I hate Yellow Jackets!

[tractchores]

My concern is accidentally finding another nest, I need a bee detector...
The nests in the ground are very hard to spot. Does anyone have any information on what an undisturbed nest looks like, is there a mound, do the bees frequently fly in and out. How close can you get before they start swarming.

I've gotten very good at spotting them while working. The key is to look for hovering bees and a constant stream of bees coming and going in the same direction (usually once every few seconds). The bees flying in the same direction has served as the best detector for me because nothing else really flies like that. It saved me twice in the last couple of weeks, once when I found a nest in the woodpile while splitting wood (it was the next log I was going to grab!!), another with a huge nest under my deck and another one in some rocks by a drainage ditch I was working in. To kill them by far the best solution I've found is the spray you get at the hardware store and shooting it directly at the nest entrance right at dark. All you need is a second or two spray and the nest is done and you don't get stung if you do it and run, even if its underground.

 

[NHmitch]

We have had the worst issue with Yellow Jackets and hornets this year. I am a bit confused about the yellow jackets and what we have been experiencing. I use to spray them with Hornet spray, and that would usually kill the nest, however my wife uncovered a basketball sized nest of yellow jackets the other day, and after she was stung, I used my tractor, and a long rope to pull the ATV away quickly where they had attached them selves to the tarp covering it. I then proceeded to use 7 cans of hornet/wasp spray over the next two days,a nd they would not die. i switched brands, and even with their nest crumpled on the ground, they just kept living, and coming back, even after the nest was saturated with spray. I finally had to light the nest on fire with gas, and it burned for almost 45 minutes, and they were still dying. They are finally gone, and we have another HUGE nest that we have been walking over all summer next to a wild blueberry bush, that we picked from all summer. We have used several cans, a hose with insect killer spray in the hole, we lit it on fire, and the opening burned for about 30 minutes, and we used several more cans, and they will not die! I am lost about what to do next. I thought about buying a can of the insect bomb, setting it off, and sticking it in the hole, or possibly a smoke bomb that is used for rodents? I want to pour quickrete in the hole, but then I would just make them a hardened shelter. Any ideas? I really, really hate yellow jackets, and my tractor seems to attract them..

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Carb cleaner works pretty good on them

 

[AchingBack]

Renting a skunk for a day is one of the best natural ways to eradicate a yellow jacket nest. If your local rental yard doesn't have one; go to the supermarket and pick up some liver. At dark put the liver right by the entrance to the nest. The nearest skunk will find its way to the feast, and will be surprised to see there is desert there, too.

This always works for me. The skunk will literally tear the nest apart to get to the little buzzers.

 

[Don87]

We have had the worst issue with Yellow Jackets and hornets this year. I am a bit confused about the yellow jackets and what we have been experiencing. I use to spray them with Hornet spray, and that would usually kill the nest, however my wife uncovered a basketball sized nest of yellow jackets the other day, and after she was stung, I used my tractor, and a long rope to pull the ATV away quickly where they had attached them selves to the tarp covering it. I then proceeded to use 7 cans of hornet/wasp spray over the next two days,a nd they would not die. i switched brands, and even with their nest crumpled on the ground, they just kept living, and coming back, even after the nest was saturated with spray. I finally had to light the nest on fire with gas, and it burned for almost 45 minutes, and they were still dying. They are finally gone, and we have another HUGE nest that we have been walking over all summer next to a wild blueberry bush, that we picked from all summer. We have used several cans, a hose with insect killer spray in the hole, we lit it on fire, and the opening burned for about 30 minutes, and we used several more cans, and they will not die! I am lost about what to do next. I thought about buying a can of the insect bomb, setting it off, and sticking it in the hole, or possibly a smoke bomb that is used for rodents? I want to pour quickrete in the hole, but then I would just make them a hardened shelter. Any ideas? I really, really hate yellow jackets, and my tractor seems to attract them..

Pour a little gasoline in the hole and walk away. They breathe through their skin, and the fumes alone will kill them.

 

[Don87]

I had 2 yellowjacket nests on my house within 6 feet of each other, Another nest in one of my bushes, and a bald faced hornet nest on the back of my house. All at the same time. :shocked:

 

[tractchores]

We have had the worst issue with Yellow Jackets and hornets this year. I am a bit confused about the yellow jackets and what we have been experiencing. I use to spray them with Hornet spray, and that would usually kill the nest, however my wife uncovered a basketball sized nest of yellow jackets the other day, and after she was stung, I used my tractor, and a long rope to pull the ATV away quickly where they had attached them selves to the tarp covering it. I then proceeded to use 7 cans of hornet/wasp spray over the next two days,a nd they would not die. i switched brands, and even with their nest crumpled on the ground, they just kept living, and coming back, even after the nest was saturated with spray. I finally had to light the nest on fire with gas, and it burned for almost 45 minutes, and they were still dying. They are finally gone, and we have another HUGE nest that we have been walking over all summer next to a wild blueberry bush, that we picked from all summer. We have used several cans, a hose with insect killer spray in the hole, we lit it on fire, and the opening burned for about 30 minutes, and we used several more cans, and they will not die! I am lost about what to do next. I thought about buying a can of the insect bomb, setting it off, and sticking it in the hole, or possibly a smoke bomb that is used for rodents? I want to pour quickrete in the hole, but then I would just make them a hardened shelter. Any ideas? I really, really hate yellow jackets, and my tractor seems to attract them..

It might be that you have something that isn't yellow jackets and need a different type of spray. Some types of hornets look like yellow jackets and need different types of sprays. While burning and gasoline is fun neither is particularly effective & Gas leaves you with contaminated ground, which is not good if you've got a well. The right spray will make short work of them. Its possible that you had something like bald faced hornets (very nasty).

 

[cqaigy2]

I had 2 yellowjacket nests on my house within 6 feet of each other, Another nest in one of my bushes, and a bald faced hornet nest on the back of my house. All at the same time. :shocked:

My Brother in-law is an entomologist and says if you kill the nest on the house and leave it, other hornets won't build near by. I killed one on the front of the house and haven't had another new nest for a couple years so far. Those are hornets though, im not sure about yellow jackets.

 

[rd_macgregor]

If you have ground-nesting hornets, go out at night and drop a couple of mothballs into the hole, then cover it with a board or rock to hold the fumes in. This approach has worked really well for me in the past. Of course, the flaming death approach has a certain appeal, after getting stung a time or two this summer!
BOB

 

[RalphVa]

Yep. Hit a nest with my Gravely once. I ran off and left it sitting there running. Went to house, suited up with long sleeves, pants, gloves, hat with drop-down netting and came back to rescue the Gravely. This time of year, I use the bushhog on my JD fully suited up. A half cup of gasoline poured down a hole kills them. Wait until around sundown.

Cultivate skunks and bears. One of them has saved me many times by digging up the larvae combs just the night before I'd planned to run the bush hog or mower there.