How to Keep Yellowjackets Away From a Pool

Yellowjackets frequent pools for a nice cool drink.

Yellowjackets are helpful to the environment because they are a type of predatory wasp. They attack and eat insect pests. Unfortunately, some individuals are allergic to the venom that comes from the sting of a yellowjacket. Severe allergic reactions can occur, which may even lead to death. If you own a swimming pool that is attracting yellowjackets and someone in your household is allergic, you will need to kill them.

Things You'll Need

• Long clothing
• Gloves
• Goggles
• Hat
• Mask
• Insecticide
• 2-liter soda bottle
• Utility knife
• Soda
• Dish soap
• Stapler

Instructions

Eliminating the Nest

1. Search your property to see if you can locate the yellowjacket nest. The nest will most likely either be underground in a hole where a rodent used to live, underneath a woodpile or in the wall of your home or shed.

2. Dress in long clothing, gloves, goggles, a hat and a mask. This will protect you against the chemical insecticide.

3. Spray inside the entrance to where the yellowjackets have built their hive with a chemical insecticide that specifically states it is made for controlling yello jackets. Do this only if you are not allergic to yellowjacket stings, and make sure you do it late at night when the yellowjackets are less active.

4. Retreat back into your home immediately after releasing the spray. The yellowjackets will all begin die, eliminating any visitors near your pool.

Trapping the Yellowjackets

1. Jab an empty 2-liter soda bottle with a utility knife near the top where the bottle starts to curve. Carve around the curve to remove the top portion of the soda bottle.

2. Pour 3 cups of soda and 1 tablespoon of dish soap in the bottom of the soda bottle.

3. Flip the top portion of the soda bottle so that it is inverted. Set it inside the bottle and staple in place.

4. Set the homemade yellowjacket trap several feet away from your pool. The yellowjackets will enter the trap but won't be able to get back out. They will drown in the soda/water solution.

5. Replace the yellowjacket trap with a new one every few days until you no longer spot yellowjackets in the bottom of the bottle.

Tips & Warnings

• Call a professional pest control expert if you are not successful in getting rid of the yellowjackets on your own, or if you are allergic.

References

• The University of Kentucky; Controlling Wasps, Hornets and Yellowjackets; Michael F. Potter; January 1994
• University of Minnesota; Wasp and Bee Control; Jeffrey Hahn, Phil Pellitteri and Donald Lewis
• Pest Control Canada: Cheap, Effective and Easy to Build Wasp Trap