Yellow Jacket Execution

[beenthere]

A source for some comparative information on yellow jackets (bees that nest in the ground) versus the bumble bee, paper wasp, baldfaced hornet, sweat bee, honey bee, carpenter bee is here.

wasp, bees, yellow jacket, bumble bee identification

 

[JDgreen227]

I have been working on my eaves in preparation for the coming weekend's roofing job. Although I have never had the problem of a large yellow jacket nest, there were dozens of large wasp nests around my house when I moved in, and there are still a few small ones around. Rather than balance on a ladder and attempt to spray them, I simply hooked up multiple wand extensions to a 6 hp shop vac with a 2 1/2 inch hose, turned it on, and laughed my rear end off watching them try to sting the end of the wand and get sucked into the tank. It also made short work of getting the nests down. Most bees hit the inside of the vac hard enough to kill them and when you are done, plug the suction end of the hose into the exhaust port and let the vac sit for a few days. Resist the urge to peek at how many you caught until you think it's safe.

/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Richard]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( plug the suction end of the hose into the exhaust port and let the vac sit for a few days )</font>

in winter time, we get HUNDREDS of wasps inside our house as they are (I suppose) looking for the warmth.

We have taken to doing just as you say above, however we use one of those vaccums that have the clear dirt container. (does that mean it only contains clear dirt?) /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

anyway... as the wasps are inside the canister, a bit groggy we'll leave it there to kill them, however for some good measure, every now & then I'll go back & turn the vaccum back on just to watch them swirl around like Toto, in the vortex of the canister.

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[TCowner]

Two years ago I purchased a small shop-vac to leave in the house for the sole purpose of sucking up the billions and billions of asian lady beetles that come off the soybean fields in the Fall and look for winter cover in our house. I've also used it with about 20 feet of extension to suck up the ocassional wasp that finds its way in as well.

The shop vac has such turbulence that no insect can survive. I must admit I love the sound of the insects being sucked and being pulverized inside the vac.

I'm actually surprised that this thread has not had any contributions from the insect rights activists who claim that the insect is just part of nature and we must learn to live with them. At my place if your an insect and you bite, sting, or otherwise irrirate me you pay with your life. Frankly, I could care less if universe has one less beetle, wasp, hornet, etc. I will give the common honey bee a break and that is only because they leave me alone.

 

[DannyD]

does it look anything like this little beauty that let me know I was to close today. I got about 10 of these before me and the bota where out of there

 

[shvl73]

I've done just that with a shop vac, I also sprayed a full can of hornet spray into the cannister before I used it, just in case. It wasn't needed, all that was left inside were pieces, no whole ones. The power is too great for them.

 

[Alan L.]

Diazinon works very well. The insects drop to the ground on contact.

 

[Poppa]

Danny, looks like bald face hornets to me. Vicious little guys. I try to avoid them at all costs but sometimes they have to be taken out.

Here is how not to do it. Once when I worked for a surveyor, we were out clearing line for a survey. One of my co-workers was working his magic with a machete. He swung into a thick pine tree and happened to slice a volleyball sized nest in half. Needless to say the hornets became very mad, very fast. Even with the reflexes of a twenty-year old he got hit 26 times before he escaped. Luckily I was not around him at the time.

Mike

 

[PineRidge]

Dan that thing gives me the "willies" just looking at it. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[DiskDoctr]

Shvl73,

[I've done just that with a shop vac, I also sprayed a full can of hornet spray into the cannister before I used it...]

Be very careful spraying ANY type of compressed and flammable substance into a shop vac.

Ever seen someone with hairspray and a lighter make a blowtorch? Basically the same thing, since most vacs make some sparks internally and are susceptible to static. I haven't looked at the ingredients of hornet spray lately, but I seem to recall hydrocarbons, and a distict "flammable" warning.

Probably wouldn't do enough to harm anyone or start a fire, but would be heck for the vac /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif as it blows the top about 10 feet in the air /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Side note: Don't vacuum up any flammable liquids with a shop vac, either. Both are a recipe for an explosion.