I have done a lot of research on this because I have been attacked by Yellow Jackets in my yard and though I'm not allergic, the skin reaction I get is so severe that I am down for a few days from just one single bite. I also find them extremely aggressive and we use our yard a lot for eating out, barbecuing, etc., and I refuse to let them keep me indoors! Anyway, I did some reading and yellow jackets feed on dead insects (not live) and garbage. And yes they like to nest near water. My pond is an above ground built with railroad ties and they like to nest in those ties. My advice: In early Spring, they are looking for a place to nest. Try not to let them nest in your yard by sealing any cavities they might try to use as a nest. I have sprayed that insulation foam in places where I have seen them nest (like between the railroad ties). If you see a yellow jacket going in and out of a cavity, that's a nest but not until later in the season. I think now they're just scoping things out, at least here in Colorado. Put up the traps, you can buy them everywhere and they work great, for me they have. They use a pheromone (or a fake one) just don't let that get on you when setting up the trap! The traps will not attract bees or wasps. We really need bees so I do what I can to keep them around. Wasps, I don't know. I have paper wasps that nest in my yard and I've never been attacked by them. From what I can tell, bees and wasps will leave you alone unless threatened. Yellow Jackets seem to come at you if you're a mile from their nest! I don't like them at all. If you have to destroy a nest, they have sprays made for that. Do it when the yellow jackets are dormant, early morning or late evening so they won't attack. I wear clothes to protect my legs and arms, even gloves! The spray shoots 25 feet it says but you don't have to get that far away. I don't like using pesticides but I will destroy yellow jacket nests in my yard to avoid being driven out by them. I would start by hanging a trap near your pond.

This has been a problem observed by many of us for several years now. it is not just the "fertilizer" companies that are contributing to the problem it is the homeowner and farmer that sprays as well. It is our whole abuse of our environment that is contributing. Here is a link that might be useful: disappearing pollinators

Wet and moist will keep them out of my wood pile...hopefully. I need to keep an eye out for where they are nesting again, maybe it is in the neighbor's old shake roof. A yellow jacket story...if you want to spend the time reading. My husband was riding his horse around the back forty and I was shooting some pics, one of him and horse on a hill. All at once he and the horse were jumping around, stupid stuff, nothing of beauty. I started laughing, the dog started running all over, husband's hat is flying in the air, he's off the horse on the ground, the horse is "gone", I'm still laughing. Then, I'm totally covered by yellow jackets (as is the dog and of course my husband and horse) which started the whole chaos. All of us were rolling on the ground, batting at our bodies and finally escaped to the house with the bees following. I don't know what the neighbors thought was going on, or if they even saw what was going on. We must have looked like raging idiots. Thankfully we were not alergic or could have died, we had so many bumps from bites they were inside our hair and clothing...even the dog and horse had them all over. My husband's grand idea was filling the hill's hole (where the nest was) with gasoline and lighting it. This was a lost cause at first, took 3 tries with him running as fast as the fire to get out of there. He just made them mad until they got the idea he wasn't quitting. I have no clue where he got the gasoline idea, but know I wouldn't suggest it. And still have the pics of him and the horse on that hill. Camera never got the upset though.

I hope it is okay that I've posted this here - I could not find a forum on pests or insects at garden web/houzz. This morning I discovered a series of insects flying in and out of what looks to be a small hole above a window. I can hear some sort of rustling near the window now. I cannot tell if the culprits are bees or yellow jackets (and will try to trap one to identify). I'm not sure what to do, though have spent some time researching online (which is how I ended up in this forum). And money is bit tight this month, so calling in a professional would have to wait a few weeks. Some questions: (1) If they are yellow jackets, could I wait until our first hard frost (usually the first week of October)? I have read that yellow jacket nests die after the first hard frost, except for the queen, who will hibernate and then fly out to establish a new nest elsewhere. (2) If they are bees, I obviously don't want to kill them. Could I wait until late winter/ early spring and get a beekeeper in to take what's left of the colony elsewhere? (Again, I've read elsewhere online that late winter or early spring is the best time to move bee colonies, as they will have declined in numbers by then). Obviously, I want to avoid the use of pesticides at all costs. And as they do not seem to be dangerous (they are in the back of the house, and I have been working out back unmolested), I don't feel the need to act immediately. But I don't want a ton of structural damage to my house! Any information or advice would be much appreciated.