Keeping Yellow Jackets Away In Colorado

When it comes to yellow jackets, Colorado homeowners are likely to notice an increase in activity in August and may even see these stinging insects become more aggressive than they were earlier in the summer and with good reason. Read on to find out why yellow jackets get feistier in the late summer and fall and how to keep yellow jackets away from your family and home. 

Yellow jacket activity starts in the spring once the warmer weather arrives. These yellow and black insects busily scout for quiet and protected locations and build nests in order to reproduce. Once established, the queen will start laying eggs and churning out sterile female workers. Workers are tasked with finding live insects to feed the nest inhabitants and materials to expand the nest. This somewhat mundane process continues through the summer until the queen starts producing males and females and the nest is practically bursting at the seams. 

The timing of this transition often coincides with the depletion of natural food sources and when yellow jacket activity becomes more problematic for homeowners trying to enjoy their outdoor living spaces. You see, when the food they’re used to becomes harder to find, they turn to our food and they will sting if we get in the way.

How to keep yellow jackets away

At EnviroPest, we’ve been providing pest control services in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Loveland as well as throughout Northern Colorado since 1965 and have a pretty good idea of what it takes to minimize encounters with yellow jackets and other stinging insects that cause problems for residents. Please take a look at our list of suggestions and prevention tips to keep yellow jackets away from your family and home. 

Keep outdoor trash cans covered

Finding a trash can overflowing with food scraps and discarded soda cans is like finding a jackpot – that is if you are a yellow jacket. To stop these aggressive wasps from “dumpster diving”, we recommend keeping cans covered with lids. Whether they’re only outdoors for a party or it’s the big ones that hold several bags, you should never to give these pests easy access to your rubbish.  

Cover dishes and drinks when outside

If you’d prefer not to share your food and beverages with yellow jackets, it would be wise to keep dishes covered and drinks protected if you’re eating outside. Also, if someone spills a drink or plate of food on the deck, by the pool, or elsewhere outside, clean it up right away so as not to attract these wasps. 

Don’t forget to clean up after gatherings

Post party cleanup should commence as soon as your gathering is over. If you don’t attend to the mess right away, yellow jackets will detect uneaten food on plates, half-drunk cans or glasses of sugary beverages, crumbs on tables, and other tasty morsels and come straightaway. 

Bring pet food and water bowls inside after each use

If you feed your pets outdoors but don’t bring in the bowls after each meal, there’s a chance yellow jackets will stop by to see if there’s anything left. To reduce the chance of finding yellow jackets on or in your pet’s food and water bowls, bring them indoors when not in use. 

Pick ripe fruit & don’t leave rotting fruit on the ground

When it comes to sugar, yellow jackets love a sugary soda and rotting fruit in equal measure. Picking fruit as they ripen is always a good idea as is picking up any rotting fruit that has fallen to the ground. As you probably reasoned out, this is not a one and done prevention tip, it will need to continue until the tree has yielded all its fruit.  

Why professional pest control is the best way to deal with yellow jackets

If you’ve found yellow jackets nesting on, in, or near your home, contact EnviroPest right away. Our local pest control company offers comprehensive home pest control services that target yellow jackets and other stinging insects that threaten health and damage property. What’s more, when you sign up for our Colorado’s Choice Smart Service, we’ll protect your home for stinging insects and provide you with year-round protection against ants, mice, and other pests!