Garden Guide: How to get rid of a yellow jacket nest

It's important to act now because a nest of 100 yellow jackets can become thousands by end of the summer.

Alex Calamia

•

Jul 30, 2025, 10:14 AM

•

Updated 19 hr ago

My peaceful backyard recently became dangerous thanks to a yellow jacket nest inside the soil in one of my container plants. These aggressive stinging wasps build nests that can be completely invisible aside from just a hole in the ground. Here's how to identify a yellow jacket problem and what to do about it.

Yellow jackets vs. bees vs. wasps: what’s the difference?

Yellow jackets are often mistaken for bees, but there are some major differences in behavior

Yellow jackets: Have small, sleek bodies with black and yellow stripes. They are aggressive, especially in late summer and fall. Although they can pollinate flowers, they typically prey on insects.
Bees: Fuzzy with more rounded bodies. Less aggressive and feed entirely off nectar. They are important pollinators and rarely sting; however, their stings are life-threatening for people who have an allergy to them.
Paper wasps and hornets: Larger and thinner than yellow jackets, and usually less colorful. They tend to be less aggressive and have nests above ground.

Signs you have a yellow jacket nest

If you notice a steady stream of yellow jackets coming and going from the same spot day after day, you likely have a nest.

I spoke with Ryan Katz, an expert with Graduate Pest Control in East Northport who has seen yellow jackets nest underground, in house eaves or attics, under decks, and anywhere that isn't in direct sunlight.

Ryan says the nests grow quickly. A nest with a few hundred yellow jackets can increase to thousands by the end of the summer

Later in the season, yellow jackets tend to become more aggressive, and they are even more attracted to our food as their diets switch to one that is rich in sweets. You may notice a lot of yellow jackets around food even if you don't have a nest nearby.

How to remove a nest

There's a lot of misinformation about how to remove yellow jacket nests. I had Ryan debunk a few of them.

Pour vinegar & baking soda in the nest

These nests reach down deep & yellow jackets often won't even let you get close enough to pour it down before they start to sting. Even if you could pour the solution into the nest, it's unlikely to reach the queen.

Block the opening

Yellow jackets will likely sting anyone that gets this close without protection, and even if the opening is blocked, they'll find a way to burrow out.

Flood the nest

Yellow jackets can't be flooded out either when a nest is established.

Diatomaceous Earth

This will kill wasps leaving the nest because it shreds their exoskeletons, but it's not possible to reach them all with just this method.

Yellow jacket traps will capture adult worker wasps and could catch a queen in March or April when it's building a nest, but at this point in the year it won't do anything to remedy a problem if you have a nest.

Professional removal

Yellow jacket nests can be removed with a specialized high power vacuum. Professionals aren't necessarily looking to remove every wasp, they're looking for the queen. When the queen is gone, the nest is no longer viable

The "worker" yellow jackets may return to the former nest site for a few days, but there is no viable nest to return to and they will die.

Yellow jackets are extremely territorial. Unlike bees, they can sting repeatedly. If you see yellow jackets frequently or discover a nest, don’t try to handle it yourself. Call a licensed pest expert. Happy (and safe) gardening!