Here is a trivia question for you: What aggressive insect can pour out of its nest in a swarm, give chase for several yards and sting you multiple times? You probably already know the answer because you peeked at the title of this blog. It's true. Yellow jackets are a stinging insect you do not want to mess with. Everyone knows that. But here are a few facts you may not know about yellow jackets.

• Yellow jackets don't make honey, but they do help to pollinate plants.

• These insects are not great pollinators because they have a glossy skin instead of the fur of a bee.

• Yellow jackets eat meats and sweets.

• In the wild, these insects will kill animals and dissect them for their meat.

• Yellow jackets will give chase for great distances and even go around obstacles to get to you.

• Some people are deathly allergic to the venom in the yellow jacket.

• Yellow jackets don't have a barb on their stinger and don't leave their stinger in you, so don't bother trying to scratch it off.

• Yellow jackets can live in a hole in the ground. If you have a nest on your property you may get a surprise the next time you mow. Vibration can set this insect off.

• Yellow jackets prefer meadows and the edges of forests to build their nests.

• Male yellow jackets don't sting. But don't think for a second that those hundred yellow jackets that just poured out of that nest are male. The males fertilize the queen and tend to the young.

• Yellow jackets drink the nectar from flowers.

• When a yellow jacket dies it releases a pheromone (scent) into the air that inspires other yellow jackets to swarm and protect the nest.

• A wasp queen is larger than both the males and the females inside a nest.

• The same stinger a sterile female yellow jacket uses to sting you is the same organ that would have been used to lay eggs if she were a queen.

• Yellow jacket nests have been found inside the cab of cars, on the outside of an abandoned truck, in an unused upholstered chair, an entire attic space, and even a bird feeder.

If you have yellow jackets around your home it is a sign that a nest is nearby. Give us a call at Thomas Pest Services. Our technicians know how to safely remove those nests and give you practical advice on how to keep your home protected from these stinging pests.