The Yellow Jacket – a Social and Predatory Wasp

What to Know About Hornet Attacks
What to Know About Yellow Jackets

Commonly confused for bees, hornets, and paper wasps, yellow jackets are easily distinguishable from other pests with careful observation. The NJ pest control experts at Stern want to help you identify these aggressive pests, which are capable of repeatedly stinging. 

Is it a Wasp or a Bee?

Most yellow jackets are ½-inch long, though queens can be larger. Some species are black and yellow, some yellow and blackish-red, and a few black and white. Unlike bees, they do NOT have fuzzy bodies or hairy hind legs and do NOT carry pollen, however they’re important predators of other pest insects. They live in colonies and can be best identified by fast, side-to-side movement prior to landing. Female wasps can sting repeatedly with barbed, lance-like stingers, injecting venom that can cause an allergic reaction to susceptible individuals and those repeatedly stung. 

Where are They Hiding?

Yellow jackets can build nests nearly anywhere: The ground, inside trees and bushes, stumps, and manmade structures (homes, cars). Nests are constructed from wood fibers chewed to a pulp. Colonies die annually, except overwintering queens bearing young, which hideout under leaves and bark, in stumps, and the ground. Each queen can expand a colony to 4,000-5,000 female workers and a nest of 10,000-15,000 cells of new males and queens. 

Don’t let history repeat itself. Rid your yard of wasps with the help of the NJ pest control pros at Stern Environmental today.