Common Denver Pests

Yellow jackets are a type of wasp species that are between 3/8″ and 5/8″ in length. These wasps are social insects, which means they live in large colonies with several hundred individual workers. Yellow jackets are considered to be more aggressive than many other stinging insect species. However, most yellow jackets will not sting unless they feel threatened or are defending their nests from potential predators.

These frightening wasps construct their nests out of paper, and have been known to nest in trees, around buildings, inside logs, and even in the ground, depending on the species. Yellow jacket nests can grow to be quite large, with anywhere between 500 and 15,000 cells, and may consist of several thousand wasps within larger colonies. If yellow jackets are nesting on your property, there’s a chance they were initially attracted to your home by an open garbage can or other accessible food source.

Yellow jacket stings can be painful, and may even trigger anaphylactic shock in individuals who are allergic to yellow jacket venom. It’s important to understand that yellow jacket infestations should never be dealt with alone. Professional stinging insect treatment and control is always better than putting yourself and your family at risk by taking wasp control into your own hands.