When you work on your landscaping or mow your lawn and it feels like your neighbor’s kid is throwing tiny rocks at you, it is likely that you’ve found a yellow jacket nest. These wasps can sneak up on you. This is because they create their nests in ground holes and inside voids. If you’d rather not be surprised by yellow jackets, we have a few tips to help you keep yellow jackets away from your Tucson property.

Remove Flowering Weeds

You’re probably aware that wasps eat nectar. If you have lots of flowers in your landscaping, they can attract yellow jackets. But the flowers you plant on purpose aren’t nearly as much of a problem as the flowers you don’t plant. When flowering weeds take over your lawn, they provide an impressive banquet for yellow jackets. You can deter yellow jackets by staying on top of weed control in your lawn.

Sweet Juice

Nectar isn’t the only sweet juice yellow jackets love to feed on. They’ll also feed on sweet juice you leave outside by accident – or on purpose. Why would you leave juice outside on purpose? Some Tucson residents like to put feeders out to attract hummingbirds. These feeders have sugar water which yellow jackets love to drink.

If you want to feed the hummingbirds but not the yellow jackets, we recommend using a dish feeder, rather than a bottle feeder. A bottle feeder has a container filled with the liquid and the liquid goes down as the hummingbirds feed. A dish feeder holds the liquid in the dish and the hummingbirds must put their beaks deep inside to get a drink.

Water In Your Landscaping

When rainwater or sprinkler water collects on your landscaping, it can provide a drink of water for yellow jackets. Yup, yellow jackets drink regular ol’ water. While it is impossible to prevent water from being collected on your landscaping, there are a few ways to get rid of moisture faster.

• Trim bushes and shrubs.
• Remove unnecessary grasses, weeds, and other plants.
• Consider removing broadleaf plants.
• Clean your gutters and make any repairs that are necessary.

Protein

When yellow jackets come into your yard, they’re going to feed on lots of bugs. The more bugs you have, the more inviting your yard will be to yellow jackets. Everything you do to reduce bug activity will have an impact on yellow jackets.

Garbage

Yellow jackets can find sweets and protein sources in garbage. Make sure all of your garbage is bagged and store them in covered containers. If your receptacles start to stink a little, take the time to deodorize them. Yellow jackets are drawn to the scent of decaying organic matter.

Holes

Yellow jackets love ground holes. If you have an old stump, you might have the perfect environment for a yellow jacket nest. Remove stumps and fill ground holes in to prevent yellow jackets from finding easy locations to start nests.

Voids

Yellow jackets will make a nest inside the voids of a swing set. This can present a danger to kids. But swing sets are far from the only man-made objects in which yellow jackets have been found. If you have objects in your yard that have voids, make sure there are no entry points. Take the time to also seal entry points that give yellow jackets access to sheds and other structures.

Fruit

If you have a fruit-producing tree on your property, yellow jackets are going to take notice. They love to eat ripened fruit. There isn’t a whole lot you can do about this. The best you can do is plant fruit-bearing trees away from the exterior of your home and away from landscaping. It also helps to stay on top of clean-up. Yellow jackets love to eat the decaying fruit on the ground more than they like to eat the fruit hanging on the tree.

The Best Way To Keep Yellow Jackets Away

If you live in Tucson, let the service team here at Pest Friends help you with keeping yellow jackets away from your property. Our residential pest control service comes with routine inspections. Your property is inspected by a licensed pest professional and yellow jacket nests are quickly detected and dealt with before those painful pests can present a threat to you, your family, and your pets.

Your service will also come with routine barrier treatments which help to repel and knock down a wide range of pests, many of which yellow jackets feed on. This will make your yard less of a hunting ground for yellow jackets. If you’d like to learn more, or you’d like to get started with residential pest control for your Tucson property, connect with us today. You don’t have to let yellow jackets surprise you. Get proactive yellow jacket protection from Pest Friends. We also offer commercial pest control for local businesses.