Middletown Residents Offered Free Wasp, Hornet Removal

A family-run Litchfield County insect removal company is offering to remove 

The Middletown Health Department, Mayor Daniel T. Drew and The YellowJacket Expert LLC of New Hartford announce a free program available to Middletown residents during the months of August and September.

The YellowJacket Expert LLC will be doing free removal of yellow jackets and hornets as well as nests for residents of the City of Middletown. They collect stinging insects for medical labs who need the venom for sting allergy patients. 

Norman Patterson, owner of YellowJacket Expert, has been collecting for labs for over 17 years. His son, Josiah Patterson, 17, has been helping his dad ever since he was a little boy. 

The YellowJacket Expert's web site explains the process:

• We will come to your house and draw off the yellow jackets, greatly reducing the population. This will NOT immediately kill the nest. Be aware that the nest will have a few left but it will die soon. They do not return to the same nest next year. If you have a big nest, we may come back and recollect in 7-10 days. Because we often can’t kill the nest for free, we will milk the nest unless it is in a dangerous place. Please read about “milking” your nest here.

Joseph Havlicek, director of Health for the City of Middletown, states, “Many people suffer from bee sting allergies that oftentimes could lead to death due to anaphylactic shock if highly allergic and gone untreated when stung. A program such as this is beneficial to all those with poor tolerance to bee venom and has lead to medical breakthroughs for this vulnerable population.”

Drew says, “I am happy that a private company has shown interest in providing this free service to our residents. As mayor, I welcome them and thank them for choosing the City of Middletown as an area that they would like to concentrate on.  

"At time same time, many of our own residents and beyond will ultimately benefit from this process.”

To join the free collecting list, see here; for yellow jackets, see here. For white-faced hornets, call (860) 379-6078.

For additional information, call Patterson at (860) 379-6078 or Sal Nesci of the Middletown Health Department at 638-4966.