What’s all the buzz about yellowjackets this fall in Michigan?

LANSING – Yellowjackets are a commonly found pest flying around your residence during the summer and fall.

They sting, bite and are more aggressive than your average bumble bee.

A noticeable rise in yellowjacket populations in Michigan has left people wondering: Why am I getting stung so much?

Dion DeGennaro, the president of Sergio’s Pest Control in West Bloomfield, said in a CBS News interview that the increase of yellowjackets is due to a multitude of factors, but a main one is a process called trophallaxis.

Trophallaxis is used between bugs to directly transfer liquid food and bodily fluids to one another. When bee colonies start to die off in late summer and early fall, yellowjackets lose their main source of food which is bee larvae.

Related:

Yellowjackets use the trophallaxis process to break down their prey.

The diminished numbers of bee larvae causes them to starve and become more aggressive and to rely on humans for sources of food, said DeGennaro.

Areas in the southeastern part of the state have seen larger numbers of the insect, according to DeGennaro.

Sarah Hughson, an arthropod diagnostician and a specialist on plant and pest diagnostics at Michigan State University, says yellowjackets are most likely to sting people in late summer and early fall.

“Yellowjackets start to build their nests and populations during the early summer times. They reach their peak during the late summer and early fall and become more aggressive due to stress from declining food sources,” Hughson said.

They are desperate for something to eat, which may be why people are more likely to be stung this time of year, Hughson said.

Farrin Forsberg, a lifetime resident of Okemos, says the number of yellowjackets around her house has increased tremendously.

“They seem a lot meaner than previous years,” Forsberg said.

“I moved into this house in 2016 and we always had them around, but they seemed to be especially bad this year.”

“I recently went into anaphylactic shock after I was stung by a couple of yellowjackets. I had to rush to the emergency room and was told I now have developed a severe allergy to them due to how many times I have been stung over the past couple of years,” Forsberg said.

DeGennaro said in the CBS interview that yellowjackets commonly borrow in the ground, in gaps in bricks and on siding of houses and can build full nests in bushes.

While avoiding these pests may be difficult, DeGennaro suggests first calling a professional to handle the problem but also suggests looking for and avoiding small holes in your yard while mowing and planting gardens.

This story was originally published by the Capital News Service.