Do you feel like there are more yellowjackets than usual this year? Commonly referred to as “garbage bees” or “ground bees”, yellowjackets are at the peak of their activity right now, and they may be invading your summer picnics and disrupting your afternoon strolls.
Yellowjackets are attracted to sweets and proteins, so your summer BBQ menus is right up their alley. Even though the insects seem to be crazy about you, they are really only trying to get to your food. Yellowjackets don’t tend to be aggressive unless their nest is being threatened, but they can sting repeatedly if they are provoked.
Kristin Lyons, Stewardship Director for Friends of the St. Clair River, said while yellowjackets feel like a nuisance, they are also considered beneficial. “They can take out a lot of crop pests like caterpillars that might feed on some of our crops, and they’re also pollinators so they help pollinate our fruits and vegetables.”
To avoid being stung, Lyons recommends never wearing fragrances or perfumed lotions, soaps, cosmetics, or deodorants while exploring nature. If yellowjackets are bothering you, simply move out of their space and try to avoid aggravating them. If they do sting, they will release a pheromone that will attract other yellowjackets.
You should also stay on trails and notify the park management if you notice a ground nest of stinging insects. Park rangers can remove the nests or at least make them more noticeable with cones or caution tape to alert park goers of their presence.
Yellowjackets will continue their frenzy for food until they die off in the fall, usually after about 5-7 days in a row at an outdoor temperature of 45 degrees or lower.
Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand
