The smell of peppermint is a yellow jacket repellant. Combine a few drops of pure peppermint oil, a few tablespoons of dish soap and warm water in a spray bottle. Locate any active wasp nests and carefully spray the concoction around the entrance. Reapply every few days until the wasps have left the nest.

Treat the nest with pyrethrum aerosols such as Stryker 54 Contact Aerosol or PT 565. Pyrethrum forms a gas that will fill the cavity, killing the Yellow Jackets instantly. Wait until the aerosol is dry (10-15 minutes), then dust the Yellow Jacket nest, entrance, and surrounding areas with an insecticide dust.

Diatomaceous earth is abrasive to yellow jacket wings and bodies. If you dump a half-cup into the ground hole at nighttime (when the insects are “home” and less active) and then cover the hole with a flat rock, you will surely see a difference in activity the next day.

Assess the situation: While seeing yellow jackets on your property can be scary, if the nest is in an area of the property that sees little to no human activity, it may not be necessary to remove it. Yellow jackets help to control the population of pest insects like mosquitoes and may actually be doing you a favor.