Yellowjackets -- the wasp/hornet

Several different things are improperly called "yellow jackets".
The real ones are an actual wasp and they have a NASTY sting.

BUT......it looks like what you have might really be "picnic bees"
which are not really harmful at all.

It would be a shame to kill something that is just a minor nuisanse.

 

wow!
they bored a hole through our shingles and built a nest in the wall or ceiling, i'm not sure.

i blasted it after dark with wasp spray and filled the hole. seemed to work, but they are all over our hummingbird feeders. it's funny to watch them and the birds duke it out, but the yellow jackets are relentless.
i just saw a massive wasp nest in a small tree in the front yard. what is making them so prolific this year?

 

idk, they both sound bad to me:

picnic+bees

 

This is senseless and cruel... Why don't you post this immoral awful somewhere else? I work in people's gardens year round and am constantly working around them and they never bother me unless I accidentally disturb their nest by digging next to or stepping on there nest by accident. And yea I get stung one or twice a year and sometimes go more than a year without getting stung because it's goes with the job, but I know them well and they'd never do anything to attack me unless they felt they had to defend their nest. But after see this photo I hope you get stung a lot... You deserve it way more than I do or someone who respects life does.

 

Yellow jackets don't do that... They nest in the ground... I think you're talking about wasps, another harmless friend with a stinger... I once had a paper was hanging over my back door. They were like pets to me. Never stung me once and I always said good morning and good night to them. All ya'll need to respect the life we share the planet with more! They play a vital role in keeping the ecosystem healthy!

 

if they don't bother me, i won't bother them. when they pay my taxes and upkeep, they're welcome in my house.
they were black and yellow striped, that's all i know.

two years ago, they got in the attic, and the juice from the nest they built actually came through the bedroom ceiling.
they didn't offer to repair it

 

You don't even know what you're killing and you're obviously getting advice from someone who has zero knowledge in entymology... In north America there's an Eastern Yellowjack and a western Yellow jackets... Neither of them are aggressive at all unless they think you're threatening their nest. The total lie of "Califonia Yellowjackets" some like something an dim-wiitted pest control salesman who inhaled way too much poison and can't think straight would tell people to sell more poison. Everything you're doing is totally irresponsible and totally uneducated and needs to stop!!!

 

You're the only one who's attacking without provocation! I work around nests everyday and I live in the exact same region as you and they never ever attack without provocation! And there's no such thing as "California Yellow Jackets unless you're a slimeball pest control that's never spent a single hour studying science rather than dishonest salesmanship.

 

Wish the guy posting with dunce hat was as respectful and honorable as you!

 

Google doesn't have the true answer until you get past all the pest control BS that exagerates wives tales to sell more poison... And how aggressive they are depends on your experience with them not what you read on Google. Just a stick of incense or burning some sage will calm them down if you've riled them up.

I even have a nest in my giant compost pile where I spend hours a day working in the garden. You're clearly making up stories to feel better about your senseless murder of these very benneficial insects that you have no knowledge of, nor direct experience with... To clarify there's:

The eastern yellowjacket, Vespula maculiforna
The western yellowjacket, Vespula pennsylvanica

And if you're a pest control salesman you tell them that they are aggressive California Yellowjackets because everyone in the Pacific Northwest doesn't like people from California moving here. The entire explanation you offer/they offer is a total lie!

 

Who cares? You just killed hundreds of them and now you don't have any excuse that you'll stand by? How'd you like it if somebody killed hundreds of your loved ones and neighbors and claimed they were something they weren't and then when proven wrong they say "who cares?" I bet you haven't even been stung yet... Geez... No wonder human are killing the whole planet so fast out of ignorance.

 

If you remember what they look like this article has lots of information with big pictures to help identify them and ones most likely to be mistaken by: Yellowjacket Identification, Facts, and Control Measures | Gardener's Path

 

they must have been german if they were nesting in the house, how rude!

the ones in the attic, idk. never saw them.

 

It looks like someone is seriously off his meds again.

Um, doesn't this article contradict numerous things you posted above?

From the linked article:

"Yellowjackets are exceptionally troublesome wasps. They can become highly aggressive, especially when the available food is getting low later in the season when their colonies are getting larger.

While it can be annoying when wasps hover around soda cans at picnics and barbecues, these insects can be downright dangerous: they are responsible for most of the stinging deaths in the US.

These wasps can keep stinging (unlike bees that die after one sting) plus large numbers of them can gang up on people. ...

Yellowjackets do have their uses – ... However, their tendency to bite and sting generally makes them unwelcome residents of a yard or, perish the thought, a house!"

 

OMG.

I cannot believe anyone is even arguing about this subject. My field was the slippery critters that hide in brackish ponds, until I switched to large game animals. Moose, sheep, etc., not insects, but any biologist knows the critters that can hurt them and yellow jackets are near the top of the list.

I fear yellow jackets more than rattlesnakes.

You do not want yellow jackets anywhere near a home. Young children can be especially at risk, as well as the elderly.

As mentioned, the critters turn increasingly fearsome as summer wanes.....which is right about now.

I NEVER advocate for killing any species unless there is a good reason. Yellow jackets near a home or campsite, that is a good reason.

Not even a debate about this subject.
kris