Yellow jackets...

[Rich Z]

About a week ago, I was outside pulling up grape vines and their attendant root network when apparently one of the roots went through a yellow jacket nest. Luckily only one of them got me, but still, not exactly an experience I want to experience very often, if at all, again. So I broke out some general insect spray we had sitting around and sprayed the nest. Must have worked, because I haven't seen any more yellow jackets around there.

So today I was putting some sections of watering hose together, and noticed some yellow jackets in back of the house flying into a hole right next to the house foundation. Damn... The hole is in through rocks that we had bordering the foundation wall, so spraying poison into it and sealing the hole so the suckers don't come at me will be a bit more difficult.

I've heard that tackling them at night is the best bet, as they can't see very well at night, but then again, neither can I. I don't think having bees pouring out of a nest and me and them running around blindly in my back yard would be a whole lot of fun.

The spray poison I used wasn't really designed for bees, as they seemed to keep flying around quite a while after being sprayed. Don't think I would want to get stung by bees also carrying around a load of insecticide besides their sting. I think that sucker that got me also bit me, as when I saw him on my forearm, at first I thought it was a yellow fly hunkered down taking a bite.

Anyone tried any yellow jacket nest removal that worked well for them? The nest is in the ground, obviously. I've read people using boiling water, gasoline, even flour, to do the job. I've read that the nests can get VERY large by the Fall months, so I don't want to wait until I have some huge colony of these suckers to have to deal with. I wouldn't be real keen on neither Connie or myself getting stung multiple times if they just get aggitated over something. Years ago I had a few sting me apparently because they got aggitated over the weather. Stong winds from an approaching hurricane seemed to get them as concerned as it did us.

[THOR]

Do you have a local bee keeper around as a resource? I know they use smoke to calm them before extracting the honeycomb. Hope this helps.
If not, perhaps a local bug extermination service.

[Rich Z]

I checked on the nest today and yellow jackets are all over the back of the house. This has to be a real recent development, as I have been back there quite a bit lately, and they weren't there till real recently. Wonder if that nest I thought I killed just migrated to this new location?

Regardless, they have to go. Even doing anything to the pool pump is too close to that nest for my comfort. As is the hose valve I've been using to water a couple of plants back there.

I guess I'll be running out tomorrow to get some wasp spray. That stuff tends to paralyze bees on contact, so I want to knock them down before they come at me. Even at night, as warm as it is here, I'm sure they will still be a bit active. Since I'll have to have a flashlight to see what I'm doing, that will likely be a target for any sentinels on duty during the night shift.

I will have to move some plant pots out of the way surrounding the nest hole so I can put something to cover the hole once I spray it, so I'll have to spend more time than I would like right there in the vicinity. I've still got a mark on my arm from that sting/bite last week, so no way I want a bunch of them getting me.

[toms silver 60]

If they are coming out of the ground, they are probably wasps. Spray the crap out of them, that stuff works good. Get a few cans and make sure they work and you know which way to point.. With luck, when they try to come out, they will come into contact with it and die. Make sure everybody is clear as well as any pets. The spray is also damn good as a personal defense weapon, so don't get it in your eyes.

Ace hardware people might have some suggestions as well.

You might also remotely flood them out with a garden hose so they will migrate to a bad neighbor.....

[Rich Z]

They are DEFINITELY yellow jackets. No doubt about that...

[Rich Z]

A few days ago, Connie went and removed those plant pots from around the nest entrance, and apparently the bees didn't like that much. They vanished. The nest was apparently abandoned. I was hoping they took off for the deep woods so they wouldn't be a nuisance around here close to the house. Since I hadn't seen a trace of them for several days, I was thinking that this was likely the case.

Well, Connie found the new nest this morning. Out by the pool enclosure. She was cleaning the automatic pool cleaner when one got her on the leg. Luckily she didn't get stung by more of them, as she said they were all over the place when she dropped the part she was rinsing off right on the nest entrance. OK, so this is WAR now.... I am NOT going to have a bunch of bugs dictate to Connie and I where we can or cannot go on our own property.

There is a small depression in the ground that they are building their new nest in. Odd thing is that I was just out there yesterday with the new pressure washer I was using to clean off the pool enclosure with, and they weren't there then or likely they would have been offended at my being so close to them. So I'm guessing this is a brand new nest they are beginning to build.

Time to nip this in the bud before they decide to relocate somewhere else. I'll eyeball where that entrance is and tonight spray it with the wasp spray I picked up and cover over the entrance.

[Rich Z]

Last night I got my weapons prepared. Ortho wasp spray and a BIG rock to place on top of the nest entrance. I then put on long pants, a jacket, gloves, and a hat. Figuring I would limit the amount of exposed bare skin as much as possible. Even at nightfall the temps were still hitting around 90 at that hour, so coupled with the tension of the impending battle (or slaughter, if everything went according to plan), my sweat was running freely and profusely.

I squatted about 6 ft. from the nest entrance and watched the yellow jackets returning from their foraging as the light gradually diminished. I held that post till it got so dark that I could no longer see if their were any more bees returning, but still light enough that I could still barely see the hole in the ground. I grabbed the wasp spray and pointed it at the hole and pressed on the button on top of the can. WTH? Nothing. Pressed again. Nothing.... Great...... Connie was over on the porch watching me (she said she wanted to be nearby in case she needed to drag my bee sting riddled corpse away), and yelled over that the button on the can was REALLY hard to depress. She used it earlier in the day on a wasp nest on the porch. I pointed the can in another direction and used my THUMB and REALLY pressed on it, and that seemed to break it loose. So I then pointed it at the nest entrance and let loose with a stream. WTH (again)? This stuff has the consistence of highly pressurized shaving cream. So in short order I had a big mound of white foaming shaving cream on top of and all around the nest entrance. Not sure how much, if any, actually went INTO the hole, since it was so thick, but I was kind of committed at this point. So I foamed it up BUT GOOD. I tossed the flat rock on top of the hole anyway (at least I hoped it was on top of the hole, kind of hard to tell now), spraying more all around the edges of the rock for good measure, just hoping for the best. But that certainly did not go as planned. I guess I violated one of the cardinal rules of doing battle. KNOW YOUR WEAPONS.

Today I inspected my work. The rock seemed to be covering the hole, so at least I did that accurately. The foam was gone, of course, so hopefully it then flowed into the nest. I watched the area for quite a while and eventually a yellow jacket showed up and crawled underneath an edge of that rock. I used a pole and pushed the rock in that direction to cover up any part of the hole that might have still been open. And I watched some more. Only saw one more yellow jacket, and this one, too, appeared to be trying to return home to the nest. He just flew off when he apparently could not find the entrance. I did not see any other opening anywhere nearby with yellow jackets congregating around it, so hopefully this was the only entrance to that nest. I don't think that nest could have been there too long, as Connie and I have been in that same area a LOT over the last several days before Connie got stung.

I'll leave things be for another day or two, then I'll flip that rock (actually it's an old piece of asphalt) off of the hole and see what happens. But I'll have my guard up in case another nest springs up somewhere else. I think Connie got shaken up by that sting, as she isn't all that keen to get outside and do any more gardening at the moment. I know the feeling, as I'm pretty jumpy too whenever any bug lands on me now... Enjoying nature isn't quite so easy to do when it bites and stings you.

[toms silver 60]

Originally Posted by toms silver 60

If they are coming out of the ground, they are probably wasps. Spray the crap out of them, that stuff works good. Get a few cans and make sure they work and you know which way to point.. With luck, when they try to come out, they will come into contact with it and die. Make sure everybody is clear as well as any pets. The spray is also damn good as a personal defense weapon, so don't get it in your eyes.

Ace hardware people might have some suggestions as well.

You might also remotely flood them out with a garden hose so they will migrate to a bad neighbor.....

Trust me on this one, I bought a 2 pack at home depot and neither one worked. Nothing quite like having a bunch of ticked of WASPS coming after you and your spray is barely coming out.....Anyways, better living through chemistry!

[Rich Z]

Originally Posted by toms silver 60

Trust me on this one, I bought a 2 pack at home depot and neither one worked. Nothing quite like having a bunch of ticked of WASPS coming after you and your spray is barely coming out.....Anyways, better living through chemistry!

Well, technically I guess Yellow Jackets are wasps, but these are ground nesting wasps, not ones that make nests in trees or under eaves of a house.

I think my procedure may have worked. I'll pull that rock away in a few days and see if anything comes out. If they are still there, then I'll go to Plan B.

[CHASZ51]

They pack a big punch when they sting. I got nailed 4 times a few years ago, they just came out of nowhere and popped me.