Yellow jackets are social wasps and are well equipped to defend a nest when disturbed. They almost always nest in the ground. They really don't dig, so they depend on preexisting holes or loose organic matter that they can remove. In the landscape, container-planted material where the peat moss has decomposed, mulch piles, voids under sidewalks and rotting landscape timbers, and even places where stumps or logs were buried in the yard during new home construction are common locations. The rarely seen nests are quite similar to the paper hornet nests that are sometimes seen in trees, but on a smaller scale.
Yellow jackets can actually be considered beneficial because they eat a lot of other insects. They may even help indicate scale infestations if they are seen scouting plants for honeydew. However, a nest in the wrong place may need to be treated. The best control is usually an aerosol can of "hornet and wasp killer" sprayed directly into the hole in late evening. The product must be delivered inside the nest or it will not be effective. While pouring gasoline down the hole is tried and true, it is illegal, dangerous, and will ruin the soil making it hard to grow anything in that spot for a while. Nest populations start from a single queen every spring and build through July. When enough individuals are present, a disturbed nest will respond in defense. For more information, see Residential, Structural and Community Pests Insect Note No. 15 at http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/horn-yj.htm.
From: Steve Bambara, Extension Entomologist
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