Issues in Choosing an Insecticide for Yellowjackets
Avoid poison baits: A common practice is to hang containers baited with diazinon mixed with an attractant such as cat food on tree branches. Foraging yellowjackets take the bait back to their nests to feed their larvae, and the colony eventually dies. This practice has important drawbacks. Children, pets and other beneficial insects may be harmed by the bait.
Also, because they are only one of many competing food sources that attract foraging yellowjackets, the baits are not very efficient in controlling them.
Avoid Fire: A traditional method of dealing with underground yellowjacket nests is to pour gasoline or kerosene down the entrance hole and toss in a match. This is very dangerous. Besides the risk of burns or a possible explosion, the soil around the nest is poisoned. Other techniques are safer and more effective, causing the least damage to your environment.