This past Sunday morning, we visited a beautiful Easton, MA neighborhood that was being terrorized by a Yellow Jacket ground nest next to a kid-built bike path (which was truly impressive).
It turns out that every neighborhood between the ages of 6 and 13 participated in the construction of a mountain bike/BMX trail in our new client’s backyard. It also turns out that many of the kids had been getting stung while riding on the trail. With the homeowner wanting no more of this – they called Be Gone Pest Management.
After hearing about the kids being stung, we wanted to resolve this issue as soon as possible, so we went out first thing last Sunday morning. When we got to the yard that had the issue the homeowner walked us out to where the nest was. It was a VERY ACTIVE Yellow Jacket nest right on the side of the bike trail. The entrance to the next was camouflaged nicely between two tree roots. As I approached the nest (with my suit on) I was immediately greeted by at least 50 very protective yellow jackets. I remained calm and followed the same procedure that I always do, start with a little “magic powder” and step back to watch. Within a minute or two there were what looked like 500 yellow jackets swarming around the entrance of the nest. I applied some more “magic powder” and again stepped back to watch. At this point I usually stay away from the nest for a few minutes and watch as the confused Yellow Jackets unknowingly go in and out of the nest bringing the residual insecticide further into the nest.
After a majority of the Yellow Jackets had expired, I walked over to the nest and dug it up with a shovel to ensure it would no longer be an issue for the kids. The nest was about 30 inches in diameter, flat and had been built between a large flat rock and tree roots.