During the Fall months, cool and dry conditions prompt visits to local pumpkin patches, corn mazes, festivals, and football games.

However, the Fall months are when flying insects like hornets and yellow jackets are most aggressive -- especially when humans trek on or near their turf.

I talked with Matt Breda of Breda Pest Management to find out the best ways to avoid the painful sting this season.

Q: What is the difference between a yellow jacket and a wasp?

“Yellow jackets and hornets and wasps in general -- they are meat eaters, they are carnivores.”

“They go after insects -- they’re not going to really pollinate things, they’re not known for pollination -- like your honey bees are known for being excellent pollinators, which they are.”

“Your wasps -- which by the way, yellow jackets are truly a wasp -- they are meat eaters, they are carnivores.”

Q: They’re not going to go after my steak, they are just going to eat other insects. But they are obnoxious, and when they sting you, it hurts a lot. So how do I get them out of my garden?

“Yellow jackets and hornets are really the two that we are most concerned with, because they are the ones that will attack in bulk, going after our kids, going after our seniors, and that’s pretty scary.”

“So when you are going out there, be very mindful in the ground -- that’s where yellow jacket nests are. And then obviously, your hornet nests are going to be up higher in trees.”

“So it’s really -- making sure we are teaching people to be aware of their surroundings, because yellow jackets are going to go in-and-out of the hole constantly.”

“So just being aware -- because you do NOT want to step on a yellow jacket nest. Although you see them going in and out of one hole, they always have a secondary hole that you are not aware of over there -- that’s how smart yellow jackets are.”

“Bottom line: Don’t just focus on one hole, know where the secondary hole is.”

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