How can i deter yellow jackets from my garden this summer?

Before you can get rid of them it helps to know how they operate.

Yellowjackets are pretty much vacuum cleaners of the wasp world. They consume anything and everything. They will go after bugs (to include aphids, spiders, caterpillars, etc.), water, meat or any other source of protein, soft fruits when available, and nectar or other liquids that have sugar. DNA testing on the food that is brought back to yellowjacket nests has shown that they are not picky.

However, on the plus side, they are not social foragers in the same way that bees are. By that I mean they do not bring something back to the nest and tell the rest where to go to get more. If a forager comes back to the nest with a load of water and is immediately unloaded by a worker then the forager knows that the nest needs water and will go get more. But the forager does not tell the others where the water source is. If the forager has to stand around for a minute or two before a worker takes their load then that tells the forager that water is not a high priority at the moment, so then they go out looking for food.

The only exception to this rule is when they find a source with high protein. Their body temperatures are correspondingly higher to the quality of protein in the source of food they are bringing back - up to 1.7 degrees Celsius. Wasps and yellowjackets are very sensitive to heat so being back in the nest will let others know that there is a good source of meat (or protein) in the area. Other yellowjackets won't know where to look, but they will go look around if food is a nest priority at the time.

Yellowjackets and wasps are highly visual critters. They can see extremely well. If they see another nest they will steer clear of the area. There was a study done where the foragers of one nest were captured and painted with different markings and then released. They pretty much got their butts kicked when they got back to the nest and were targets of extreme aggression. So smell doesn't really play a central role in much except if one stings something or gets hurt. An alarm pheromone is released and other wasps will come see what is going on and help attack an intruder.

I mentioned all of this so you have an idea how things might work for you. Without knowing where the local nests are you a facing an uphill battle because unless you take out the source, anything you deter is only temporary because other foragers will eventually come around.

It would help to know what is attracting them to your garden area. Are they going after food sources like bugs, or are they visiting flowers? If it is bugs then knowing the type might allow you to use plant barriers to keep those bugs out of your garden - by this I mean you can plant a type of plant around the edges of your garden that is more attractive to the bugs than what is in your garden. So the bugs stay out of your garden and the yellowjackets stay where their food source is.

If they are targeting something like soft fruits (blueberries, etc) then a simple netting over your blueberry bushes after pollination will take away the reasons for sticking around.

So a little observation is needed to find out what is attracting them.

Those nest things don't really work too well. If they work at all the range is usually about 20 feet. But Yellowjackets have keen vision so there is a chance it might work. But yellowjackets are also observant. If they see other yellow jackets visiting an area they are much more likely to visit the same areas or same color flowers. If you can break that cycle so that new foragers coming into the area see the nests first before they realize there is a lot of food in the area, they will go hunting elsewhere.

One additional thing to look for; if they are gathering water from puddles then you need to alter your garden watering habits. Take away their reason for visiting. If they are chewing on old wooden stakes for material for their nests, try replacing those stakes with something else.

This isn't relevant but is interesting ...They can be trained :). If a yellowjacket has an unfortunate experience with a spider on a yellow flower, the yellowjacket will remember that and either avoid yellow flowers or be a heck of a lot more cautious for the remainder of it's life. I don't know how this could help you unless you had a supersoaker squirt gun loaded with something that is unpleasant for them (but isn't toxic), and you could sit 30 feet away and douse them. The foragers that have found you would learn to avoid your garden. Not that this is practical, but it is interesting to consider. :)

One additional side-note. Yellowjackets are attracted to meat while honeybees aren't. If you go to "wikihow" you can look up how to build a wasp trap using a meat bait. raw meat is preferable over cooked meat and rotten meat will help draw them in. Dish soap in a liquid they like will also kill them. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Wasp-Trap . Do it early enough and kill queens and you may solve your problem before it gets going and you need more traps. Good luck.

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How can i deter yellow jackets from my garden this summer?

It seems like every year yellow jackets become more of a problem in our backyard. I do all the normal things to avoid attracting them, the garbage is securely covered away from the yard, and I never leave any food or drinks out.

So does anyone know anyways to naturally deter them? A few...

How To Repel Yellow Jackets

Ouch. That sucks.

Ace hardware this year is caring these yellow jacket nests I believe. All you do is open the bait. Put it on the cotton roll and then hang it away from everything. Its suppose to attract them and keep them away from your house/garden. It lasts for about 3 months I think and its suppose to attract the..."queens" right away. Its like a trap though so they get stuck inside so no worries about them actually building a nest.

Currently thats what I have and it seems to work so far.

Wasp Repellent Plants

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Raccoons and skunks seeking grubs would be the most likely bet, I think. Yellow jackets sleep at night, and raccoons and skunks are nocturnal. Perhaps, they dug the hole without realizing the bees were there, or perhaps they paid a price for digging!

It would be after grubs. There aren't many animals that would have no fear of the adults, though. Both skunks and armadillos are grub-eaters.