Yellow Jacket Stings: Symptoms, Treatment, And How To Avoid Them

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Bites and Stings

What to Do for Yellow Jacket Stings

Medically reviewed by Meredith Goodwin, MD, FAAFP — Written by Alison Rachel Stewart — Updated on June 9, 2025

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Symptoms
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You can treat yellow jacket stings with antihistamines and home remedies. But an allergic reaction requires immediate medical attention. If you’re allergic, always carry an epi-pen.

Yellow jackets — properly known as Vespula, Dolichovespula, or Paravespula — are thin wasps with black and yellow coloring and long dark wings. Here you can learn how to treat their stings and prevent them.

What are yellow jackets?

Yellow jackets have stripes that often cause them to be confused with honey bees, although bees tend to be rounder in appearance. Unlike bees, which create hives that produce honey, yellow jackets live in nests, which can be found in secluded areas or on the ground.

Bee stingers have barbs, so they stay in the skin, then break off from the insect and it dies. Yellow jacket stingers are smooth, so they can sting multiple times, and the stinger is not left in the skin.

You may also experience inflammation or redness around the sting a few hours after being stung. Fatigue, itching, and warmth around the injection site are also common symptoms for many people.

Yellow jacket sting symptoms

Once you’ve been stung, it’s not uncommon to experience swelling, tenderness, or redness near the area that’s been stung. Some symptoms warrant emergency medical attention. These may include:

coughing or wheezing
problems breathing or swallowing, or having tightness in your throat
changes to your skin, such as breaking out into hives
feeling lightheaded or dizzy, or passing out
vomiting or diarrhea

These may be symptoms of an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that can be life threatening.

If you or someone near you is experiencing an allergy or anaphylaxis, you should:

Call 911 immediately.
See if they have an epinephrine (adrenaline) auto-injector (Epi-Pen) and inject them if needed.
Try to keep them calm.
Help them lie on their back.
Raise their feet about 12 inches and cover them with a blanket.
Turn them on their side if they are vomiting or bleeding.
Make sure their clothing is loose so they can breathe.
Avoid giving them oral medications or anything to drink, and avoid lifting their head, especially if they’re having trouble breathing.

If they stop breathing or become unconscious, you may need to perform CPR.

»MORE:Allergic Reaction First Aid: What to Do

Yellow jacket sting treatment

Use an ice or cold pack for the pain. Applying an ice or a cold pack to the affected area can help immediately reduce inflammation and the painful swelling associated with a yellow jacket sting. Wrap the ice or cold pack in a towel or washcloth before applying it to the bite to protect your skin. Leave the ice on the bite for at least 10 minutes for best results.
Take an antihistamine. The body produces a chemical known as histamine in an effort to protect the body from foreign substances, which is partly what causes swelling and itching. Taking an over-the-counter antihistamine such as Benadryl right after getting stung can reduce these symptoms.
Mix up a paste of water and baking soda. The venom that yellow jackets produce is naturally acidic. Baking soda can help counteract the venom naturally. Mix a spoonful of baking soda with water, and then apply with a cotton swab or ball to the yellow jacket sting to help neutralize the venom.
Use vinegar to reduce itching. Simple vinegar can act as an astringent and keep you from clawing at the bite, which could lead to further infection or inflammation. Just put a little vinegar on a cotton ball and pat it on the affected area.
Sprinkle meat tenderizer on the wound. There’s actually some truth to this old wives’ tale. This powder typically has an enzyme called papain. This enzyme is naturally found in papaya fruit and helps break down the proteins in meat, and it may do the same for the venom of a yellow jacket sting. Rub a tiny bit of meat tenderizer on the bite to see if it helps reduce the pain and swelling. However, the research on the effectiveness of this method is limited and inconclusive.
Use an Epi-Pen. If you or a family member is allergic to yellow jacket stings, keep an Epi-Pen handy. Be sure to talk with your doctor about when to use this powerful prescription drug.

»MORE:Get care for insect bites and stings in as little as 15 minutes with Optum Now Online Care.

Optum Now is operated by RVO Health. By clicking on this link, we may receive a commission. Learn more.

How to prevent a yellow jacket sting

During the warmer spring and summer months, yellow jackets are out in force, feeding off of flowers so they can nourish themselves and their colonies.

They tend to be more aggressive than honeybees or bumble bees, making a sting more likely. Follow these tips to reduce the chances of getting stung:

If you’re dining outdoors, dispose of trash or cover food immediately to keep any lurking yellow jackets away.
Wear clothes that cover any areas that can be stung.
Avoid carrying any exposed sugary food or drinks or wearing any perfumes that can attract insects.
If you’re hiking and come across a bunch of yellow jackets, that’s a sign a nest may be nearby, so try to take an alternate route.
Swatting aggressively at yellow jackets also makes them more likely to attack, so it may be best to remain calm and limit any sudden movements if one lands on you.

Frequently asked questions

Here are answers to more questions about yellow jacket stings.

How do I remove a yellow jacket stinger?

Yellow jacket stingers do not stay in the skin because they are smooth. If there is a stinger in the skin that can be seen, the insect may not have been a yellow jacket.

What should I do if I get stung by a yellow jacket?

If you get stung and are not experiencing severe allergy symptoms, remove the stinger and follow the treatment guidelines in this article. If you or someone near you is experiencing an allergy or anaphylaxis, you should call 911 and use an Epi-Pen. Perform CPR if the person is not breathing.

How long does a yellow jacket sting last?

Most of the time, the inflammation will stay contained to the area of the sting and will get better in a few days. In about 10% of cases, people can experience a larger, more painful reaction to an insect sting. This is not an allergic reaction but can take longer to resolve.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

Arif F, et al. (2022). Hymenoptera stings.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK518972/
Bee or yellow jacket sting. (2022).http://www.seattlechildrens.org/medical-conditions/symptom-index/bee-or-yellow-jacket-sting/
Bees, wasps, and hornets. (2018).https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/insects/beeswasphornets.html
Controlling yellow jackets around your home. (2016).https://www.centralsan.org/sites/main/files/file-attachments/yellowjackets.pdf?1511470465
Insect sting allergies. (2018).https://acaai.org/allergies/allergic-conditions/insect-sting-allergies/
Recognizing and responding to anaphylaxis.https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/downloads/recognizing-responding-to-anaphylaxis-508.pdf
Pucca MB, et al. (2019). Bee updated: Current knowledge on bee venom and bee envenoming therapy. /https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6743376
Treatment. Insect bites and stings. (2019).https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/insect-bites-and-stings/treatment/

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Medically reviewed by Meredith Goodwin, MD, FAAFP — Written by Alison Rachel Stewart — Updated on June 9, 2025

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