yellow jacks (wasps)

[Alan]

This may be off topic for this group so please point me to the right group if it is.

I have a room in the basement and found yellow jacks flying around. Today I killed about 10 of them. They are attracted by the light bulb which is when I see them. They only appear in the basement. I have checked the perimeter of my house and cannot find any nests. I cannot find any nest inside either and I cannot track them back to their nests since I cannot follow them with the light off and with it on they go to the light.

Does anyone have any idea how to find their nest or how they are getting in?

Thanks.

Alan

[KK from NJ]

Might want to try your question here.

[Countdown to 55]

I've had both yellow jackets and bumblebees nesting inside the house walls. Both times they were getting in thru a small hole in the cedar siding very close to the bottom of the house, so that when they did make it into the house, it was into the basement.

I also have one section of the garage that has a little alcove with walls and I just found out last week when I went to work on the cedar siding in that area that bumblebees are in between those walls, getting in thru a small hole close to the bottom of the siding.

The funny thing I've personally found with wasps and bees is to learn to look

*down,* not up, at where the nests might be if I think the nest in inside something. I generally find that if they're going *inside* someplace, they're going in down low. Once actually had a whole nest of wasps underground at my dad's place in rural Wisconsin. He went over their entrance/exit hole in the ground with the lawn mower and oh. my. gawd. They were not happy campers. And neither was Dad. And they definitely had the advantage in that battle.

Cindy

[Michael TS]

Or, try the alt.consumers.pest-control newsgroup.

[RamblinOn]

If they are really yellow jackets, you probably don't want to find the nest :o) They are a job for an exterminator. They can nest in the ground. Once had them in the space under our fiberglass bath enclosure, which had a fairly large area beneath that wasn't poured when the slab was poured. Bare dirt and they were in the space somewhere. You should be able to watch for traffic and see where they enter/exit from a safe distance. Stepping onto a nest can be rather unpleasant, and I would be cautious. Don't let kids in the area of where they are until you know where it is, or run a mower over where the nest could be located.

[Craig Peterman]

Call a professional. I dug into a large nest of yellow jackets one afternoon. Must of got stung over a 100 times before I made it to the nearby pond.

where it is, or run a mower over where the nest could be located.

>

[Larry Caldwell]

If you ever get stuck in that situation again, hit the dirt. I discovered that trick as a teenager. I took off running and was so scared I tripped over my own feet and fell down. I didn't get stung.

Once you are on the ground, you can crawl away.

[George E. Cawthon]

[mark Ransley]

If you look around your house you will find their entrance, through the ground, or wall, problem is when to spray the nest you will have 1000s in your basement mad as hell. I dont know your basement construction, or how many people or pets, but you will have to spray the basement, at the same time. I used a gopher bomb in the basement and hit the nest with ortho sevin , then left for a day, you can do it yourself, but you should get a price and means of attack from a pro, as the summer goes on their numbers wil grow.

[Alan]

Thanks for everyones response. I went to

and posted my problem and followed their recommendation. I used the light in the basement to be an indicator when there was activity. I then went outside and stood away from the house looking for activity. I found where they were crawling pretty quickly. (Luckily I picked the correct side of the house the first time.)

I have siding and was hoping it wouldn't be in the wall. Unfortunately is was so I'm going to leave this for a professional.

Alan

[Zemedelec]

BTW, just for enquiring minds...Yellow Jack is slang for yellow fever, which cut such awful swathes in the early history of this city (New Orleans.) Spread by mosquitos, which now have gone mod and spread West Nile Fever as well. zemedelec