# Do yellowjackets sleep at night?



## snoozy

I've got a nest of yellowjackets right above the front door, and suddenly it has turned into Grand Central Station with the little vipers coming and going about 3 or 4 a second. One stung me in the ear, so it is time to stop 
living-and-let-living and kill them :viking:.

I was going to use spray starter fluid, which worked so well on a paper wasp nest, but I am hoping there is a time when they are all inside the nest. Do they sleep at night?


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## BaronsMom

No, they don't really sleep. But, at night - they are all back at the colony. 

You still have to be careful even at night, there are a few yellowjackets near the entrance - if they sense danger (usually from vibrations), they'll release a pheromone which triggers the others to come out and attack if necessary.

If you have an evening when it gets a bit cooler, that's the best time. Use a flashlight with red cellophane or red tissue paper over the light (bees and wasp can't see light when it looks red). 

Insecticide dusts work best because they track it around back into the colony but you gotta get the dust into the opening.

For more information, check with UNL Website - there is control info and a video on them - - http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/bees.shtml

Good luck


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## totustuus

Nasty little vermin! I did battle in August with three seperate ground nests of the buggers in my yard (after getting stung multiple times cutting the lawn)

They are in the nest at night. That's the time to nuke them. A can of wasp spray (the kind that sprays 20 feet in a stream) directed into their entrance will do the trick.

I tried gasoline on one nest, sprayed another with wasp killer and tried the insecticide powder on the third. All were effective....

So many ways to wage war.....


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## Common Tator

totustuus said:


> Nasty little vermin! I did battle in August with three seperate ground nests of the buggers in my yard (after getting stung multiple times cutting the lawn)
> 
> They are in the nest at night. That's the time to nuke them. A can of wasp spray (the kind that sprays 20 feet in a stream) directed into their entrance will do the trick.
> 
> I tried gasoline on one nest, sprayed another with wasp killer and tried the insecticide powder on the third. All were effective....
> 
> So many ways to wage war.....


We have a ground nest that we need to get rid of. Did these applications work the first time, or did it take several tries?


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## fishhead

I got rid of yellow jackets with a bucket of water and a few drops of dish soap. Place a piece of bacon or fish on the lip of the bucket. They eat and then try to get a drink before going back to the nest. The soap eliminates the surface tension and they fall in the water and drown. Try it.


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## EDDIE BUCK

Be sure to move any chairs,bicycles,flower pots,and step ladders and anything else that will hinder your speed as you hightail it away, with some angry yellowjackets in hot pursuit to sting you.Just in case you miss.


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## BaronsMom

I like to use dusts because their nests are woven layers of paper pulp they've made from mixing their saliva with wood. The sprays don't get back in there to where the young are. With a dust, it sticks on their body like pollen and they track it back around the nest area. As for gasoline and such, I sure wouldn't use it around my house.... trying to kill insects, not start a bonfire.


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## fishhead

You can also knock the nest down with the garden hose after dark. They usually only stay around the nest on the ground for a day before moving away.


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## coup

if you are quite and use only enough lite to get you there spray the ones abouve the door with a wasp spray should do it....

in the ground wait till dark have some gas in a hose place one end in their hole and blow,,,and leave........hold your finger over the hose to keep the gas in..


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## totustuus

Common Tator said:


> We have a ground nest that we need to get rid of. Did these applications work the first time, or did it take several tries?


The gasoline took a couple of tries, only because I didn't wait until night and they weren't all in the nest for the night. It was my revenge for getting stung six times! I was not patient enough.
The powder worked real well, but took a bit longer to kill them all. I had to make sure that I got a bunch down their entry hole and around the edge. They track the stuff inside and it kills them all. However, sometimes they have two entrances! Gotta find them both and powder both. 

As far as whether a one time application or not, I think it depends on the size of the nest. A smaller nest can be more easily wiped out. A large nest might take a pro. This is not for the faint of heart as these yellow jackets can be VERY aggressive in protecting their homes. Be careful, wear good clothing to cover you up and use a red light to see where you're going. Be ready to RUN after applying the stuff and give it time to work its magic.

Good luck and don't get stung....


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## hunter63

Had a pretty good sized yellow jacket nest next to the gate, every time you opened it, they would come swarming out. They were the little agressive ones.

I generally allow them to stay, but when they start coming after me, that's it.
Besides DW is allergic, complete with epipen and all.
So, couple of cans of Raid "death from 20ft" and the leaf blower, set on "suck", went in.

Spray first, slowed them down then started sucking them up with the leaf blower.

The nest was in the leaves jambed into the climbing rose bush, ( how in the heck do they get in there so tight, I couldn't stick them in there if I tried?).
I got all the nest, the larva started, rolling out, so I sucked them up also.
Couple of straglers but got-em too, later.
Me one, them 0 for now.


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## ronbre

don't put anything flammable on your house !!!!! 

use a hornet spray..it has an acid in it that eats into the bugs instantly.

you may have to spray a few times..yes wait until after dark but they aren't asleep so have a get away.

we have a nest we sprayed last week that is active again..and my son's cat got trapped on the roof of our garage and they were attacking her this morning..i had to rescue her and she was not a happy little girl


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## snoozy

I'm not going to use gasoline on my house, of course. That'd be nuts!

The NAPA starter fluid spray had been recommended by somebody on this forum and it worked fine on the paper wasps nest, as I said. But I don't know how big or deep these guys have burrowed into the straw. 

I live in a strawbale house and where they are is in the open straw over the door in the Truth Window. A Truth Window is a patch of wall that we leave unstuccoed so that people can see that the house really is made of straw. I never got around to glassing it in, and I guess these yellowjackets think it is the bees knees of accommodation. First time this has happened in 11 years.


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## Annie

Fishhead, was the bucket all the way full of water? And how close does it have to be to the nest?

I've got a humdinger of a nest at the base of a raised bed, with another access hole at the top of the bed. Problem is, found out I'm more allergic to their stings than bees and I'm a chicken to get too close to it. Besides, my old rosemary plant is in that bed and I don't want to use gasoline by it. Have I said I really hate yellowjackets!!!


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## oneokie

snoozy said:


> I'm not going to use gasoline on my house, of course. That'd be nuts!
> 
> The NAPA starter fluid spray had been recommended


Starting Fluid is more flammable than gasoline. A spark of static electricity can ignite it. Can you say KaBoom!?

One of the flying insect sprays is much safer. 

Maybe have a piece of glass or clear polycarbonate cut to fit the witness window and seal in place with caulking?


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## snoozy

oneokie said:


> Maybe have a piece of glass or clear polycarbonate cut to fit the witness window and seal in place with caulking?


Wow. That'd be like having a museum diorama of a toxic diasaster instead of a Truth Window. :baby04:


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## fixer1958

Automotive brake cleaner is awesome. Not all that flammable and evaporates to nothing quickly. Will drop them right out of the air. 
Night is the best when they are all there. Dont stand under the nest while on the attack.

Don't get any in your eyes or you will know exactly how they feel and it's not good for along time.


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## Lizza

We wait until after the sun has gone down and it's cooled off, then we use the flying insect spray on the nest. We found ours at a buy one get one free sale at our local True Value Hardware store. Careful of your eyes though, I sprayed it during the day (had to wasps were busy making a nest right in my door jam) and was really close to getting some in my eyes, I flushed and flushed and it was fine but that stuff kind of goes everywhere when you spray it. Personally I wouldn't use flammable lighter fluid, gasoline or anything like that but my husband probably would


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## VERN in IL

oneokie said:


> Starting Fluid is more flammable than gasoline. A spark of static electricity can ignite it. Can you say KaBoom!?
> 
> One of the flying insect sprays is much safer.
> 
> Maybe have a piece of glass or clear polycarbonate cut to fit the witness window and seal in place with caulking?


Starting fluid will not go "kaboom" it goes "whooof" and it is quite safe, unless your a moron and smoke.....:nono:

You can even use it to start wood fires, potato gun propellant, seat tires on rims, it is useful stuff.


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## oneokie

snoozy said:


> Wow. That'd be like having a museum diorama of a toxic diasaster instead of a Truth Window. :baby04:


Was just a thought. Maybe you like having the yellow jackets at your front entrance for grins and giggles?

Am off to purchase stock in the companys that make the flying insect sprays.


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## oneokie

VERN in IL said:


> Starting fluid will not go "kaboom" it goes "whooof" and it is quite safe, unless your a moron and smoke.....:nono:
> 
> You can even use it to start wood fires, potato gun propellant, seat tires on rims, it is useful stuff.


And the Darwin Awards are always looking for new inductees.


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## steel

Hanging trap over soapy water: PUT IT WHERE NO ONE and no pets will accidentally run into it. Try hanging the bait so that it's just an inch or so above the water. When they get their bellies filled they drop down to fly off -hit the water and the soap prevents that. (Neener, neener neener...)

Ground nests: Had good luck using a bucket of boiling HOT plain water. Never knew what hit them. If you do anything like this - COVER UP GOOD. 

Do not underestimate your enemy. They are heinous and relentless and can sting multiple times - and WILL. Espceially protect your eyes, face, hands and COVER ALL EXPOSED SKIN with heavy protective padded layers. Also seal off any gaps in clothing overlaps with duct tape. Be careful and good luck!


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## randy11acres

I had a huge nest built into the top of a step ladder hanging on the side of my garage.
Waited until after dark and squirted 2 cans of the 20 foot wasp killer ( from Lowes ) right up into the opening in the bottom of the nest.. It killed them deader than doornails. Had my truck parked close with the parking lights on to see and to escape to, but was not needed.


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## texican

Trust me on this one thing, if nothing else...

yellow jackets are some naughty critters when riled... stir em up after dark and they're some bad hombres... I've stared down grizzly bears before... and would rather face another griz, than have a nest of yellow jacks after me, while I'm running and screaming like a helpless coed in a slasher horror movie... in the dark...

They have some kind of radar (yes, I know all about pheromones, but radar sounds more sinister) that allows them to chase you in pitch blackness. They also will guard all the available doors and windows leading back into the house.

I've learned. Nuke em in the daylight. Do it several times, and they're done...


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## BaronsMom

Wasp and hornet spray has to be used many times. Most of these sprays have no residual - there's nothing left after you spray. It only kills those you hit (like a nerve poison - not an acid). Work great on paper wasp hanging from corners and eaves. Not so good for yellow jackets. Dusts are still best.


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## snoozy

So if I use the dust, how do I get enough into the hole/nest to keep them from streaming out at me? It is about 7.5 ft off the ground, right above the front door.


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## nodak3

We use nosedive, from a good distance, early in the a.m. while it is cool.

Works great.


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## fordy

nodak3 said:


> We use nosedive, from a good distance, early in the a.m. while it is cool.
> 
> Works great.


............The lower the temperature the Less active they become ! On a very cool morning they can't fly so that would also be a preferable time to spray the nest . , fordy


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## Runestone

I have a nest in a old straw/hay pile that I removed from my duckhouse. I didn't know it was there when I decided to move it. I got stung once or twice before I got away...my ankle was swollen and redfor more than a week. I've never had that bad a reaction before so my sister (an emerg nurse) thinks I should get an epi-pen because the next time could be alot worse.

I'm not doing anything with them right now. I'm waiting until winter to move that pile now...hopefully the little yellow beasts will be frozen solid!!


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## indianheadranch

texican said:


> Trust me on this one thing, if nothing else...
> 
> yellow jackets are some naughty critters when riled... stir em up after dark and they're some bad hombres... I've stared down grizzly bears before... and would rather face another griz, than have a nest of yellow jacks after me, while I'm running and screaming like a helpless coed in a slasher horror movie... in the dark...
> 
> They have some kind of radar (yes, I know all about pheromones, but radar sounds more sinister) that allows them to chase you in pitch blackness. They also will guard all the available doors and windows leading back into the house.
> 
> I've learned. Nuke em in the daylight. Do it several times, and they're done...


Best advice you have is right here also you try one of them lights at night and see how many times it gets hit, i learned the hard way, also if wasp are in the ground you can soak a toe sack in diesel and lay it over the holes for 3 or 4 days when they crawl out that will get them too,


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## Michael W. Smith

totustuus said:


> I tried gasoline on one nest, sprayed another with wasp killer and tried the insecticide powder on the third. All were effective.... So many ways to wage war.....


For yellow jackets in the ground, nothing beats gasoline! Put a cupful down the hole (none should come out with all that gas), wait a few minutes for the vapors to build up, light a piece of newspaper and throw it on top of the hole.

WHOOSH!!!!!!! (The ones that didn't die from the gas have now been incinerated in the fireball!) Hey, when I want revenge, I want REVENGE!!!

They are indeed nasty, and once riled up stay "on guard" for a while.

Of course, you can't use the gas and burn method near anything combustible. I'd try the wasp and hornet spray and wait until night to douse the hole.

Currently, I have a nest of them in my back porch on the outer wall. They found a hole underneath the windowsill on the outside and have happily made a nest between the wall joists. I've been trying a cheap (Dollar Store brand) spray, and while it kills the ones flying around, it hasn't killed the nest yet. (I'm thinking possibly the hole to the nest is at the bottom, so the spray isn't dripping down on them.) 

I do torment them from the inside - by banging on the wall. They come flying out to investigate and I keep banging and more come out. But if some poor unsuspecting soul came walking by, they would get stung in a hurry.


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## fishhead

Annie said:


> Fishhead, was the bucket all the way full of water? And how close does it have to be to the nest?
> 
> I've got a humdinger of a nest at the base of a raised bed, with another access hole at the top of the bed. Problem is, found out I'm more allergic to their stings than bees and I'm a chicken to get too close to it. Besides, my old rosemary plant is in that bed and I don't want to use gasoline by it. Have I said I really hate yellowjackets!!!


Just add water to within 3" of the top. You can set the bucket within 15'-20' of the nest. They should be able to smell the meat. It seems that yellowjackets get more aggressive about finding food in the fall. Once while driving out from AK I stopped at a rest area to eat but the jackets kept landing on my sandwich as I was eating it.


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## Big Dave

A can of hair spray and a butane lighter. Works for me


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## Annie

Appreciate the info, fishhead! Gonna try this tomorrow. A friend told me seven dust also works, but I really don't want to get that close. I'm a chicken!


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## BaronsMom

I know it's hard to keep in mind - but yellowjackets are beneficial predators of plant pests and pollinators. They are just very protective of anyone messing in their business (kind of like some homesteaders on this forum) ;-)

Yellowjackets just out in the back of a field - where no one wanders should be left to do their yellowjacket thing. It's good for all of us as long as we don't mingle.


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## longrider

We have tons of yellow jackets around here. in the areas we work in we just watch for the hole and pour a cup of gasolene in it. gone the next day.


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## katlupe

My husband got stung pretty bad by some a couple of months ago. He was mowing the lawn and moved some boards that were near the foundation of the house......yellowjackets attacked him. He got stung pretty bad. I searched online for a way to get rid of them and they said to take a pot of boiling water out to a ground hive at night. He did it and it worked good and quickly. The whole hive was destroyed and the funny thing is that all the other yellowjackets in other areas around here are gone too. We really did not want to spray poison anything or gasoline out there as we had a couple of snakes that live in the area and did not want to harm them in the process. 

katlupe


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## NRA_guy

If the nest is in fairly level ground, find their hole during the daylight, point a long stick towards the hole.

After dark (preferably early in the morning before daylight when it is cooler), fill a 2-liter Coke bottle half full of gasoline (ethanol gas works fine).

Walk over to the hole and stick the open end of the bottle in the hole and walk away.

The next day there won't be any alive yellowjackets.

If their hole is in the side of a bank, you cannot do the gasoline trick.

In that case, get one or two of those aerosol insect bombs, again before daylight, pop the top on the bomb(s) and stick them in the hole and walk away.

If it's a small hole, one bomb will suffice. If the opening is large, use two bombs.


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## alleyyooper

Thank you so much to tell some one to use a flamable liquid on a 8 year old thread.

They make wasp and hornet spray for the job and it will not be setting any wild fires like is burning California now.


 Al


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## NRA_guy

You're welcome.

An idiot who does not know what he/she is doing can misuse most anything (including wasp and hornet spray) and cause injury or property damage.

Is there a rule against responding to an old thread? If so we both just violated it.


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## Skandi

Actually a nice tip, no chance of setting fire to anything where I live and I hate wasps so next time there is one on the ground I'll give it a go.


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## oldtruckbbq

I am very allergic to yellow jackets. Bees and wasps smart and annoy me, but yellow jackets make me swell and I've had to go to the ER a couple times because of extreme swelling. Like getting stung on the lip and having my nose swell shut, then my tongue and the roof of my mouth start swelling. Not fun.

I keep a can of wasp and hornet spray handy. Each spring I buy a new can so I don't end up without any. It has always worked well for me. I don't worry about the environment or collateral damage - all I care about is killing the buggers that send me to the ER.


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## geo in mi

Yes, my personal research has shown that yellow jackets, do, indeed, sleep at night. With one eye open....

geo


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## NRA_guy

oldtruckbbq said:


> I am very allergic to yellow jackets. Bees and wasps smart and annoy me, but yellow jackets make me swell and I've had to go to the ER a couple times because of extreme swelling. Like getting stung on the lip and having my nose swell shut, then my tongue and the roof of my mouth start swelling. Not fun.
> 
> I keep a can of wasp and hornet spray handy. Each spring I buy a new can so I don't end up without any. It has always worked well for me. I don't worry about the environment or collateral damage - all I care about is killing the buggers that send me to the ER.


I, too, am allergic and swell up more than most folks.

I buy insect spray (all kinds) and repellant and keep several cans of each on hand.

But if you get into a yellow jacket nest while mowing grass or weed eating, it can be a serious medical emergency and hurts like the dickens.

A liter of gasoline poured in a yellow jacket nest once or twice a year will never destroy the Earth's environment (does not even kill the trees and grass), poses zero danger of a fire or explosion, and is a cheap price to pay for not getting stung.


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## Shrek

I have trapped larger hanging wasp nests on my house and garage after dark in a kitchen trash bag pre sprayed on the inside with wasp spray to avoid oil discoloring the area around the nest with the spray by using my red filtered G.I flashlight to avoid waking the guards and wearing leather gloves just in case.

Once the nest and wasps are in the bag, I seal the end with the pull strings tightly knotted so the trash bag becomes a gas chamber for the large saucer sized nest and often up to a hundred or more wasps.

Over the years I have bag gassed 15 or so nests and have yet to be stung by any guards rousted from their sleep as I slip the kitchen trash can sized bag over the nest and seal it off for disposal after dawn.


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## Southern Forest

One thing to remember is that yellow jackets are tougher than regular wasps. While this isn't really true, per se, they don't die as quickly to many wasp sprays. They aren't as tough as bumble bees, which can take a full dose and still fly, but you can spray them and they come out and sting. Gas works. It was taught to me by my maternal grandfather who farmed on the literal homestead in the panhandle of Florida (because for much of his life, there were no wasp sprays). His notion was not to pour into the nest but to soak a rag and drape it over the hole. That was enough, evidently, for a nest. It does stop them from coming out, but I have followed it with a more liberal treatment.

One thing I discovered that was utterly effective is flea powder - the kind you sprinkle on carpet and then vacuum up. I found a nest in my yard once and had no kind of spray available, but I did have an old, half-used container of the powder. I got to the nest and dumped that powder into the nest and that was that. It killed the nest utterly dead. What was weird was that it killed the grass for two inches or so radius around the hole, but the result wasn't permanent.


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## COWS

I've used gas also. It doesn't take as much as some have used on here, maybe a coffee cup full. When finding a hole in the ground entrance I have parked a running lawn mower over it for a while. The blade sucks up the insects and chews them up. That also works moderately well for fire ants. Wasp spray as others described probably works as well as gas.

COWS


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## HairNutz

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread. 

Yes. Started in 2009. Last reply was 2017. Im reviving it.

Plastic bottle 1/3 full of gas - at night - plug the hole with the bottle.

I've been stung so many fn times just cutting grass. I have no sympathy for these a holes. The Mrs got stung today 20ft away from the latest ground nest.

Few forums suggest to leave them alone! Wooo! No.

These bas*t**s need to die. I dont need them stinging my 6yr old outside the door which btw is where the Mrs got stung.

This time - they are in tall grass. I got lucky and didnt get stung while cutting grass - she happened to spot them - outside the house...

I tried the other night but couldnt see their hole - I did surveillance 2 days in a row but way too tall grass.

Last night I went out and weed eated around where I thought they were - I was close - I didnt stay long just long enough to mow down some grass around where I thought they were. Youtube should have some videos of a dude at night with a headlamp, jogging pants tucked inside socks, boots - mid summer - and a weed eater at 2AM... High tailing it out after a few seconds... (ty stihl 4 stroke)

This morning I saw they were just above where I hit. Its still around tall grass and they have been super pissed. 

I bought some 93 octane for them tonight out of spite...

This thread will remain relevant until the end of the world. F those Yellow Jackets. All of them.


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## Danaus29

I like the glass bowl method. Put a large, clear glass bowl over their entrance and they can't figure out how to get out.

As an fyi, hot water or hot water and dish soap applied to the entrance just makes them mad. 

If you have skunks try drizzling a little tuna oil or honey around the entrance. Shunks love them and will dig up the nest and eat them. I wish I had better video footage of the skunk getting a nest in my front yard.


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## Danaus29

HairNutz said:


> This thread will remain relevant until the end of the world. F those Yellow Jackets. All of them.


I expect most people who have dealt with them to agree with you. I have declared war on those ringed paper wasps. They make the little flat nests in cars and seldom used equipment and they are horribly protective of them. WD-40 takes care of them nicely.


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## HairNutz

Those wasps arent just in unused things - they like to build nests in the corners of my garage doors. When the door opens, they get mad too. Though, the more unused things are - the larger the nest so yeah. F them too.


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## Danaus29

The more unused things are, the bigger the nest gets before you notice it. In early spring those paper wasps are easy to eliminate, if you see the nest. Nights are cool enough to keep them from flying, a shot of WD-40 on the lonely queen and no more nest. 

Yellow jackets are a bit trickier. They often nest in the ground where WD-40 and wasp killer don't work. 

The paper nest wasps are nasty, mean all the time. Yellow jackets don't get mean until late summer. This is a good time to set out wasp traps if you've got them.


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## NRA_guy

My neighbor rang my door bell the other day and told me to be REALLY careful because he had been stung by yellow jackets the last 2 times he mowed the grass near our property line.

We walked over to the area and I finally saw their hole in the ground. I took a long pole and laid it on the ground pointing to the hole. I told him that I would take care of it that night, and I did.

Around 4:00 a.m., I stuck a 2-liter Coke bottle half full of gasoline in the hole and walked away.

Problem solved. We have not seen another yellow jacket since.


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## Pony

I hate yellow jackets, and agree that those manky gits must be eliminated. 

Tis the season when those worthless richards start showing up... 

Yeah, it's an old thread, but that doesn't mean it isn't useful


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## Danaus29

It's the time of year when wasps and yellowjackets become a nuisance. It's the perfect time to bring up this old thread.


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## TroyT

IMO bait stations work best once yellow jackets switch from looking for carbohydrates to proteins. The proper protein with a very small amount of Fipronil added. The yellow jacket takes the food back to the nest and it kill the entire nest without having to actually finding the nest. BTW if you add to much Fipronil it will kill the foragers before they can return to the nest. You can find more information here - Eliminate Yellowjacket | Cowlitz Beekeepers A


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## Danaus29

Too bad the words are cut off on each side on that site. Otherwise the info sounds pretty good.


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## TroyT

Danaus29 said:


> Too bad the words are cut off on each side on that site. Otherwise the info sounds pretty good.


Are you talking about post #56?


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## Danaus29

TroyT said:


> Are you talking about post #56?


Yes, I should have quoted it to avoid confusion.


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## TroyT

Danaus29 said:


> Yes, I should have quoted it to avoid confusion.


It displays correctly for me, but just in case is a wide spread problem. Here is the brut force method.


> The University of California Riverside researched the effectiveness of several insecticides placed in baiting stations to eradicate yellow jackets. http://www.pestboard.ca.gov/howdoi/research/2009_yellowjacket.pdf
> 
> They discovered that a small amount of fipronil (active ingredient in Frontline flea and tick topical solutions for pets) mixed with Friskies Ocean whitefish or Swanson’s® brand canned minced white chicken was very effective at reducing YJ colonies.
> Fipronil is not registered for use against YJ’s, but the product that is registered, Onslaught, was not effective.
> Chicken or whitefish baits consisting of 0.0025 to 0.025% fipronil were consistently the most effective baits tested.
> The best results were obtained when the numbers of yellowjacket foragers exceeded 10 wasps/day/trap (Rescue Yellowjacket traps available at many stores)
> 
> You can buy fipronil in products like Taurus SC or Termidor SC, but only in quart or larger sizes and starting at something north of $40. You only need a few drops per baiting so this would be like a lifetime supply. Products like Frontline will allow you to get a smaller volume, but many have ingredients in addition to fipronil. For instance, Frontline Plus has methoprene that may deter YJ’s from visiting your bait. I purchase Sentry FiproGuard for small dogs from Chewy.com, 6 treatments for $16.51. Each vile is 0.67 ml of 9.7% fipronil.
> 
> First build a small cage using a couple of pieces of 1x6 lumber and ½” hardware cloth. The cage will keep birds and mammals out while allowing YJ’s free access. You should build in a door for easy bait replacement. Take a 5.5 ounce can of cat food and add 5 drops of fipronil and mix thoroughly. Place ¼ of the mix into a mason jar lid and set inside your cage. The remainder gets a cap and goes into the refrigerator safely and properly labeled. Remove and replace mixture daily for 4 days. Yellow jackets do not like dried out food. Also add fresh attractant to the nearby Rescue yellow jacket trap which helps attract YJ’s to the bait or squirt half the contents of a tube of RESCUE Yellowjacket Attractant onto a cotton ball and place inside the cage but not in the bait mix. Place the bait cage in the shade 4 feet off the ground and at least 10 to 15 yards away from doors, patios, grills, or people trafficked areas. Within 24 hours 80% of the Yellowjacket nests within 100 yards will be dead, 95% will be gone in 48 hours. Colonies up to 250 yards away will be significantly reduced. Yellow Jackets rarely forage more than a few hundred yards from their nest. Monitor the success of the project by keeping a Rescue Yellowjacket Trap in the yard with fresh attractant.
> 
> Fipronil is a relatively slow working insecticide which allows the foragers time to return to the nest, feed larvae, and track poison all over the place. Do not use more than recommended because you want foragers to live long enough to return to the nest and then show additional foragers where to find your bait.
> 
> Treatment should not start until July or early August. You want lots of YJ’s foragers to collect bait and return to the nest. The best time is when your Rescue traps are catching more than 10 YJ’s per day. Fipronil is toxic to bees too so don’t add sugar to the mix. It should be a meat dinner only which will not interest your honey bees.


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## NRA_guy

Danaus29 said:


> Too bad the words are cut off on each side on that site. Otherwise the info sounds pretty good.


Try reducing the magnification of the screen image if you are on a PC. Hold down the Ctrl key and roll the mouse scroll wheel. 

Rolling the wheel one way makes it larger, and the other way makes it smaller. Make it smaller.


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## Danaus29

NRA_guy said:


> Try reducing the magnification of the screen image if you are on a PC. Hold down the Ctrl key and roll the mouse scroll wheel.
> 
> Rolling the wheel one way makes it larger, and the other way makes it smaller. Make it smaller.


I'm using a tablet. Everything was already as small as it could be made. If it was any smaller I wouldn't be able to read it.

Thanks @TroyT. That helps. I wish I had known about that bait 2 months ago. I will save the information and try it next summer.

Does that bait work on other wasps?


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## TroyT

Danaus29 said:


> I'm using a tablet. Everything was already as small as it could be made. If it was any smaller I wouldn't be able to read it.
> 
> Thanks @TroyT. That helps. I wish I had known about that bait 2 months ago. I will save the information and try it next summer.
> 
> Does that bait work on other wasps?


You just need to find something that they are eating. When wasps start looking for protein it will work.


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## muleskinner2

Wait till after dark, they will all be at the nest. Sleeping or not doesn't really matter. I use a pump up, pressure sprayer. Make up a strong solution of dish soap, and hot water. It will dissolve their exoskeleton, and they die. No poison, no danger if you get some on yourself or your pets. I have killed entire hives of Africanized Honey Bees with this.


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## Danaus29

I tried dish soap and hot water in a nest in one of my flower pots, 3 nights in a row. The yellowjackets were not amused. Even the trap near the nest didn't work. The skunk that dug them up did the job. The skunk got some chicken scraps the next night.

Hmmmm, now I'm wondering. Would some chicken scraps placed near a ground nest help the skunks find the nest? Some people suggest pouring honey on a ground nest to attract skunks. I don't want to waste honey but can usually find some meat scraps.


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