How to Kill yellow jackets?

[radioman]

I normally use gas in hole when I can. On my rental property, its in the city so I cant use open fire. So I dumped half a can of sevin in hole and surrounding. within a couple days all yellow jackets were dead. Doesnt matter if it during day or night since the dust is there for them to crawl/walk on.

 

[SPIKER]

For years I used the small pop bottle half full of gas/oil mix 2cycle mix. at night or day invert the bottle into the nest & walk away the bottle will seal the hole opening when ya shove it into the hole. leave it set for a good hour the fumes kill everything in the nest. works best late at night but day time works too and will have a LOT of swarming fat bees around the pop bottle I;ll then break out the brush burner for those.. I use spot on flashlight on the opening to blind them as there are still guards at night that can get ya. Last few years I been using a big weed burner to cook them quickly. any that are out foraging for food will pretty much fly right into the flame & get cooked as well. I most often will run it at just a modest wispy flame after a few minutes of high fire frying I lay it down on low flame right over the hole. they dont see ME or the fire as a threat the fire makes them want to get into their nest ASAP and will try & fly right through it.

The seven dust also works I usually when fire wasnt an option or raw gas that was next step. I use a 3/8" hard plastic line that I drilled and epoxied into the lid of a 1 liter pop bottle (note works real well for getting oil into car rear ends too.) the 3/8" plastic line is pretty heavy and about 10feet long. it is the flexible polypropylene type but I would bet even hard line would work well. I fill up a foot or so of the line (just stuff the line down into the bag/tube) and then squeeze the pop bottle and blow it into the hole opening. this works well for house side walls ect.

Mark

 

[Skyco]

The best thing I've found, although a slow process, is to put out traps in the early spring. Catch a queen and you've eliminated preemptively a whole colony of thousands of yellow jackets.
Used to have lots of them at my camp...now rarely see even one. It did take a couple of years to knock them down.

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

I have used the large whole house foggers for bedbugs and fleas, just hit the valve, lock it down, stick it in the hole and run. about 20 minutes later maybe one or two flying around. I know it's not specifically for bees/wasps but it does the job.

Although when I was about 12 I was cutting the grass with a push mower when I put my foot in the entrance to a yellow jacket nest, I don't know how I thought of it but I pulled my foot out, spun the mower around super fast and left it running over the hole until it ran out of fuel. Didn't get stung and no more jackets either.

Tom

 

[DougM]

I would use Sevin dust ....just place some of it at the entrance of the nest where they have to walk or crawl thew it and in hrs they will be Gone

 

[schoolsout]

Delta Dust is better than Sevin in this type of application

 

[chucko]

well they seem to be gone. been raining almost every night so it is hard to know for sure.

 

[Combustix]

I have found a small tactical nuke delivered from a drone works best:laughing:

 

[techwrtr2]

Third approach is to hire a raccoon or skunk to dig up the nest. We have had one working our property pretty well this summer; unfortunately, it didn't get the hornet's nest until the night after I got stung!

I used this method twice last summer with total effect. The key was making it easier for the skunk (or whatever) to dig it up. In the first, the nest was well concealed until I killed off the weeds around the nest. Wsn't long before the nest provided a couple of meals. Second nest was no more than 2 yards away. This time the little bastards had fortress complete with stone abutments to protect the entrance to their home. One cool night late, I quietly removed a few stones. That nest also provided somebody with a nice meal.

I'm rather surprised I've not hit more nests where I mow. I guess I"m lucky.

 

[kenmac]

Found them when I was clearing with a bush ax (well they found me)

I was doing the same thing last mo. They also found me. 1/2 bottle of diesel fuel stuck in the hole. Next day no more YJ

 

[9973720wb19]

How close are you to a 110v source? If close, a large bug zapper will sizzle every one of them in short order. I have done it for revenge after accidentally bumping their nest/ hole in the ground by pampas grass.

JJ i purchased a bug zapper today and tried this. i set the zapper right on the hole and ran...they came out in full force; swarmed and attacked the zapper BUT on the outside only. they don't seem to going into the zapper - just attacking the outside and will not "go to the light".

 

[Pilot]

Like Skyco I trap the queens in the spring, as soon as the temps get reliably into the 70's. Got about 25 this year; it was a slow year. I usually get about 50. We had very few queens on our firewood last winter, so I don't think they reproduced well last year.

It was early August before I saw a single worker.

The key to trapping is the right location. If the trap isn't trapping, move the trap. One location gets about 9% of all the queens I catch and it has been that way for 15 years.

 

[tommu56]

We had trouble with ground bees at my dads place I found you legally cant kill them.
But if you have grubbs and and try and kill the grubs and loose a few bees in the process so be it :laughing:

So look at using grubex to control the grub's and see if you get any fringe benefits:thumbsup:

tom

 

[JohninCT]

Call in the turkeys I was using a walk behind brush mower and ran over a YJ nest. Got stung a bunch on the legs, shut the machine off and ran to the house. After tending my stings and having a cold drink I went out to find a flock of turkeys having lunch on YJs.

 

[tcreeley]

I found them under some lumber and weeds. I moved the lumber and then ran over the weeds where the nest hole was and stayed put for a few minutes with the riding mower. They didn't survive the blades. Not a single one after that. If it is real messy - try a bush hog!

 

[General Lee]

I found 2 nests of yellow jackets around the house this year. One in the back yard and just found one today in the front yard. One stung me on the wrist today. I had pulled some bushes out of the ground and filled in the areas with new dirt. While I was tamping the dirt with a hand tamper, BAM! one got me. I was working about 5 foot away from the nest, not knowing it was there until the tamping pi$$ed them off. Took care of the nest this evening with some gasoline.

The initial sting isn't to bad, but man as time goes on the swelling and redness gets intense. The little buggers pack a punch.

 

[9973720wb19]

JJ i purchased a bug zapper today and tried this. i set the zapper right on the hole and ran...they came out in full force; swarmed and attacked the zapper BUT on the outside only. they don't seem to going into the zapper - just attacking the outside and will not "go to the light".

JJ, et al.: - i never thought I'd quote myself but I want to say my prior post was wrong. at first (for about two hours) i witnessed (from some distance) the bees swarming around the zapper and it did not appear they were going in to get zapped. however, i went back the next morning and examined the zapper and was filled with bees! and i went up to the hole and found about 50 more dead on the ground around the hole. i sprayed right into the hole for good measure and i have not seen one bee since. long story short...using a zapper over a yellow jacket's hole is a clean, easy, effective way to win the battle. many thanks JJ...:thumbsup:

 

[chucko]

they are gone but still have a red mark on my hand where they got me. Looks like a blood blister

 

[LMan1967]

"I say we nuke them from orbit...it's the only way to be sure."

 

[jlawso21]

I have had great success using a product called "Spectracide" wasp and hornet killer from Home Depot. It comes in a black and white spray can. Doesn't cost too much and the can allows you to stand 20' to 30' away from the hole.

I always have at least one can handy. One can will wipe out two normal size yellow jacket nests.

john