You can use protein-based baits, including tuna-flavored canned cat food, chicken skin, cold cuts, and ground meat. In the summer, sugar baits might work better. Try fruit juice, grenadine, ice cream, or a bit of fruit jelly.
Don’t try to mark the nest directly – spraying it or poking a marker flag into it can upset the colony and cause the yellow jackets to swarm and attack you.
After you’ve treated the nest, you can leave insecticide dust at the entrance of the nest. That should kill any returning yellow jackets that weren’t already in the nest.
You can find these quick freeze sprays in most home improvement stores, or in the “home” section of your grocery store. Most quick freeze sprays work 10 to 15 feet (3 to 5 m) away, so you shouldn’t need a ladder unless you’ve found a nest that’s very, very high up.
You may need to wait a few minutes after spraying the nest to use the dust. Once you spray the nest, a few yellow jackets may fly out of the nest, so you don’t want your hands anywhere near there!
Don’t use this paste near your eyes. If you don’t have meat tenderizer, you can make a paste with baking soda to apply to the sting. If the meat tenderizer or baking soda doesn’t work, hold an ice cube to the sting for 20 minutes.
