Yeah, I've been trying to keep a sharp eye out while walking around on our property this time of year. We usually have to wipe out a couple of nests every year, but so far we haven't found any. And we've actually been doing a lot of brush clearing lately around the house so I've been on full alert for any suspicious looking holes in the ground or flying insects coming off of the ground. Actually you can't even trust a place you walked through just a few days ago, because it seems they create an active nest very rapidly.
A couple of years ago we were away for a few days, and when we came back a yellow jacket nest had set up shop right along the path between the carport and the house. We walked in through the front door of the house and I heard a strange buzzing noise. I thought something electrical was going awry, but then I felt a sharp pain on my left leg. Then another on my right leg. I was able to swat the four yellow jackets clinging to my pants legs before another one could land a punch. They were just buzzing their wings to beat hell while looking for a spot to plant their stinger. Evidently they had either grabbed onto my clothes, or else chased me to the front porch as I passed by their nest. I had no regret whatsoever destroying that nest and it's nasty occupants. A couple of days later FedEx delivered a package and I noticed the driver was making a wide berth walking around that area to deliver the package. She said that she had gotten nailed by several yellow jackets there too several days ago. That particular colony seemed to be especially aggressive, so I was glad I was able to remove that gene pool from the area.
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