How My Dad Got Rid Of Yellow Jackets Without Being Stung

I was wondering what yellow jackets are and how do they look, until I was stung by one on my hand two weeks ago. I had a really bad allergic reaction that kept me in the hospital for 3 days. Well, sometimes it’s better not to wonder!

It seems that yellow jackets are a type of wasps with a slender body, narrow waist and shiny smooth skin. During fall, yellow jackets tend to become aggressive when they begin to collect carbohydrates and sweets for the winter, the reason why I got stung by them.

Concerned about my health, my parents decided to do something and control the yellow jackets appearance into the garden. It looks like our garden hosted a huge yellow jacket nest and dad had to destroy it before these tiny insects would make other victims.

The first thing my dad did was to make a yellow jacket trap…

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Using a sharp pair of scissors or a knife to cut a two-liter plastic soda bottle in two just above the top of the label. In the bottom section, place your bait, then flip the funnel-shaped top section upside down (leaving the cap off the bottle opening) and insert it into the bottom section. Use tape to fasten the cut edges together all the way around.

For bait, try overripe fruit, raw meat, fish, moist canned cat food, fruit juice concentrate, molasses in water, soda pop, or any other foods or beverages that your local population tends to go for.

Once your trap is clogged with pests, put the whole trap in the freezer overnight to make sure everything is dead and then empty the contents into the compost.

…and then he successfully knocked down the nest!

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“After capturing quite a few yellow jackets in the trap and the weather turned cooler, I wasn’t seeing them flying to the nest very often. I used a long-handled tool to reach under the deck (above the woodpile) and knock the nest down. I couldn’t see under there, so it took several tries to scrape it all out. That broke it into pieces. There were a few yellow jackets crawling around, so I hastily backed away and left it for awhile. I sprayed the center part with wasp killer spray and waited. After seeing no activity, I assembled the parts to see how the nest looked. ”

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