Santa Clara County''s 100,000+ acres of parkland appear to be particularly suited for yellowjackets. The district is working with schools and parks to ease the nuisance of these stinging insects using several techniques. Due to their omnivorous habits, yellowjackets are attracted to picnics where they may show up in great numbers. School children may be pestered by these species during outside lunches. Standing or sitting near a yellowjacket nest can be dangerous too since they are aggressively defended. The district currently assists Santa Clara County Parks in managing yellowjackets by destroying their nests. See county parks for more info and maps. Nests that of found are removed by digging.



Ground-nesting yellowjackets utilize abandoned rodent burrows to construct their tiered paper nest. From above, the nest appears to be a simple hole in the ground or hidden within ground cover. Below lie up to several thousand yellowjackets where the queen and workers tend to eggs, larvae and pupal yellowjackets.