Natural way to deter these yellow jackets - Ask Extension
The hole is about 2 in in diameter. I think this is a yellow jacket. With small kids playing outside a lot, there have been stings. I want these guys....
Knowledgebase
Natural way to deter these yellow jackets #845155
Asked August 10, 2023, 4:26 PM EDT
The hole is about 2 in in diameter. I think this is a yellow jacket. With small kids playing outside a lot, there have been stings. I want these guys....whatever they are to relocate. Any ideas of a natural way to deter them?
Howard County Maryland
Expert Response
Yes, the pictured wasp is a species of Yellowjacket. Some species found in Maryland nest in the ground, such as in unused/old small animal burrows, while others nest in voids, such as in trees or building walls. This appears to be a nest entrance for a ground-nesting species, and Yellowjackets can be quite defensive of their nest if they feel threatened; fast movement nearby and vibrations in the ground (like from stomping or running on the soil near the nest) can agitate them into action (stinging).
Unlike with honey bees, there is no way to relocate them, so either the children and any pets will need to be kept a safer distance away for a few more months, or a pest control professional (or yourself) would need to treat the nest with wasp spray to kill them. If using pesticide, follow all label directions carefully to both make the treatment as effective as possible and to shield yourself from wasp retaliation. If you are able to ignore them until the end of the season instead, social wasps in our area do not re-use nests from one year to the next, so as we approach autumn, the colony will die out by the time we experience several freezes. In the winter, the nest will be abandoned and the hole can be filled in.
We are not aware of a natural/organic pesticide that works well on wasps without creating a greater risk of stinging attacks in the process. The active ingredient in most, if not all, wasp sprays is a pyrethroid-type insecticide. Chemicals in that class are synthetic versions of the ingredient pyrethrin, an extract from a chrysanthemum relative that affects a wide range of insects upon direct contact with them. Wasp sprays use the synthetic version because they need to break down more slowly after an application, so the residues affect foraging wasps not in the colony at the time it's being sprayed, where their coming and going through the treated zone at the nest entrance carries the pesticide into the colony as well as kills the foragers as well. These products are also designed to be sprayed from a safer distance away from the nest than most other insecticides are used, so the cans are pressurized for that purpose.
You might be able to use non-chemical means to kill the nest, but we do not have any scientific studies supporting one approach over another as reliably effective while minimizing sting risk. Be aware that if you try to block/cover or otherwise interfere with the main nest entrance, the wasps inside can dig a new entrance/exit for the nest.
Miri
Unlike with honey bees, there is no way to relocate them, so either the children and any pets will need to be kept a safer distance away for a few more months, or a pest control professional (or yourself) would need to treat the nest with wasp spray to kill them. If using pesticide, follow all label directions carefully to both make the treatment as effective as possible and to shield yourself from wasp retaliation. If you are able to ignore them until the end of the season instead, social wasps in our area do not re-use nests from one year to the next, so as we approach autumn, the colony will die out by the time we experience several freezes. In the winter, the nest will be abandoned and the hole can be filled in.
We are not aware of a natural/organic pesticide that works well on wasps without creating a greater risk of stinging attacks in the process. The active ingredient in most, if not all, wasp sprays is a pyrethroid-type insecticide. Chemicals in that class are synthetic versions of the ingredient pyrethrin, an extract from a chrysanthemum relative that affects a wide range of insects upon direct contact with them. Wasp sprays use the synthetic version because they need to break down more slowly after an application, so the residues affect foraging wasps not in the colony at the time it's being sprayed, where their coming and going through the treated zone at the nest entrance carries the pesticide into the colony as well as kills the foragers as well. These products are also designed to be sprayed from a safer distance away from the nest than most other insecticides are used, so the cans are pressurized for that purpose.
You might be able to use non-chemical means to kill the nest, but we do not have any scientific studies supporting one approach over another as reliably effective while minimizing sting risk. Be aware that if you try to block/cover or otherwise interfere with the main nest entrance, the wasps inside can dig a new entrance/exit for the nest.
Miri
