repellent for "meat bees"? They were everywhere in Strawberry.
yes
Once you have ensured you are, definitely, dealing with yellowjackets, here are some options to consider:
Yard cleanup - eliminating piles of yard or lawn trimmings, piles of lumber, or other unnecessary debris on the ground will eliminate much of the shelter the yellowjacket Queen looks for in establishing the initial nest. Cleaning up fruit that has fallen on the ground will take away a food source and attractant and help keep yellowjackets from congregating in your yard. This is especially important in late summer and fall, when we have a double edged sword - not only are we more likely to have the accumulation of foods, from apple or pear trees, tomato plants, etc., but the yellowjacket colonies also have reached a peak in their population.
Sanitation - cleaning garbage cans, tabletops, and other surfaces where we have spilled food. This, too, attracts the yellowjackets, as well as nasty flies that we would really prefer not to share our table with. If you look around your yard and find a buildup of the shiny, sticky honeydew on the plants (from the aphids) you should consider washing it off with the garden hose. You can speed that process up with a hose-end sprayer attachment with some liquid detergent in it.
Watch What You Wear! - yellowjackets may be attracted to certain colors (yellow, orange, or purple seem to be favorites) or odors, such as perfume or cologne. Commercial insect repellents do not seem to do much to deter yellowjackets.
Trapping - various kinds of traps are available, designed to entice yellowjackets in, where they are trapped and cannot escape, dying within the trap. These can be laced with baits that may come with them, or with meats or sweets that you can buy yourself. Those that work well are fish baits - sardines, mackerel, salmon - or citrus flavor soda syrups. Traps should be placed away from those areas where people frequent, to draw the pests away from people rather than to them. Experience seems to indicate that, while you will no doubt catch a lot of yellowjackets, you should not expect to eliminate an entire colony simply by using traps.
Spraying or Dusting - this works well, and may be the method chosen by a Professional Pest Control company, should you contract with one to take care of the problem. However, these experts have protective clothing and application tools you may not, as the chemicals may excite the yellowjackets when their nests are sprayed or dusted.
Generally spraying a yard area is of little value, and "directed spray" aerosol cans are designed more for the smaller, exposed nests of "Umbrella Wasps".
Baiting - this is an ideal method, as it provides food mixed with a toxic product, which the foraging workers collect and take back to the nest to feed to their larvae. In the process they kill not only all the larvae, but also themselves, as they are exposed while carrying the meat in their mouths.
Only one pesticide is labeled for this, and it is not generally available to the retail market. However, it is used widely by the professional pest control industry which is trained in how to use it correctly and with little exposure to animals that are not intended for it. Contact a licensed pest control company if you would like more information on this.
Yellowjackets are certainly "beneficial" in their role as predators of other bugs, but there are times that their presence in our yards or homes cannot be tolerated.
Once you have ensured you are, definitely, dealing with yellowjackets, here are some options to consider:
Yard cleanup - eliminating piles of yard or lawn trimmings, piles of lumber, or other unnecessary debris on the ground will eliminate much of the shelter the yellowjacket Queen looks for in establishing the initial nest. Cleaning up fruit that has fallen on the ground will take away a food source and attractant and help keep yellowjackets from congregating in your yard. This is especially important in late summer and fall, when we have a double edged sword - not only are we more likely to have the accumulation of foods, from apple or pear trees, tomato plants, etc., but the yellowjacket colonies also have reached a peak in their population.
Sanitation - cleaning garbage cans, tabletops, and other surfaces where we have spilled food. This, too, attracts the yellowjackets, as well as nasty flies that we would really prefer not to share our table with. If you look around your yard and find a buildup of the shiny, sticky honeydew on the plants (from the aphids) you should consider washing it off with the garden hose. You can speed that process up with a hose-end sprayer attachment with some liquid detergent in it.
Watch What You Wear! - yellowjackets may be attracted to certain colors (yellow, orange, or purple seem to be favorites) or odors, such as perfume or cologne. Commercial insect repellents do not seem to do much to deter yellowjackets.
Trapping - various kinds of traps are available, designed to entice yellowjackets in, where they are trapped and cannot escape, dying within the trap. These can be laced with baits that may come with them, or with meats or sweets that you can buy yourself. Those that work well are fish baits - sardines, mackerel, salmon - or citrus flavor soda syrups. Traps should be placed away from those areas where people frequent, to draw the pests away from people rather than to them. Experience seems to indicate that, while you will no doubt catch a lot of yellowjackets, you should not expect to eliminate an entire colony simply by using traps.
Spraying or Dusting - this works well, and may be the method chosen by a Professional Pest Control company, should you contract with one to take care of the problem. However, these experts have protective clothing and application tools you may not, as the chemicals may excite the yellowjackets when their nests are sprayed or dusted.
Generally spraying a yard area is of little value, and "directed spray" aerosol cans are designed more for the smaller, exposed nests of "Umbrella Wasps".
Baiting - this is an ideal method, as it provides food mixed with a toxic product, which the foraging workers collect and take back to the nest to feed to their larvae. In the process they kill not only all the larvae, but also themselves, as they are exposed while carrying the meat in their mouths.
Only one pesticide is labeled for this, and it is not generally available to the retail market. However, it is used widely by the professional pest control industry which is trained in how to use it correctly and with little exposure to animals that are not intended for it. Contact a licensed pest control company if you would like more information on this.
Yellowjackets are certainly "beneficial" in their role as predators of other bugs, but there are times that their presence in our yards or homes cannot be tolerated.
Looks like I'm out for this one. Something's going on with the truck and I can't figure out exactly what the problem is yet. But it definitely won't be driveable this weekend. 
I think everyone has my number if you need to talk at me.
