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Part of my goal is to educate people concerning yellow jackets and hornets. Many people are worried that yellow jackets and hornets will return if they had a nest in the fall. The answer is simply, no. Only rarely will you have a new nest in the same area as an old one. Yellow jackets and hornets are not perennial in Connecticut. These creatures have an interesting life cycle. The nest starts off with a queen who hibernated through out the winter. She slept in the bark of trees or under leaves, maybe even in your attic or siding of your house. When the weather gets warmer she takes off and begins searching for a places to build her home. Some species will look for holes in the ground. Some look for spaces in your siding or attic. Still others look for a nice eve or tree branch on which to start her family. You will usually not notice these nests until they are big and active. The queen starts her nest by making a few egg chambers. She fusses over these eggs as they go through many changes. Eggs hatch and become larva. Larva become pupa and the pupa become teneral adults. Teneral means soft and unpigmented. They eventually become full adults and take over the tasks of building the nest. Yellow jackets get to be a nuisance in the fall because great numbers of them are out looking for protein and sweets to feed the larva. They generally will feed their young bits of insects they've prepared. Yellow jackets will visit your picnic to get a bit of hamburger or piece of chicken. Always check your food before biting into it in case there is a yellow jacket feasting on your lunch. Also, check your soft drink before sipping. Every year people are stung in the mouth because they didn't check their soda before drinking. Stings in the mouth and throat can be fatal even to people who are not allergic. You can avoid stings several ways. Sometimes you can pin an ordinary fabric softener sheet like Bounce to your hat or shirt. Avoid nice flowery shirts when you have many coming around. Also, go easy on the hair spray and perfume. Some brands seem to attract yellow jackets and hornets. If you have a nest of yellow jackets or hornets, contact us immediately. Avoid the nest and please don't spray them. Spraying is a waste of time and often will not even effect a concealed nest. If they are in a high place, please have a ladder available. Also, I will need a source of power to run my special vacuums. I will not be using any pesticides. If you choose to spray after I leave, wait until evening and use every precaution. Insecticides are often more dangerous to you then the yellow jackets and hornets. |
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