Beware the Buzz
Beware: yellow jackets are resilient, aggressive and can sting repeatedly – and painfully.
Ah, late August/early September – when you squeeze sweet Ontario strawberries into that daiquiri, or top your ice cream with Niagara peaches, 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 backyards.
That’s because it just loves to nest in and around houses, finding those cracks under the roof that 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. That’s why they’re buzzing in your prized, secret-recipe barbecue sauce.
It’s short-lived, but for now they have our world on their sting.