Yellow Jackets
Man, these guys hurt!
One sting from a yellow jacket can leave you in pain for hours. It can be even worse if you are allergic to them (talk about expensive too!).
These bright yellow and black striped members of the wasp family offer a painful sting that can ruin any outdoor party. Their signature loud buzz is enough to make any person flinch and run back inside.
In Alabama especially these wasps are an even bigger problem. The perenially warm climates of some regions of the state allow for wasps to form year-round nests, sometimes even growing into super nests that can house more than 4,000 yellow jackets.
Unlike other kinds of wasps, yellow jackets form nests that are far more difficult to spot. As opposed to the papery, hanging nest that we typically associate with wasps, yellow jackets often build their nests lower to the ground, on fallen logs, or in small burrows. They typically build close to where they forage for food, so if you see a few yellow jackets buzzing your backyard grill, it’s likely that they have a nest hidden somewhere nearby.
The diet of yellow jackets is especially problematic for people. They often look for meat, such as the hamburgers and hotdogs of a fun family barbecue, as well as sugar and sweets, like the summer watermelon and sticky popsicles of that same barbecue. No one likes an unexpected guest at a summer party, even less so if that guest is a predatory stinging wasp, so make sure to call Alabama Preferred Pest Control to take care of your yellow jacket infestation.