Yellow Jacket Execution

[timb]

Hmm you guys have given me some ideas here for shop vac use!. I have used mine to suck up the hundreds of mixed variety spiders (and the webs) that like to set up shop in the basement. Seems to be pretty effective there as well. Flying bugger-wise, it's been a slow spring. Locally the yellow jackets are only starting to show up now - up to now it's just been a few thousand carpenter bees.

 

[polecat]

I had one of those nest's on the eave of the house last year...bout 4' from the bedroom window!!!! I used to love going up into the bedroom and beating on the wall...then (thank god for screens!!!) slapping the screen and slapping!!!!Literally hundreds of them trying to git at me ..they would literally cover the screen..In my very long histrory with these menaces...the most aggressive by far is those guys...yellow jackets next...have been stung dozens of time but do my death blows at night now!!!!...Be very careful!!!!!...Try to aim for the main entrance too!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif...Don't touch the nest !!!! period!!!!! and make sure yer spray is on gentle shower if using a big sprayer..they'll think rain till its too late......Quite a rush....ain't it !!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[DAP]

Dany ... that's the other was/hornet I was talking about. He's gonna go down.

 

[DAP]

K. Mid-Battle Report.

I picked up via TBN advice Ortho Wasp/Hornet Killer, can with a purported 20ft range. I picked up a competitor brand too and will report on that after it's used.

20ft was about right, but it was an arc, not a laser line.

Anyway ...

SCORE: 7 NESTS 0 - DAP 100+


I sprayed a total of 7 large nests and I would guess that 75% of the residents were home. This stuff did the trick. 2 of the nests were under a rail cap on a deck and the other 5 in a BBQ.

While it did not KILL on contact it did DISABLE on contact. Most fell squirming and writhing to the decking/ground and died agonizing deaths 5 minutes later. The KEY here is not too miss on the initial blast.

I did not miss. I stopped counting at 70 corpses.

I have about 10 more nests to tackle this week.

WARNING: Much to my concern, each product I perused had a warning that PROHIBITED USE ON VINYL CLAD SURFACES. WHITE VINYL SURFACES WILL BECOME DISCOLORED WITH CONTACT WITH THIS CHEMICAL.

Quite a few of the other 10 nests are indeed on vinyl soffits. I am formulating a plan.

Sorry for elongating the results.

PS.. I did take some action shots but they were severely blurred. Apparently my sprinting mechanics are not as smooth as they were 20 years ago.

I'll keep trying for the image hungry here at TBN. This battle is not yet complete.

Oh .. and one other thing. This really irks me. I used up maybe 10% of this can of ortho on these nests (closely located). Yellowjackets are also known to make nests in the ground. The instructions for ground nesting yellowjackets were to "EMPTY THE CONTENTS OF THE CAN INTO THE NEST HOLE".

Presumbably so you can go out and buy lots more Ortho cans. This I think is overkill and a totally unscrupulous marketing ploy to buy buy buy.

Stay tuned.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Poppa]

Doug, since you were so miserly with the spray, if you have an extra piece of the vinyl soffet material lying around, spray it and see what happens.

Good job so far, I'm a rooting for you,

Mike

 

[beenthere]

The paper wasps have the hanging nests under the eaves and vinyl, and they are not as aggessive as the yellow jackets that have their nests usually built in the ground. When in the ground, the yellow jackets are harder to kill, and I would empty the whole can on them per the instructions (however I use a dose of gasoline on the ground nests, with a lighted match following close behind and whuuummpp!!!).

Lately, I have discovered the Ortho Home Defense product (perimeter and indoor insects), for spiders, daddy-long-legs, ants, and other crawling creatures. It has a very handy 'sprayer' that hooks to the container and seems to work very well, spraying around doors and garage areas that have been the hangout for such critters. I am very pleased with it.

 

[DAP]

Also ... I just realized that my guess is that it would take a good 30 seconds or more to EMPTY that can.

When slaughtering untold yellowjackets who've nested en terra, seems that standing "inside the perimiter" for 30 seconds or more would pretty much gurarantee an enemy flanking movement and subsequent casualty to your troops.

They got multiple holes for egress methinks.

 

[DAP]

Alan, I think, not sure, that that is the active ingredient in the Ortho can I used.

 

[polecat]

I posted a while back on ground nests!!!..find the main entrance ...try jumping on it and then runnin like heck...i think u will be surprized at how fast they come out...git yer push mower out ...check yer oil first...weight down the handle ...set mower above the nest runnin and back up bout 50' and enjoy the carnage...might even git out yer lawn chair and a cold one and smile!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gifthey will attack till everone in the nest is pretty much gone!!! cost ...maybe .75 worth of gas and the price of a couple of cold ones!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif plus this keeps poisons out of yer lawn!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Poppa]

Todd, going to have to go with Beenthere, here. Same seventy-five cents worth of gas is going to give more bang for the buck, so to speak, by dumping and lighting. Your way works I have no doubt but a small explosive WHOOMP still beats a running mower any day.

Besides, with the WHOOMP method there is no reason to have to check your work. With the mower method you will probably have to go retrieve the mower at some point and for me it would take a large number of those cold ones to get the nerve to do that. I once let a weed eater run for two hours. Had to wait for it to run out of fuel and then longer for the yellowjackets to stop being mad at it before I could get the weed eater back. Since then I never fuel a weed eater all the way up, just guess at enough to get the job done.

And I still ran the whole way in and back for the retrieval!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mike