets easily. You need to apply once in a season.

Seal Up The Points Of Entry!
If you start observing yellow jackets in your house on a daily basis, then that is a clear indication that yellow jackets have nested somewhere in the building. You can try searching for the holes in walls, cracks under windows or doors, torn up screens, etc. You can observe the flying wasps during early mornings or evenings to spot their entry and exit holes. Now, you can seal up the holes and drive off the wasps.

Use Bee Free Deterrent For Wasps
You can make use of bee free deterrents to repel away the wasps from your area. It won’t kill or harm the insects. It drives them away and keeps you safe. It looks like a real wasp nest and hence, the yellow jackets, who follow strict territory rules, fly away and find some other place to nest. It is eco-friendly and works almost the same as a scarecrow in fields.

Do You Tend To Lure Wasps More?
Some people tend to lure yellow jackets to them more than others. If that is the case, then most probably they are lured by your body odor or smell of sweat. You can try using aerosol or lotions on your exposed areas to cover up your body odor and repel yellow jackets. Apply it on your neck, face, legs, and arms.

Make Use Of Yellow Jacket Repellent Spray And Natural Homemade Methods To Repel The Wasps!

In some cases, the clothes you wear might keep attracting the yellow jackets to you. In that case, you can make use of aerosol and apply it on your shirts, pants, hats, and shoes before you step outside the house. It repels away the yellow jackets. Here are some other ways to repel the yellow jackets:

Use Cloves
Crush some cloves and keep it on a plate near the places where yellow jackets seem to come often. It will repel them away.

Clove Oil Also Does Wonders!
Clove oil, also called eugenol is found to be very effective in repelling away from the yellow jackets. It can be safely applied to plants and can be diluted with water to apply on skin. Just the scent remains, it won’t cause any side effects on the plants or your skin. You can dilute it and fill it with a spray bottle for applying easily over plants or on your body.

Use Hair Spray!
You can make use of a lighter and hairspray to drive away the wasps.

Make Use OfPowders!powders are found to be much more effective than bug sprays. It also remains there for days until the rains start. Just put somepowder near the holes, cracks, sill openings, entrances of doors, etc. It will keep away the bugs, insects, and wasps. It won’t cause any harm to humans and hence is completely safe. You can also put the powder on your ‘s body and hair to safeguard them while you go for picnics or camps outside.

Garlic And Onion Plants
Plants like onion and garlic help in repelling away from the yellow jackets.

Make Homemade Repellent With Chilly Pepper
You can also make a repellent at home with the items easily available in your kitchen. You will need garlic cloves, hot chili peppers, water and a bottle to spray. First, chop one cup of peppers including the seeds and peels. Next heat water and when it starts to boil, pour it on top of the chopped chili pepper. When the mix cools down, pour it into the spray bottle by using a strainer. Peel some garlic cloves and mince it finely. Put that also into the spray bottle.

• How To Use It?
  This mix contains capsaicin. It is a sort of oily substance found in peppers. This compound makes your tongue and lips burn when you consume foods containing it. Wasps and bees also detest this burning sensation, and hence they keep off such substances containing it. Garlic provides another cover of protection as it is well known as a great repellent of all insects. Spray this mix in all probable places you suspect yellow jacket infestations. You can spray it around your patios, window sills, door cracks, etc. to repel away the wasps.
• Care To Be Taken
  The burning sensation caused by capsaicin also irritate your eyes and skin. Hence, never spray the mix to the wind and keep the kids at a safe distance when you use it. The repellent mix can lose its effect with repeated usage. Always preserve it in a dark and cool place to retain its power. Only use it for one month. After one month, you can discard it and make a fresh mix. It also repels away other insects. Hence, refrain from using it on garden plants as it can repel away the useful insects too.

Use Balsamic Vinegar
If you are dining outside, then pour some balsamic vinegar in a bowl and keep it in the middle of the table to repel away the insects.

Use Plastic Bags Of Water
You can fill up a plastic bag with water and hang it near outdoor tables or balcony. The wasps get repelled by the sight of filled plastic bags.

Things You Should Never Do!
Here are some points you should take care and never do if you have yellow jackets flying around in your area:

• Never wear bright colored clothes. Yellow jackets might mistake you for a flower and come near you.
• Avoid aromatic perfumes. It lures the yellow jackets.
• Never swat or squash a yellow jacket when you see it. They turn aggressive and will sting you! A squashed insect releases a chemical named pheromone, and it attracts all the insects nearby. Hence, walk away quietly if you see a yellow jacket.

All the above points will help you in repelling away from the insects and keeping you, and your surrounding free from infestations.