Late summer is the dangerous part.
A yellow jacket colony that started in May with one queen holds thousands of workers by August — and the workers get bolder as the season peaks. Most stings happen in late summer, usually within a few feet of a nest someone didn’t know was there: a ground hole by the mailbox, a wall void behind the hose bib.
Bald-faced hornets build the big gray footballs in trees and on gables — beautiful, and defended by a colony that does not appreciate a ladder. Paper wasps tuck smaller open combs under every railing and deck joist they can find.
The spray-and-run approach fails on math: hit a nest at noon and most of the colony is out foraging — and comes home angry to a soaked nest. The smashers treat when the colony is home, remove the structure, and tell you which spots on your property will try again next year.