The exceptionally cool and wet June that we experienced seemed to really put the annual development of the Yellow Jacket and Paper Wasp invasions on hold. Once I began to again come across developing Yellow Jacket nests in early July, they appeared as the same size of nests that we would usually find in late May. Right now, the nests that you may see hanging from your homes eaves, or a shrub in the yard will be about the size of a canteloupe, with 250-300 aggressive inhabitants inside. These hanging nests will be shrouded in a marbled gray, paper-like material that will give it it’s rounded shape. Inside are the layers of combs that the insects use to both live and increase in numbers. When a Yellow Jacket Queen embeds a nest within the structure of a home, the size and number of stinging insects remains the same, but you will not see the actual nest. What you will see is a crack or gap in the construction of your home, where the workers are continuously flying both into and out of. These embedded nests can be both destructive to your home, and dangerous to the inhabitants should they chew through a wall or ceiling and spill out into the living space. I have entered homes with literally hundreds of stinging yellow jackets flying around the inside of a room or two. For this reason, a homeowner should be diligent and on the lookout for these situations where the insects are “disappearing” into a crack in the home, and proactive in their efforts to have the nest exterminated. These nests will easily peak out at 900-1200 insects if left alone. Spraying the opening with simple over the counter insecticides, or worse yet, sealing off the exit pathway with spray foam never works, and almost always prompts the insects to begin appearing in numbers inside. Professional methods and products can make short work of completely eliminating these types of nests, without creating an even worse interior “horror story”!
