Construction: I started with a 18" piece of 1.5" PVC. The muzzle end has a coupler with a reducer to drop the end to 1/2", it has a nice flare on the inside to help the dust flow out, I have a thread to barb adapter on there which the hose is installed onto.
The butt end has a 1.5" adapter to go to threaded pipe. Then it has reducers to drop it down to 3/4". There are two 3/4" threaded street elbows to turn it around (this to allow me to hold and control it with one hand) this has a side benefit of giving me a handle to remove the butt assembly with. There is a 3/4"-3/8" reducing bushing in the second elbow which does to a 5" piece of 3/8" black iron, followed by a 3/8"-1/4" reducing coupling. I then installed a 1/4" shutoff and a male QD for the airhose.
Overall Picture (Including Aggie, the supervisor). The end that the air hooks into unscrews to allow filling
The removable end, the reducers and the first elbow are glued together so as to keep them from unscrewing. The air hose hooks on the quick connect and the valve controls airflow. I normally open it 1/4-1/2 way. More and there is a lot of blowback
To fill from a 3# sevin cannister, remove the whole plug/sifter so that you have a hole like this:
This is the wrist portion of a kitchen glove. It fits perfectly over the can
The other end of the glove fits perfectly into the end of the gun. This allows me to fill it (I put 1-2 cups in) without spilling it all over the place. It also keeps me from having to touch the dust.
Steps to use it:
- Remove the cap
- Fill with Sevin
- Cap the "butt" end
- Connect the airhose to it (with the valve closed)
- Spray the entrance of the nest with bee killer (to knock out any sentries)
- Stick the hose down the entrance (or against it)
- SLOWLY open the valve while standing UPWIND
- Shake the gun to prevent clumps from blocking the hose
- Cleanup as directed by the directions on the Sevin cannister
Some notes: Do not put anything that reduces the size of the hose, it will cause clumps to form while you are trying to use it (I found this when I put a piece of 1/4" black iron pipe into the end to act as a tip).
If anyone has any questions or would like to see more pictures, ask away.
Aaron Z
. The access point is a poorly sized unsealed opening for the vent fan. I just moved into this house in August, took a while to realize the nest was there. Anyway, it is getting colder out, +3C (about 38F) right now so I am wondering how cold yellow jackets need to be before they aren't much of a threat. I have a walk out basement from the laundry room which the downstairs bathroom opens onto. My thinking is to seal the opening from the laundry room to the rest of the house, open the outside door to let both rooms cool down then pull the bathroom vent fan out and hopefully have access to the nest that way. If I can reach it I will use the shop vac and whatever else is needed to remove the next. If I can't reach it I guess the gyproc saw will work, a hole to fix in the ceiling is better than sharing the house with such unpleasant types. I have a bug jacket with a screened hood and, since it will be cool I will wear thick clothes with openings taped, just in case but, it would be better if the YJ's were all too cold to get nasty.
