Aggressive type of yellowjackets arrive in Connecticut

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – A bigger and more aggressive strain of yellowjackets has arrived in Connecticut.

They’re called southern yellowjackets. Typically you’d find them in the southern eastern part of the country.

Norman Patterson Jr. who goes by the Yellowjacket Expert, said the yellowjackets are making their way up to Connecticut because summers are getting warmer.

Patterson has removed wasp nests for 35 years. He uses an organic process, not using any chemicals to remove the insects. He uses a vacuum to put them in a jar, keeping them alive, to then give to a medical lab. The lab extracts the venom for allergists to use.

About three years ago, he was removing a nest when he noticed it was much angrier than usual.

“I saw this one nest in the ground, very aggressive, very big nest,” he said. “And I thought, ‘this doesn’t feel right, something’s wrong here.'”

He said it was a southern yellowjacket nest. He removed a handful of them last year, and about 15 nests this summer.

The alarming thing about southern yellowjackets, according to Patterson, is that they are more aggressive and will sting multiple times.

“I have personally felt the pain of the aggression of southern yellowjackets, and I tell you, when you disturb their nests by mowing over them or banging, it’s the vibration that bothers them, they’ll come screaming out of that nest,” he said.

So how do you know if you have a nest in your home?

“What people need to look for is the consistent traffic to one spot,” Patternson said. “That tells you there’s a nest, that’s in a hole in the ground.”

The good news is that here in Connecticut, a nest of yellowjackets usually die in the winter.

Patterson said he has to do more research to find out how long southern yellowjackets stick around, and exactly where they’re making their nests.

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