Extension Investigates Giant Yellow Jacket Nests

One attribute of being an Extension Agent is that I just never know what to expect next; never know what kind of phone call I might get. Sure, I get calls on the common stuff like tomatoes diseases, spots in the lawn, and armadillos digging in the yard, but its those unusual things that sparks my curiosity and gets me excited.  This year, the call of the year, has to be the reports of giant yellow jacket nests.  If you have been paying attention to the newspapers and TV, you are likely familiar with this intriguing story. Now I didn’t quite believe it myself until I saw the giant nests in person.  Let the record show - they are for real!

My first call came from a homeowner in Prattville about a large hornet nest sitting in the grass.  It was not until I saw the photos of the 3 foot tall nest that told me it was yellow jackets and not hornets.  This was strange because yellow jackets do not build above ground nests.   When I called one of our Extension Entomologists about this unusual situation, it was then that I learned that other agents across Alabama were getting reports of the same thing - giant yellow jacket nests.

A few days later, I became aware of reports of a giant yellow jacket nest in the backseat of an old car in Tallassee.  Word was that is was very big.  I told myself I had to go see this!  So two Extension entomologists, Dr. Charles Ray and Dr. Xing Ping Hu, and I went to see this unusual natural phenomenon.  My description won’t do it justice but let’s just say - unbelievable! The yellow jacket nest covered the entire interior of the old car.  There were tens of thousands of yellow jackets everywhere. The entomologists nor I had every seen anything like that.   

Since then, reports of giant yellow jacket nests in and on old houses, in cars, in barns, and out of the ground have been coming in from all across central and south Alabama. Dr. Ray initially reported only 16 nests across the state. However, after extensive media coverage of these super-sized nests, this past week the number of unconfirmed large nests had grown to about 35. Agents, like myself, are now monitoring the reports of yellow jacket nests and are helping insect experts learn what is causing enormous yellow jacket nests throughout central and south Alabama.  Thus, far I have personally seen five, including a magnificent one on the eave of a house in Thorsby in Chilton County. 

Entomologists are studying all these reports because they are not quite sure what caused yellow jackets to create such large nests.  One theory is that many of the workers survived our mild winter and had to expand the nest for this year’s offspring.  Other theories are that these super nests might contain multiple queens. Just last week, Dr. Ray inspected a nest extracted from a mattress found in a barn in Macon County. He and fellow researcher, Dr. Xing Ping Hu, counted 22 queens within 16 square feet of comb. Ray estimates a normal-sized nest contains only about 2 square feet of comb and supports only one queen.

If you find a giant yellow jacket nest, please contact me or your local Extension office.  We are keeping track of them and are trying to learn as much as possible about why these insects built super nests.  Do not try to remove the nest or kill the yellow jackets without professional help.  Such large numbers and multiple entrances/exits throughout the nest make it a very dangerous and life threatening situation.  It is best to leave them along and contact us for advice and assistance.

For more information, contact the Tallapoosa County Extension Office at 256-825-1050 or visit us online at www.aces.edu.