How do I find the yellow jacket nest in my back yard??

Question

Lots of bees, I tried to feed them some sweet foods, so I could watch where they take it to, but they seem un-interested in eating. I watched them for like 5 mins until I got scared and was feeling non-existant bees stinging me.... Is there a better way to find their nest?? Is there something they really like to eat, so I can follow them back to the nest?? They fly in some crazy algorithm that I have a hard time following, so I lose them quite often. Any help would be great!! I know how to kill them once I find the nest, so please don't answer on how to kill them, just to find the nest.... THANKS

Answer 1

DISCLAIMER:  Yellow jacket stings can kill.  Treatment is best left to a professional exterminator.  Only follow the advice below if you wear protective clothing, or otherwise are willing to assume the risk of getting stung.  I've never been stung while searching out or treating a nest, but it is nonetheless a possibility.

It's not that easy to find a nest, especially in a wooded area, but if you are patient it can be done.  I have found 4 in the last few days, and dozens over the years.  Don't bother trying to follow them back to the nest- they fly very high and fast when they decide to go home....as far as foods, yellow jackets generally eat proteins so sweet food is less appealing to them than say rotting meat would be...

First, the best time to find them is in early morning or evening.  It is best when there is no wind.  The reason for this is that the sunlight will reflect off their wings and make them much easier to see, and no wind means no movement of trees and such, so the only things moving will be bugs, birds, etc.  Plus in the morning and evening are the times when the most insects are leaving and returning to the colony, as opposed to mid day when more are out foraging.  What you are looking for is vertical movement.  Survey an area between you and the sun when the sun is low on the horizon (you want your shadow behind you).    Like I said, the sunlight will amplify the light, and on a still morning you will see it illuminate everything (spider webs, other bugs, etc.) much, much better, and if the lighting is right, the yellow jackets will stand out like white dots.  The key thing is that when they are out foraging they typically hover 2-6 inches off the ground, and are slow and erratic.  However when they are returning to the colony they are much higher- often dropping out of the air from a height of about 8 feet or more, are much faster, and flying in a straight line.  This is a dead giveaway.  When you see several "dots" flying vertical ascending/descending the same spot, you have found your nest.

I know you said you know how to kill them once you find them so disregard the rest of this post if you like, but others may find it helpful, so I decided to include the rest of my technique...

Next, mark the general location so you can find it in the dark.  Wait till dark (not dusk…DARK!) so most* of them will be in the ground.  I don’t care what the other blogs say- gasoline is the perfect YJ killer because the vapors are heavier than air, cause instant death to yellow jackets, and will settle to the deepest recesses of the nest resulting in an almost  guaranteed 100% kill of all adult insects.  It takes only about 6 ounces to treat an average nest, and after dozens of applications I have never even seen as much as one yellow jacket come to the entrance of the hole when it is administered, unlike sprays which take several minutes to work, allowing the yellow jackets an opportunity for one last attempt at stinging you.  Other blogs say to use “other poisons” because gas is poisonous (???).  Since most insecticides are petroleum based, this is a ridiculous argument, especially since it takes a lot more of the other stuff to work.  If you are worried about the soil getting contaminated, then a day after you treat the nest, dig it up and properly dispose of it and the soil around it…

*You will probably see a few stragglers buzzing around the nest site over the next few days.  Chances are these are workers that were out of the nest the night you treated it.  Since yellow jackets must see to navigate, workers will lay over on a tree limb, under an eave, etc. if they get caught out when it is too dark for them to fly home.  If you do see them they generally won’t be aggressive since the destruction of their colony and lack of other of their kind will disorient them.  These survivors will gradually disappear over the next week or so since they don’t live too long on their own.  Also, there may be a few nearly mature larvae that were in protected (capped) cells in the nest when it was treated that could possibly survive and hatch.  Most often there won’t be many if any, and digging up and discarding the remnants of the nest will take care of this, but chances are the problem will go away on its own over time since with no queen there will be no more eggs being laid and no more new yellow jackets.  If it does not diminish after about 10 days then retreatment is an option.

Anyway good luck...