I get stung every year by yellow jackets, usually in August when the nest is mature and holds many wasps. I don't share your concern about killing them, I spray the nest after dark when they're all in it. They didn't think twice about stinging me, so I don't think twice about stinging them back. They won't move till next year when they build a new nest. Best of luck.

I HATE yellow jackets...no really, I LOATH them. Every year I get stung. I've gotten stung multiple times when stumbling upon a nest. Get near their nest and they become VERY aggressive. I've read horror stories of people being stung tens or hundreds of times. There are many more beneficial wasps and bees for your garden that are not aggressive. You will not be able to safely garden in close proximity to their nest, and the nest will grow as they breed. Toward the end of summer, they get very aggressive as summer gives way to autumn. Next year, you'll likely have more nests..do yourself a favor KILL THEM!
I have pretty much eradicated mosts of the nest on my property. I personally enjoy going out right at dusk with a small cup of kerosene and pouring it down their nest hole in the ground.
They are no longer harassing the hummingbirds around the feeders either.

mph - I'm hoping they didn't get too far in building their nest. Maybe they were just getting started? When I went back out there, and raked a little more in that area, they weren't as bad as they were earlier. So maybe I'll get lucky.

Wasps and yellow jackets/bumblebees are two different creatures. Wasps, by their nature, are non aggressive - I've hung tobacco literally an inch from their nest and as long as I didn't bother it, they were fine. BB or YJs on the other hand are aggressive - they look for people to terrorize and tenderize.

If it is the latter, wait until dark. They are completely docile then. Remove everything until you see their nest, then cove it in gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel. They will barely move, even in their death throes.

That nest of 50 bees will grow to 500 next year if you do not destroy them. You will not be able to buy enough Raid to deal with them.

Disclaimer: I have sworn an allegiance to destroy every bumblebee/Yellow Jacket I can. We are mortal enemies! YMMV.

Mike

Yellow jackets and bumblebees are two entirely different insects.

This measure will make your garden safer for you, but won't move the nest. They won't move.

Take a large glass bowl or translucent cake cover, and pop it over the next first thing in the morning. The yellow jackets will think all is well because light still comes in their entry hole, but they can't get out and slowly starve. This takes a couple of weeks! Meanwhile they can't hurt you.

Killing bumblebees is wrong. They won't sting unless you sit on them, don't build nests that you'd notice, and are tremendously helpful insects. I only kill yellow jacket nests that are inside my garden or on my walking paths, because they are basically good guys, too.

There's a lo of confusion about bees & wasps and which are which. I have plenty of them around my house.

Bumblebees - yellow & black bands & fuzzy appearance, beneficial & quite docile

Wasps - usually brown/black in color, sting, but generally not aggressive, usually build rounded papery nests,

Yellow Jackets - a type of wasp that appears to have stripes like a honeybee but yellow & black instead of gold & brown, They can be VERY aggressive! Watch them fly around, they dart about aggressively which the others do not. Early in the summer they eat carbohydrates (sugar) later in the season they go for protein (your blood will do!) They build papery nests, however, theirs appear to be a conglomeration of 6 sided cells (but no wax or honey) without the rounded papery covering like the other wasps. A lot of folks have accidentally stepped on a ground nest, but they happily adapt to vinyl sided houses like mine.

You can spray their nests with a special mint spray, but Raid is fine too. Your just spraying the nest, not broadcasting it. SO it shouldn't hurt beneficials.

Snakes are good
Bumblebees are good
Ants are debatable

But yellow jackets--kill 'em!

Seriously,
they aren't endangered, they aren't beneficial
and if they've nested somewhere where you can stumble into their turf, they're really dangerous

yes i know all too well how stumbling onto a nest of yellow jackets can end in a nasty experience, sometimes they get under your cloths and can be a real pain,,,,not nice if you have kids around either......however i believe they are quite the preditors in the insect world,,,,they seem to like the toma verde flowers and we plant the toma verde in and about the cabbage, broc, and cauli, the thought is that on their way to the toma verde flowers they may snatch a few cabbage moth larve or cabbage butterfly larve,,,,,last season we had a nest of yellow jackets in a bed of artichokes,,,,per usuall the ants started to farm the aphids on the chokes,,,but the yellow jackets seemed to feast on the aphids and it really never became a problem,,,we did know where the nest was and never tried to mess with it....just wanted to share this experience, I have done in my share of nests in my day also, as i worked in the bush for 30 years, pour a bit of gas down the hole for those livving in the ground,,no need to light it....happy harvest

I was wondering myself how to take out a nest that I found the other day, by you guessed it, stepping on it...ouch! Just 3 stings, but they're taking their time healing(at the itching point right now). I didn't think my old bones could move that fast, LOL!
I LOVE Bumblebees, give Wasps and Hornets a wide berth, HATE Yellow Jackets(but don't bother them unless they're too close to the garden, which they are this year).

I have tons of wasps that flock to my pond for water and have never been stung.
Yellow jackets are a different story! MEAN suckers!
I've been using those bright yellow hanging traps for several years now, and have very few left.
The first year I got the traps, I put one near the nest and it filled up in ONE DAY!!!!!!!!
Good luck! NT

Thanks for all the advice. I think I got lucky, and they moved on. I went back out there again today, and raked around the area, and didn't see any more. I'm not positive they were yellow jackets, since I didn't stick around to get a really close look. But they were yellow, and one stung me. So I just figured that's what they were. I don't think they were bees. The snakes are breeding like rabbits. I keep uncovering their eggs. I hope enough of them survive and eat lots of slugs.

Ok, so I didn't get lucky. I uncovered the nest yesterday, but they didn't bother me. Of course I ran like h*ll:) Then I planted a couple things next to them today, and they didn't seem to mind. I did a little research, and so far my best guess is they're eastern yellow jackets. They're probably about 1/2 inch or slightly larger. I want to make sure I know what they are before I do anything, so I don't accidentally kill something that's harmless, and beneficial. Is it normal for them to be ok at this time of year, then become a problem later? And are certain species worse than others? I hate to kill anything (except mosquitos... just got another one), so I'm going to do a little more research before I do anything. My straw bale garden didn't do too well last year, but this year it's turned into it's own little ecosystem. And I'm finding some really nice soil underneath. So I don't want to interfere any more than I need to.

Around these parts, we call them wasps, not yellow jackets. Probably a local thing. If the pictures I saw from Google are the same as your insects, they are not aggressive, unlike what we here call yellow jackets. Yeah, they will sting you but only in self-defense.

We seem to have more than the normal amount this year but they have not bothered me at all - unusual for any bee except honeybees and sweat bees. Most of the others seem intent on tenderizing me every chance they get!

Mike

Regarding the confusion between bees, beneficial wasps, and the aggressive wasps. If it's hairy, it's a bee, one of the good guys. Long bodied wasps are mostly beneficial, and seldom sting unless provoked.

Short bodied wasps (yellow jackets, hornets) are very aggressive, and will sting without provocation... or at least, not what we would recognize as provocation. Sound, movement, or even scent can trigger an attack.

"Is it normal for them to be ok at this time of year, then become a problem later?"

Yes. As Bigtrout mentioned earlier, the wasps will increase in number throughout the summer, and grow increasingly aggressive as Autumn draws near. I would never allow a nest anywhere near an area that I use frequently, especially if there are children on the property.

Since I drink well water, and garden organically, I would never pour gasoline/lighter fluid into a ground nest. Alcohol is a good non-polluting substitute. I go out at night with a large metal mixing bowl, pour in the alcohol, light it, and quickly jam the bowl over the hole. The flames exhaust the oxygen, and the fumes kill the entire nest.

When yellow jackets nest in my foundation (which is fairly often) I prefer solutions that don't involve poison. I prop up the nozzle of a small shop vac just outside their entry, and let it run all day. The noise antagonizes them, and they swarm out - only to be sucked up. Any which escape get caught on their way back in. I get hundreds the first day. After sunset, I turn the vac off, then quickly splash some alcohol into the canister & re-close it. The alcohol will kill them over-night. (Disclaimer: DO NOT suck alcohol into a running vacuum, or turn it back on before all vapors have been vented!) After two days of this, the nest is not yet completely dead... but there are not enough workers remaining to feed the larvae, which starve.

My intolerance of their nests aside... all wasps are beneficial in the garden, provided that the nest is not located there. I even grow cleome & yardlong beans to attract them to my vegetable garden. The yardlongs give off a substance that seems to intoxicate them, they are more docile than usual... I've never been stung there. The wasps feed on caterpillars & aphids, and there is hardly a spider to be found either.

I grow peppers in cages to save pure seed; aphids usually get in through the spun polyester, and safe from predators, can quickly infest the plants. When enough peppers have set for seed, I open up one side of the cages. Within a day, yellow jackets appear in large numbers, feasting on the aphids. Other insect predators follow, and with no action on my part, the aphids are gone within two weeks or so.

What if I wait for a cold night, then dig up the nest? I'm thinking I could put a really long handle on one of my shovels. Then dig it up, and carry it out into the woods somewhere. Or I could put a net over the top of it, and dig underneath. It looks like it's in a hole right at the surface. It used to be buried under more straw, but I uncovered it the other day. Would they be pretty slow to react when it's cold? I can run pretty fast when properly motivated.

gardningscomplicated,

Please stop. Please! What is in that hole can REALLY harm you. Take the advice of the other posters here. DH removes (kerosene in hole - no fire - only kerosene) several yellow jacket nests each year in our yard. They may be docile now but when they 'mature' they WILL hurt you. I do not know you, but I do not want to see you get tangled up with these things.

DL

dl - Don't worry, I'll be alright (famous last words?). I'm going to remove them, before they start getting to be a problem. Unless I find out they're not an aggressive type. In that case, I think they'd be beneficial. I don't think these are the really bad scavenger type, but they may still be a problem.

One other thing I'm thinking about... I read that a nest may have more than one opening, and I think they would all be within about 40 or 50 feet of each other. I've been all over the garden area, and haven't seen another opening. So, what if I bury the opening I found? Would they just start using another one? The opening I found is right at the edge of the garden, so I think another one could be far enough from the garden, so it wouldn't be a problem. It seems like the easiest thing to do, and I wouldn't have to kill them.

Gardningscomplicated, I can tell that you're a really sweet person,
but you can't just bury the opening or move the nest

First you need to mark the opening of the nest and make sure that no one accidentally steps on it
(If that happens, the yellow jackets will vigorously counterattack and such incidents often put people in the hospital)

Then you really need to kill them at your earliest convenience--if you can't do it maybe you should hire someone else

GC, please don't try digging up the nest...there could be hundreds of YJs by now. Kill the nest, yes, by dousing with the appropriate pesticide, or one of the other suggestions above. You DON'T want to pi$$ them off...I've been chased by dozens of them for a block or more from just stepping on a nest. And, what ever you do, don't do it alone...trip or fall and you're toast if there's no one to help you!
If you're intent on 'sparing them', move your garden.

I hope you looked at some of those images on google! Their nests can get humongus!

I certainly wouldn't leave a nest anywhere around the area that I was working or gardening! Too dangerous for me, I'm allergic!

I love my bees, but never hesitate to kill a yellow jacket nest. Around here they are ground nesters - very different than the paper wasps we get occasionally, and which have never gotten aggressive with us. Yellow jackets are mean.

I avoid chemicals usually but for yellow jackets I make an exception. A can of spray directly into the nest after dark will deal with them. We usually suit up pretty good before doing even this, but after dark we've never had a problem.

I'd no more try to move them than I'd try to pet a raging bull.

I realize now, I can't move the nest. I think it's in an abandoned gopher hole, and who knows who deep that could be. Right now the nest seems pretty small. When I went out there at about 7 pm, I only saw a couple going in and out. I think I need to check during the day though, since there are probably a lot more then. I want to catch one, so I can find out exactly what it is, before I do anything. If they turn out to be dangerous, I'll probably try something like a glass bowl on top. I know I can get close to the nest now, without any problem. I planted tomatoes within about 3 feet, and they didn't seem to care. And if I throw a bag of ice on top, on a cool night, I should be pretty safe. Anyway, thanks again for all the help. And don't worry, I won't do anything stupid:)

No matter how deep it is this will get them

Here is a link that might be useful: Professional Pest Products

A gardener should NEVER kill a bumblebee! These are working hard to pollinate your crops, many of which won't grow without them.

I think bumblebees are pretty docile. And if they get mad they buzz loudly so you know to back off. I used to pet their fuzzy butts when they were visiting flowers when I was little. I'm not quite as brave anymore. Now carpenter bees look like bumblebees but I wouldn't mess with them. They won't sting you but they're in a perpetually foul mood. Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

~Cindy

I saw a couple more responses to this, so I thought I'd post a follow-up...

I first found the nest when I was breaking up straw bales from last year's straw bale garden. After I broke up the bales, the nest was exposed to the sun and weather. Probably a lot more than it was before I found it. There were still quite a few wasps going in and out, but it didn't seem like a very big nest. Then, after I posted stuff here, I threw some netting over the top, hoping to catch one, so I could make sure they were yellow jackets. They could still get in and out, but it wasn't that easy anymore. Then I kind of forgot about it. And a couple days ago, I went back, and I didn't see any more wasps. So I think they're gone. I think they either abandoned the nest, because it was no longer working out for them. Or gave up on that entrance, and are now using another one. Or maybe they just couldn't survive there, and died. I don't know for sure. Anyway, I think the problem went away. And I didn't have to use any chemicals, or anything like that.

All's well that ends well!
Identification is important. This spring I discovered a nest being built on my shed door and assumed it was yellow jackets and that it would grow, etc. I did further research and it ended up being paper wasps (which look really similar), and the next has neither grown during the summer, nor have the wasps become aggressive, even when I open the shed door. I enjoyed watching them peruse my cauliflower plants for prey.

veeta - It's possible mine were paper wasps too. They typically don't nest in the ground, but I just read that sometimes they do. I never did find out for sure what they were, and the pictures I just looked at for yellow jackets and paper wasps both looked about the same. I looked at paper wasps before, but for some reason I didn't see any that were black and yellow. But now I'm seeing pictures of black and yellow ones? Anyway, I hope they found homes somewhere else, whatever they were.