James wrote the following:
Because I had one in my compost heap. The entrance was right on top of the pile with what looked like a marbleized plastic spill around the hole. I saw the wasps entering and leaving the hole. Because mine was on top of a pile, I just dug it up with a pitch fork and destroyed it.
because yellow jackets nest IN the ground.
Find the entrance. Get your Wet Vac out and place the suction hose close to the entrance. Turn the vacuum on and go get a cup of coffee. Read the newspaper.Get the aerosol hornet killer out and shoot a small amount into the still running suction hose. Place the hose back at the entrance. Go get another cup of coffee. Repeat as necessary.
I'm mostly a live-and-let-live kind of guy too, and had no problems weeding the garden yesterday at the same time the buzzing things were harvesting nectar. And I have no problems if they live out back past the point where I bother to mow, or in the graveyard behind me, or in the drainage lot down the street etc. But I just came back in from spraying a nest in the usual spot in the front yard, where I need to mow tomorrow. (Not sure why they always pick That Spot year after year, unless they like how the moles pre-dig the hole for them.) I've accidentally run the mower over 'bee fountains' 3-4 times in the 5 years I've been here- even had them fly under my shirt and sting me. That is annoying enough that I feel no guilt about nuking nests that are on MY turf. All they gotta do is move a couple hundred feet in any direction, and they will get no grief from me.
Note that if you have anyone in the house with a history of anaphylactic (sp?) shock after bee stings, all bets are off. Epi pens aren't always enough.
I even have some in the garage. Two kinds, hornets and those black with white stripes. Funniest thing. No matter if they are trapped inside or outside, they patiently wait for me to open the garage door every morning so they can tend their nests. If I leave during the day and close the door, there are there when open it to go in or out. They fly by me, sometimes stop and look for a minute then move on. Every herd of such a thing? I'm amazed.
First, use a little care.
Yellowjackets start with one queen at the beginning of the year, the rest die during the winter. By the end of August the colony is generally about 1500. The fatal dose (assuming no allergies) is between 500 and 1000 for the average human. So, do the math!
Living in Virginia, I usually find one nest a year while mowing the lawn. I think they start in a mole tunnel then dig it out.
I kill them with soapy water. I set a couple five gallon pails of water and laundry soap near the hole, wait until dark, and pour it in. No risk like with gasoline or pesticides. I've never had this method fail, though I've sometimes had to do it a couple of times. It took a little nerve the first time, I thought they might wake and come flying out the hole, but that's never happened.
I've tried the sprays and other methods. The sprays all get soaked into the ground before they get to the nest, here anyway. Spraying with or trying to fill their hole(s) with water doesn't generally get rid of them either. Pouring, quite a bit of, gasoline or kerosene down the hole near or after dark and ingniting it from a safe distance works. Don't wait a half hour after pouing the gas though. The stuff will woomph all around you. You might just get singed.
About a dozen people have suggested the 'cleansing fire' solution in this thread, just like all the times before when somebody has asked about the same problem. Just like before, it is a dumb idea, and can get you in trouble with the law for putting the ground water at risk. Doesn't matter if it works, the downside is too large.
I know, playing with fire is fun, but you can't buy real M-80s any more either.
There is a law that says you can't use fire to get rid of yellow jackets??? You don't use enough gasoline to fill a well. A quart or so is generally all it will take but I have seen a nest that was over 5 ft deep.
I guess he says the same about having an asphalt driveway on your property,
Not always. They'll build typical wasp's nests, on buildings, trees, and such, too.
Bees, other than carpenter bees, yes, live and let live. Wasps, yes, no problems with them. Hornets (and carpenter bees) die, no discussions. Nukes come out, if necessary.
My wife doesn't fare well with bee stings, but it's not that critical, or at least hasn't been.
One can kill. Do the math.
That's an excellent idea. Begnign, too. I'll file that one away.
There is a law that says you cannot put gasoline into the ground and another that frowns heavily on arson.
Ask your local EPA droids or your fire marshal about that.
Since I've moved to CO, I've encountered some bizarre species of wasps/YJs/bees. Howzabout a wasp the size of a bumblebee and colored like a holstein cow and furry! Or lil' bitty bees no bigger'n a small house fly nesting in an old decorative log. I've seen a wasp the size of a mosquito. Didn't know if it was a separate speies or jes an infant wasp. Whatever the reason, CO elevation seems to be enviornment numero uno for weird winged stingy things.
I once thought I was allergic. Now think I'm not. when some stingy thingie gets me, the pain is nonexistent to tolerable and only lasts a day at most. The real problem is the itching. Last sting, I itched so badly for 3 wks, I wanted to chop my foot off!
nb
Walmart has something with that name on the box. Knowing our EPA, it is probably confectioners sugar, though.
Not to belabor the point, but I believe that yellow jackets are like other bees and once you've wiped out their base and killed the queen, the drones just get lost.
uh..... arson? can't use gas or presumably anything to burn yellow jackets? You're not serious?
The tiny wasps probably are mud-daubers. They fill any available tiny hole to put their larvae in.
that is what we need to do to the dems in november.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.