Yellow jackets: the ankle-level ambush
Sandy lowcountry soil is yellow jacket country — colonies nest underground, and the first sign is often a lawnmower or a bare foot. Unlike honeybees, yellow jackets sting repeatedly and defend the nest in numbers. Ground nests are the removal that most reliably sends DIYers to urgent care: a jug of gasoline and a match is not a plan. Suited treatment at dusk, when the colony is home, ends it in one visit.
Paper wasps and bald-faced hornets
Paper wasps build the open umbrellas under every eave in town — small colonies, generally calm, but intolerant of vibrations near doors and playsets. Bald-faced hornets build the big gray footballs in shrubs and trees and defend them with real enthusiasm. Both come down cleanly with the right reach and treatment, and the removed nest leaves with the tech — not in your trash can.
Keeping next season quiet
Queens overwinter in attics, wall voids, and behind siding — which is why nests reappear in the same spots year after year. After removal, the entry points and last year’s anchor points get flagged, and sealing the soffit and siding gaps is the difference between a one-time visit and an annual reunion. The prevention notes come with the paperwork.