How to Keep Yellow Jackets Out of Your Yard

There are few ways to make a memorable moment in the summer than to disturb a yellow jacket nest. The little bugs are well known for not being welcoming to strangers bothering their home. Once a nest has been identified it can be render useless to the yellow jackets by pouring soapy water into the hole. Do this at night while the bees are less active. Pour and run. Many will recommend the use of gasoline, which does work, but the soapy water seems to work just as well and is less dangerous. Commercial products such as insect killing sprays are available as well. Note that there are different types of Yellow Jackets. In my area the predominant Yellow Jacket builds in the ground, others will build in a nest above ground like wasps. In fact yellow jackets are part of the wasp family. For more information than you probably want to know on yellow jackets visit http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1134/.

Once you have dealt with the problem of the current yellow jackets it is time to keep the insects away from your home and yard. The first step to stop attracting yellow jackets is to clean the place up! Keep pet food inside as it will often attract yellow jackets. Keep your trash cans sealed and clean as well. Sweet food containers such as soda pop bottles, jelly jars, and similar items need to be discarded with their lids placed on tightly. Things that don't seal like soda pop cans and rotted fruit are big draws for bugs and it is especially important for these things to go into a sealed trash can. Don't throw food waste away in the yard near your home. Keeping the outside of your home clean will also reduce the number of other insects that the yellow jacket feeds on.

Hummingbird feeders are another major culprit in attracting yellow jackets. Keep your feeder clean and fix or replace any hummingbird feeder that leaks. Look for specially made hummingbird feeders that require the bird's long beak to reach the food. Yellow jackets and other bees are not able to reach through the small openings to get to the nectar and will not be drawn to the feeder.

One last thing to consider is are the yellow jackets actually hurting anything. Yellow jackets feed on other insects including bugs that you don't want in your garden. If the yellow jacket nest is away from entrances to your home, no one in the home is extremely allergic, and you don't have little kids perhaps you should just leave them alone.