Stinging insects such as paper wasps and yellow jackets hide their nests. It’s a defense mechanism. That’s all well and good until you accidently get too close or Heaven forbid, brush up against one. One of the most common ways to encounter a wasp or yellow nest is while doing yardwork. Don’t wait until July to begin trimming shrubs and bushes. Do it now before nest building begins. Even now nest construction is beginning- but it’s still early.
One of the easiest steps you can take to protect you and your family from insect stings is to periodically take a walk around your yard and look for signs of yellow jacket ground nests or wasp nests that are concealed in shrubs, bushes, and play items such as swing sets, sliding boards, and trampolines. Paper wasps will typically make nests on the underside of these items. Watch sections of bushes and shrubs and watch for wasps leaving and returning.
Paper wasp nest in a blueberry bush
Yellow jackets have a very noticeable flight pattern – they fly out from their hollow concealed nest- often located in the ground – at an approximately 45-degree angle.