Prevent Yellow Jackets from Poking their Noses or Nesting

Yellow jackets are wasps that can turn aggressive and sting you hard if you dare to disturb its nest or even walk near it causing vibrations in its nest. Usually, one sting cannot do much harm other than some pain and swelling which will subside within two to three days. But, if you happen to be allergic to the venom injected through the sting, then it can have dangerous effects that can turn fatal if immediate medical attention is not given. Sometimes yellow jackets attack as a group and leave you with multiple stings. This can also be dangerous. It is always better to prevent a mishap than rush around looking for cures while suffering the pain, swellings, and irritations. Hence, read on to know how you can prevent yellow jackets!

Prevent Keeping Food Out In The Open!
Yellow jackets get easily lured by the sight of food. Hence, always ensure that you don’t leave food outside be it an open trash can, an unfinished plate of pet food or just a plate of fruits you left on the outdoor table!

• Protect Your Proteins!
  Yellow jackets are often lured by the sight of protein as they love feeding on protein-rich food, especially during summer and spring seasons. Hence, it is always better than you eat your turkey or meat sandwiches safe and secure inside your home rather than choosing to have it out in the open. Also, never leave your pet food containing meat and other protein-rich food lying outside in the open. It can only help in luring yellow jackets to your property.
• Shield Your Sweets!
  During fall seasons, yellow jackets like feeding on sweets. They get lured by any food or liquid that contains sweets, be it a glass of lemonade or a piece of fresh fruit. Hence, if you are planning to go on a picnic, ensure that you cover up all the sweets, sodas, fruits and desserts or better, keep it indoors! Clean up the leftovers always and never leave any food particles outside. It can lure yellow jackets to your place.

Seal Your Trash Cans
Though the yellow jackets are hunters by nature, they can also turn into greedy scavengers if you happen to leave open trash cans outside your home. If they can get all the food they need with less effort, they will flock towards your home and probably even build a nest nearby. Why take a risk when you can easily avoid all that by ensuring that you seal the trash cans with close fitting lids?

Seal The Awnings And Sides
Ensure that the loose sides of your home are sealed well. Also, make sure that the awnings are shored up well and intact. If a yellow jacket happens to notice open sides and awnings, they get lured to it and might build a nest in those openings. Hence, always inspect all around your house for possible openings a yellow jacket might make use of. It can ensure that no yellow jacket will nest in your house. If yellow jackets happen to build a nest in your home, then you will have to seek the help of an exterminator, and it will cost you a good amount too. If you can wait patiently till winter, then the yellow jackets will die off naturally in the cold climate.

Recommendations For Commercial Establishments
If you own a roadside commercial establishment like an outdoor café, ice-cream parlor or maybe a fast food joint, then ensure that you keep the trash can or dumpsters as far as possible away from the areas you have set the serving tables. Keep it away from the traffic and also from the doors and windows. Keep a plastic liner inside the trash can and ensure that you empty and clean it regularly. If any fruits have started to decompose, then dispose them off by raking the ground and burying it up. This will ensure that the yellow jackets won’t come anywhere near your place.

Parks And Recreation Areas
Maintain a high level of cleanliness and ensure that there are no food particles, chocolate wraps, lemonade bottles, etc. lying around. Even a drop of lemonade can attract yellow jackets. Hence, cleanliness is a must if you aim to prevent yellow jackets in your area.

Apply Insecticide On Compost Piles
Compost piles are also one of the major sources of attraction for the yellow jackets. Hence, it is better that you treat compost piles with insecticides to ensure that the yellow jackets don’t hover around the area lured by the sight of compost.

Are You Wondering How To Keep Yellow Jackets Away? Read On For Some Great Tips!

You can repel away the yellow jackets with some easy tips and tricks. Here are some of them:

Cast Aside With Cucumbers!
If you are planning to dine outside or have a BBQ party out in the open, then you can use cucumbers to cast away the yellow jackets. Get a fresh cucumber and slice it up. Place the cucumber slices around your BBQ or picnic area. Freshly cut cucumber pieces release a chemical which repels away the yellow jackets.

Use A Brown Paper Bag
Yellow jackets won’t come near other insect’s nest as they are fiercely territorial. Hence, you can take a brown paper bag and crumble it up a bit. Now, hang it using a string near the areas like doors, patios, etc. It gives the illusion of a wasp nest and will repel the yellow jackets away. You can also make use of a paper lunch bag to create the same effect.

Use Dryer Sheets
Usually, restaurants and café’s having outdoor seating arrangements make use of dryer sheets with fabric softeners around the tables in the restaurant. The scent of the dryer sheets helps in repelling away from the yellow jackets.

Plant Herbs And Trees That Repel Yellow Jackets
Several herbs and trees repel yellow jackets. You can plant these near your house and in your gardens to ensure that yellow jackets stay away from your property. Let us take a look at the herbs and trees that repel yellow jackets:

• Wormwood
  Wormwood is a well-known insect repelling shrub. It is also called Artemisia. Try planting these on the borders of your property or near the patios for repelling away yellow jackets. But wormwood contains a seriously harmful component named absinthe. Hence, it is better not to plant any other flowers or plants near it. Also, make sure that your pets or kids don’t ingest it.
• Spearmint
  Spearmint is an aromatic herb that can be grown easily. The aroma repels away the yellow jackets. The only downside is that spearmint spreads fast and can invade other plants near it. You can prevent excessive spreading by planting it in a pot. Cut out the bottom of the pot and place it inside a hole made on the ground.
• Thyme
  Thyme can be grown easily without much maintenance. It is a perennial plant and helps in driving away the yellow jackets.
• Eucalyptus
  You can plant eucalyptus trees in your garden during the mid or late fall seasons. It can also be planted during the spring season. It helps in repelling away the yellow jackets.
• Lemon Grass
  Lemongrass is a herb that helps in repelling away insects like mosquitoes and yellow jackets. It is listed as a safe and natural insecticide by the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Pennyroyal
  Pennyroyal plant is found to be very effective in repelling yellow jackets away.

Make Use Of Peppermint Oil
Peppermint oil is found to be very effective in repelling away insects like wasps, spiders, and flies. You can get some cotton pads and soak it in peppermint oil. Now you can place these soaked cotton outside your home in areas where yellow jackets fly around and cause havoc. Make sure that you place it in areas where there are more chances of yellow jackets trying to nest and also in places where you have seen yellow jacket nests earlier.

Use A Blend Of Essential Oils
Using a mix of various essential oils works wonders in keeping away both yellow jackets and spiders. You can combine clove, lemongrass and geranium oils to make a mix. It helps in repelling away the worker yellow jackets easily. You can also add water, drops of all these essential oils and drops of liquid soap in a spray bottle and use it to spray around the outside areas of your house.

Repel Away With Duct Tape Nest
Yellow jackets will never come near anything that resembles an insect nest. Hence, you can try making up a duct tape nest to repel away the yellow jackets. It can be made using a six-inch rubber football, black paint or black marker, duct tape roll, and a small wire piece. Take the duct tape and wrap it all around the football into a spiral. Next, you can poke half an inch hole on the football. Make it look as if the hole is a deeper one by painting it with black paint or black marker. Now, attach a wire to the opposite end of the football. Hang it using the wire on a tree branch, near your patio or walls. The yellow jackets will mistake it to be another wasp nest and move further away.

Use an Insecticide Dust And Hand Duster
Get a hand duster and some drione dust. Now, you can puff it into any cracks or holes in which yellow jackets nest. You need to squeeze it in about two to three times. It will get inside the holes and spread inside it. Yellow jackets will be repelled and won’t enter inside such dusted holes for about six to twelve months. If there are holes or cracks up on your ceiling, then you can get some long dusters to do the task. Ensure that you use this dust once in a year in all the holes and cracks in and around the house. This will ensure that the yellow jackets stay away from your premises.

Tips On How To Prevent Yellow Jacket Sting

The yellow jackets can sting you hard when you pass near the nest or cause vibrations on their nest. Here are some things you can do to escape from the sting:

Dressing
It is better not to wear loose clothing while you go near the nest. Use light colors and always wear tight fitting clothes. Use long pants and long sleeves. Never use bright colors and floral designs. Yellow jackets might mistake you for a flower if you wear bright clothes. Also, dark colors can be avoided. Yellow jackets tend to associate dark colors with their enemies in the wild- skunks and bears! If you have black hair, it is better to cover it up with a hat. Black jeans are also dangerous.

Avoid Making Strong Vibrations
Yellow jackets get agitated by strong vibrations near their nest. Hence, avoid using trimmers and lawn mowers close to the nests of yellow jackets.

Remain Calm
In case you come near a yellow jacket, don’t get all worked up and make rapid movements. Sudden and rapid movements will be perceived as a potential threat to the yellow jackets. This can make them sting you hard. Stay calm and leave the place slowly. They won’t attack you.

Cover Up Your Drink Containers
Yellow jackets get easily attracted to the smell of open drink containers. Hence, if you are on a hiking trip or picnicking, it is better to cover the drink containers securely. Avoid using loose lids and straws.

Avoid Them
If you are on a hiking trip and come across a yellow jacket nest or a group of wasps by chance, then try to avoid that route and take a different route.

Never Swat Them
If you come across a yellow jacket, never swat them. Swatting can make it release a chemical, pheromone that sends warning signals all around. This can prompt all other yellow jackets to attack you as a group.

Avoid Aromatic Perfumes
Yellow jackets get attracted to sweet fragrances. Hence, always avoid using such perfumes.

Avoid Smelling Bad
Yellow jackets get aggressive at the smell of sweat. Hence, don’t go near a nest after you been hiking or running. The bad smell provokes them as they might think that you are one of its natural enemies, like a bear for instance. It is better to freshen up using an unscented soap before getting near a yellow jacket nest.

Repelling Yellow Jackets Away From The Hummingbird Feeder
Wasps and particularly yellow jackets are always attracted by a hummingbird feeder. They get lured by the sweet nectar the hummingbirds feed on. If you are looking for ways to keep yellow jackets away from the feeder, here are some tips you can use:

• Buy hummingbird feeders that are specially designed to repel wasps and insects. The sugar syrup is kept at a much lower level in these feeders. The yellow jackets won’t be able to reach inside it.
• Use mesh covers on the feeding openings of the feeder.
• Yellow jackets and bees prefer to feed in sunny areas. Hence, try moving your hummingbird feeder to a shady area.
• Try reducing the sugar levels in the water. This will prompt the insects and yellow jackets to fly away.

Prevention Always Helps!
It is always better to take some steps in preventing yellow jackets near your area. You can also follow the above tips to prevent getting stung by these wasps. Why suffer in pain from the side effects of the venom injected into your body when you can cleverly avoid being stung in the first place? Take the necessary measures and stay safe!