Take cover: yellow jackets taking over neighbourhoods

Take cover: yellow jackets taking over neighbourhoods

Newmarket

Ah, August – when you sit on the deck and enjoy the last of summer.

Then, the unwanted guests drop in – those dreaded yellow jackets. We’re not talking about the loudly dressed neighbours but the Vespula germanica, the stinging wasp now commandeering back yards.

That’s because it just loves to nest in and around houses, finding those cracks under the roof  the squirrels and raccoons didn’t.

But the yellow jacket can be a dangerous nuisance. Last week, a former guitarist for Stompin’ Tom Connors died after falling from a Milton rooftop while swatting at wasps and a Burlington man set his house on fire by tossing a cigarette butt at a wasp.

Wasps are also relentless. As summer ends, the colonies’ flying foragers are out for more sugar to feed the queen and the workers.

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