"Homeless"
Yellowjackets can be a Serious Fall Nuisance and a Health Threat
As the days get shorter and the weather gets cooler in late summer through early fall, many species of yellowjacket queens stop laying eggs. New queens emerge, mate and find protected sites to stay over the winter. Worker yellowjackets stop foraging for the colony and go out more often on their own. They are attracted to sweets or syrups, such as that left in the bottoms of soda cans. These and other sweet things in and around garbage cans or bags can draw dozens or even hundreds of such pest wasps. Since they not longer have a colony to provide for, these yellowjacket workers tend to “hand around” garbage cans, soft drinks, or any other sources of sweets they find. Some become even more aggressive than they were before. They may even try to protect their new food sources, just like they used to protect their colony’s nest, and that can lead to people being stung.
The first step in solving this problem is to clean up all spilled sweet materials thoroughly, placing all soda cans and anything similar in tightly-closed heavy plastic bags. Wash and rinse all solid surfaces and food or drink serving utensils frequently. Keep all sweet foods, drinks and fruits covered until they are about to be eaten.