By Brooke Hatfield and Johnny Harrell


University of Georgia

Many people associate autumn with a smaller number of insects.
But yellow jackets and wasps are actually more aggressive during
the fall, said University of Georgia scientist Keith
Delaplane.

Two major factors contribute to this phenomenon.

“No. 1, the wasp colonies are now reaching their highest
population of the year,” said Delaplane, an extension service
entomologist with the UGA College of Agriculture and
Environmental Science.

“And No. 2, there’s an increase in the levels of outdoor
activities — picnics and tailgaters, for example. And when you
put the two together, you have problems,” Delaplane said.

In search of protein

But it’s not just human flesh these bugs are after.

“Wasps are carnivores,” he said, “and they will seek out any
kind
of protein they can find. And very often, that’s a hamburger or a
hot dog at someone’s picnic.

“The fact that they’re carnivores isn’t necessarily bad. The
wasps eat garden caterpillars, saving gardeners from having to
resort to pesticides,” he said. “They just don’t appear to be so
beneficial when it’s your picnic they’re interrupting. In the
grand scheme of things, they do contribute.”

Don’t stand around or swat

Delaplane had one word of advice for anyone who happens upon a
yellow jacket nest: “Run.”

Standing still and swatting at the bugs is the worst thing you
can do, while the average person can outrun a wasp, he said.

It’s usually best to leave a nest alone. But if you do try to
eradicate a nest, Delaplane advises you to wear protective
clothing, a veil and a complete body-covering suit.

“Very often, people don’t do that, and they end up getting
very
serious stings,” he said.

If you use insecticide to destroy the nest, he said, saturate
the
area around the entrance to the nest.

Hard to find underground nests

Underground wasp nests are a bit harder to pinpoint.

“Just because you can see the opening doesn’t necessarily mean
that the nest itself is right there,” Delaplane said. “It could
be several feet away.”

In those cases, insecticide sprayed down the hole could
totally
miss the nest, and painful stings could result.

“It may be very satisfying to see some of them die, but it’s
not
a very practical approach,” Delaplane said.

Most yellow jackets and wasps die out in late fall, so
eventually
the problem goes away on its own.