Help! We have yellowjackets inside our house! Every day we find 2 or 3 yellowjackets buzzing around upstairs, banging at windows. We can’t figure out how they are getting in. More importantly, why are they getting in?
– C. E., Rye, NH

The first thing is to have the wasps identified to make sure that what you are seeing are indeed yellowjackets. There are other wasps that look similar, like the European paper wasp. The next thing is to have a professional exterminator inspect your home and the immediate perimeter, looking for wasp nests on the house, under the eaves, in the attic, or in nearby trees or ground.

If there is a nest in very close proximity, wasps could be entering through an open window or other opening. If your wasps are yellowjackets, I doubt that is the case. It’s more likely that the yellowjackets are nesting inside your house and are trying to get out. Most yellowjackets nest underground, entering through nickel–sized holes, but some build their nests inside buildings.

Your Home is Now Their Home!

Yellowjackets will find an outside opening on a home that lets them into a void space — perhaps around the roof line, between bricks, or around a vent. They can then start a nest in an attic, or inside a wall or ceiling void. As the nest grows throughout the summer, workers fill the space between joists with paper combs filled with yellowjacket larvae. Usually homeowners don’t even know that there is a growing yellowjacket nest in their home (see “When Yellowjackets Nest Inside Homes!”).

Your indoor nest may have literally outgrown its space, and a few wasps have found a different way out of the void. In late summer, in our area, yellowjacket nests begin to break down and die. No new larvae are produced and existing larvae are often killed. Next year’s queens are produced in the nest to replace the current queen. Yellowjacket workers no longer care for the welfare of the nest and begin to forage for themselves. You may be seeing these restless workers, or even newly emerged queens that are looking for a place to spend the winter.

Indoor Yellowjacket Nest Destruction is a Job for a Pro

Control, and possible removal, of an indoor yellowjacket nest is definitely a job for a professional (see “Should a Wall Void Yellowjacket Nest Be Removed?”). If the job isn’t done properly, you could end up with a house full of angry yellowjackets. Even if you can find their entry point on the outside, the nest itself can be 30 feet away. Give Colonial a call. Our technicians are familiar with this scenario and can determine whether the nest is inside or outside. They know how to find and eliminate yellowjackets nesting in homes.