What have you ever heard about yellow jackets? Whether these are true or false facts, any sort of pest infestation around humans needs an in-depth review and expert analysis.
So, welcome to the yellow jacket encyclopedia!
Have you got a yellow jacket nest in the house? Then hurry up to find out everything on how to get rid of wasps & yellow jackets in particular!
It’s well-known that a yellow jacket bee is probably the most aggressive type of wasps, building nests, gathering food, and stinging others, of course. Unlike honey bees, the yellow jacket infestation is extremely ‘socially active’, especially if being bothered.Contrary to popular belief that yellow jackets are to be beneficial insects as well, this is your year-round threat, totally.
9 Essentials for Every Homeowner
These are ground-dwelling wasps, often mistaken for bees, which disturb the most in autumn, when their numbers are very high.- They’re small, about 10-16 mm long, insects with black & yellow-banded/white-black bodies. That’s why ‘yellow jackets’ have got their specific name.
Each creature has a smooth stinger for biting multiple (!) times, in contrast to honey bee (only once). - Yellow jackets, being pollinators, are considered beneficial, as they eat harmful pests.
However, they’re scavengers as well, who love not only sugary substances but even fish and meat! -
Many yellow jacket bees are ground-nesters. So, their colonies are found in:
- sidewalk cracks,
- under porches,
- around railroad ties,
- and at the tree bases.
Alternatively, there are nests in low-hanging branches, in bushes or manmade structures.
- Entomologists say that yellow jackets build their new nest each year. This process starts in spring from a single queen, but finishes in autumn by, at least, 1, 000 workers.
- These wasps are simply defensive of their nest, but not searching for people to sting. Thus, when being threatened, they attack the dangerous object in mass.
By the way, different sounds and vibrations over underground nests or nearby can trigger the attacks of yellow jackets. - These nests are bulky, multi-tiered or paper ones, the size of a ball. The best thing to do after being attacked is to run away as fast as possible.
- Each person may respond to stings differently. But yellow jackets can become life-threatening for some people, because of an anaphylactic shock. As a result, those people may need emergency yellow jacket treatment.
Typically, a person suffers from difficulty breathing. - No doubt that yellow jacket prevention is always better than running during the possible attack.
If a few yellow jackets are noticed, you should look for the nearest nest. In a word, be aware of your surroundings!
How to Exterminate Yellow Jackets Right?
Do you know that once you have identified a yellow jacket nest, it is necessary to wait until dark? Indeed, at night, these pests do not fly and thus, this is a good time to work without disturbing the wasps.
What else do the entomologists recommend to get rid of yellow jacket bees? Discover a few lines you’ve probably never been guided within your own approach “How do I get rid of yellow jackets?”
The easiest method is a specific killer for wasp nests, either in powder or as a spray.
- Amazingly, but the easiest & sure way to kill your yellow jackets is to wait for the cold weather set outdoors! Get to know that only queens can survive in winter, by sheltering in some protected place: a hollow tree, an attic or dead tree bark.
The yellow jacket colony remains active for only 1 summer.
In fact, your next battle may start or even not in spring, when the queen creates a new nest in the ground. - Are you going to deal with bees or wasps in the warm season? Then the easiest method to kill their pest infestation is a specific killer for wasp nests, either in powder or as a spray.
In your case, this is a yellow jacket insecticide with deltamethrin, which should be placed over the nest entrance at night. As a result, the yellow jackets will get it on the bodies while traveling into their nest.
This approach takes a couple of days, reduces any chances of being stung, and is non-confrontational in general. So, the powders are both dusted along the soil and squeezed into the insect nest with a household turkey baster. - A natural yellow jacket repellant or an aerosol wasp spray can also kill this type of wasps, is aimed directly at their nest and working quickly.
But, synthetic killers contain dangerous toxins plus require extreme care around humans, pets, and food. Alternatively, organic chemicals with plant oils & fatty acids are biodegradable and safe for living things. - If you call any professional exterminator, he will vacuum yellow jackets out of the ground. The workers will be sucked inside until the nest is completely emptied. Then the pros will plug the cleaner with duct tape and let the machine alone for several days before getting out the remains.
Similarly, you may use a bug zapper, placing it next to the nest hole and turning it on. The yellow jackets will aggressively attack the noisy intruder and just fry!
5 Expert Advice to Get Rid of Them in the Ground
1. In the right place, at the right time.
The best time to kill any wasp nest (and a yellow jacket one as well) is at night in late spring (when insects feed their young) or in early summer (when the newborn colony is already nest-embedded).
In fall the insects become more aggressive around people because their food supplies run out.- 2. Red light!
While working at night, you will need a flashlight, right? So, get it red, as far as yellow jackets can see nothing in red light. Consequently, they will not notice any movement outside the nest.
Also, wear ‘long-sleeve’ jackets against ‘yellow’ jackets and their repeated stinging. -
3. Aerosol or dust?
- How to get rid of yellow jackets in the ground?
Just pour the insecticide powder into the hole, and then cover it with soil. - How to eliminate yellow jackets in their exterior nests?
Simply spray the killing aerosol into the nest, following the package directions.
- How to get rid of yellow jackets in the ground?
- 4. The entire colony must be gone.
Remember that a yellow jacket nest usually holds up to 3,000 individuals. That means you have to use the right compounds and wait for evidence that you’ve killed every flying yellow jacket!
Depending on the nest size, the chosen insecticides may be applied 2-3 times. -
5. Prevention is always better than cure!
How to get rid of yellow jackets naturally? Well, why not prevent the insects from disturbing you by keeping trash cans tightly closed and keeping no food outdoors?
Yellow jackets are extremely attracted to garbage and many other human foods, especially meats and sweets.
So, here are your recommended measures of control:
- Sanitation (eliminate all possible food sources, empty the open containers regularly, etc).
- Keeping your lawn dry & cut high (do not invite the beetles to your yard, because their eggs are the yellow jackets’ food).
Good luck in giving no chance to a single yellow jacket in your household!
I am assuming if you call a professional and they made an appointment for 9:30 AM it is just to see where the nest is located. My understanding is you have to work at night so the bees are in the nest and not during the day. We have three places between the foundation and house where bees are entering. One is right by our kitchen door and daughter’s dog was already bitten last year and went into shock. Scary. We have two dogs that come to work with us everyday, using the same door and want the nests gone. Tried to do it ourselves for two seasons now and no luck.
Simple way is pour some bleach in the hole then add ammonia and walk away fast. Works every time. Do it at night when they are all home. Watch out for the all night guards they have.
You should see a little smoke. I am not for killing but the
ground bees come after you for no reason so you have to get
rid of them or stay inside all summer.
Why You Shouldn’t Mix Bleach and Ammonia Mixing bleach and ammonia is extremely dangerous, since toxic vapors will be produced. The primary toxic chemical formed by the reaction is chloramine vapor, with a potential for hydrazine formation. Here’s a look at the chemical reactions involved in mixing bleach and ammonia, as well as some first aid advice if you accidentally become exposed to a bleach and ammonia mixture.
This mixture is extremely poisonous CAUTION!!!
I have a nest inside the molding around the outside of my front door. My husband sprayed the heck out it last night with some foam..used 2 whole cans of it. About an hour later, my husband calls me out into the garage to show me on the outside of the screen door, a huge (what I believe was the queen) yellow jacket pacing back and forth, trying to desperately find a way in at 11:45 at night! He sprayed her through the screen and squashed her. Thinking this would be over now, I walked out front this morning and saw yellow jackets flying in and out of the molding like nothing ever happened…wth! I hate bees!!
I have a nest outside my door too. We have used 3 cans of stuff from the store and have sealed around all the open areas that we could see. I am concerned because it is right by the keypad for the garage and I have a son that comes home from school and gets in the house that way… and I have two small dogs that go in and out of the house that way.. UGH!!!!!!
I believe the darned things have nested between the siding near my daughters room. Thou I have sprayed they have now began to enter into the house from SOME WHERE. I am at a loss. This is crazy to have to kill 20 of em every night is too much. It’s fall Daing it!
same problem as luisa bees in house kill them often been going on for about 3 weeks I think they have nest in attic that has no access we have stopped up several holes but still cant find out how they are getting in any help at all
I just saw your post!!!!! We are facing the same thing! Yellow jackets in our bedroom for the past few nights. How did you rid yourself of them? It’s January here in Mississippi and this week been in the 20’s at night so what the heck????
Thanks for all the company. I’ve been killing these pest 10 -12 at a time. I think they have a nest just outside the upstairs hall wall window. I’ve put plastic over the window (didn’t help) have been killing and spaying them at night like crazy; they are moving slow but there was one last night that was moving a little quicker and buzzing. I sprayed the heck out of it and thought I smashed it good but it must be part cat. Hopefully it died over night. Are the any other tips out there!!!!
I’m not for sure what these are but to me look like a hornet yellow jack these are tiny they get into my pool and one of these tiny bugs can sting more than once I have holes all over my yard so I know their in the ground last year I spent 100.00 in wasp spray in all the holes I could find but still couldn’t get reed of them even took some to extension center but no answers does yellow jackets live in ground and are very tiny?
Steps: MUST BE AT NIGHT!!!
1.) fix a large garden hose or flexible pipe to exhaust pipe.(I use my tractor but a car will work just fine).
2.) prepare a spade shovel with good wet mud.
3.) feed/cram hose or flexible pipe down hole as far as you can.
4.) as soon as the hose can not go any farther, pack that thick wet mud on the hole around the pipe. Make sure its good and thick. Pile it up.
5.). Crank vehicle immediately and rev the hell out of it. Do it for awhile.
They’ll be pissed at first but if done right, they can’t get out and will shortly die from oxygen loss.
I flush out mice with this same method. They don’t die. They have several escape routes but its runs them out so my dog gets rid of them.
IN THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE
DO NOT SPRAY THE MOULDING WITH A KILLER. IT JUST FORCES THEM DIPPER INTO THE HOUSE
Best way to deal with them in your siding/moulding is to hang up a yellow jacket trap. DO NOT USE THAT CRAPPY BAIT THEY GIVE YOU.
Instead make your own. I mix whiskey with honey. They love that crap. Beer works too. Must be the sugars and yeast but either one works ten times better than that junk that comes with the trap. For awhile I was getting the trap full everyday for several days. It began to taper off but I kept doing it for a other month after it slowed up. After awhile that month I had no more jacket issues. Even if its just to tie you over til the best dies it keeps the jacket population way down and less active.
Drew- what do U put the whiskey/honey mix in? Just an open pan & they drown? Or?
I think he means he uses a store bought trap they are basicly a jar with lid with holes they can go in but can’t get back out.
How do you make the trap for the bees I have them on the side of my house but clost to the ground.
Thanks
Have A Bless Day
Take a tomato cage and tie three or 2 fly paper strip to it (Raid) put as close to nest entry as possible.
I have a wasp nest in the siding of my house. How do I kill it and them off? I have already been spraying nightly where we see them going into the siding of the house but we are obviously not getting to the nest because they are still there the next day. We have hung 2 different types of bait traps and nothing goes into them.
i poured gasoline in their hole in late afternoon when they weren’t active and lit it on fire. They weren’t happy.
I’m an entomologist and have dealt with yellow jackets for years. I usually find their nests while I mow my lawn. I have a large lawn and have been stung often. Best way to get the nest is work at night, they’re all in there. Long sleeve shirt/jacket, slip up and pour 1/3 cup or about 20ml of gasoline in the hole and leave rapidly. Next day nest is dead. Been using this method for years and it always works. Yes, there is a small dead spot where the gas was poured but you can repair the spot later.
You do mean gas and no fire, right?
Just gas?
YES, YES, DO NOT LIGHT, JUST WALK AWAY. Most think you light the gas but it’s the fumes that kill out the nest. Works every time. The small amount will do the job.
I has some in the wall of the barn and I usually put some 7-10% at the hole in the ground but I hooked up a small shop vac at the hole in the wall and sucked them up as they came out just after daylight. I put 7 dust in the vac a few hours later and let them die in the hot sun. I then sprayed the hole with brake wash several times and so far so good after 4 days. Brake wash from ZEP is fantastic for bees. NO residue but violently flammable.
It won’t kill my hemlock tree will it
I saw a swarm last fall in the tall grass by my driveway. The grass is too tall for me to find a hole. I’m wondering if my dad should bring his bee suit and cut the grass down so I can find the hole. Any thoughts?
Hi Bill, I’d appreciate your advice! We had a professional out to exterminate what (it turns out) must have been a huge yellowjacket nest in our wall, with the wasps having access to the attic, and through light fixtures, electrical panel, etc., access to inside the house. He sprayed – I’m not sure what, something that would kill them and where the wasps would transfer it to each other. It was treated on 7/29, so we’re on day 19. The exterminator said they’d be gone in 7-10 days, then 14 days, and so on. He’s confident the queen is dead. We’re still getting wasps inside every day. We’ve nicknamed them “crawlers”, because they can barely fly if at all, and you can basically just pick them up with a paper towel. There’s no flying activity near the entrance to the nest. Do you think there’s somehow still a queen laying eggs, then the newly-emerged adults get sick from the remaining poison? Or could there still be some laid before we treated that are still emerging from their pupal cases? I’m having a hard time figuring out how long they pupate this time of year. Thanks in advance for your help!
Oops! I meant Joseph!
Our country way to rid ourselves of yellow jacket ground nests is the same. Fill a 16 ounce water or pop bottle with gas, quickly place it upside down in the hole, and get away quickly. No fire needed. The gas fumes will do the job.
We have a large yellow jackets nest hanging in our out building, went out to spray them at night to see that their was like 100 I guess guard bees on the outside of the nest, what can we do?
I have them in front and back of my house up under the siding. I use fly paper, hang them ,about three on a tomato cage and place as close as you can to entry point. Works good ,takes a while but they are really attracted to the strips.I helped my neighbor last year and it worked ,seven dust helps too. You won’t believe how many get stuck,it’s gross. Good luck.
Use fly paper. It’s cheap and it works. Hang about three on a tomato cage and put as close to entry point as possible.the paper will be filled next day.use seven dust all over the ground .The Queen goes underground for winter.you may have to do this for several days.Good luck.
Do you think duct tape would work or not sticky enough? Think I may try it until I havr s chance to get to store. Also still not sure where in the ground the hive is.
Duct tape is not sticky enough. That sticky fly paper is MUCH stickier than any household tape we use. Thing is, once I read that some nests have 1000 wasps in them, isn’t that going to take an awful lot of sticky fly paper? And you’ve got to get into the nest before they all die, because the queen will get away and hide for the winter, and then build herself another next around the same area, and you’ve got your problem all over again. I didn’t dare treat the nest I had last fall and now I know the queen is probably building another nice nest just to bother me. lol. JK, but she is.
They are in my tree, how do I kill them without harming my tree?
ugh…just beginning our search for the nest. In the past 3 days we have killed 5 yellow jackets in the house. First 3 were moving slow and stupid, crawling, not flying. Last 2 were flying. Reading all this info, but honestly do not know where to start to find the nest! Hubby checked out our attic. Nothing noticeable happening up there.
I am at work and my son is home keeping me updated. He is watching the outside of the house to see if he can catch them coming or going. He also said we have a ton of them in the tree in the front yard. help!
I don’t no where the hole is where I have yellow jacket , What kind of spray can i get to put on the ground to kill then when i weedeat i get stung evey time.
I live in upstate NY, about 75 miles north of Manhattan. For past several weeks I have been scooping up dozens of little bugs from my pool. I would describe them as flying ants. Just as I think I got them all, there’s more. I can’t tell where they are coming from. And I’m pretty sure they are not flying ants. Is there even such a creature. Also pretty sure one of them stung me, although, it was pretty laughable, with it being so little. I googled baby wasps and I think that’s what these are. They are for the most part, black. HOWEVER, then I’ll find some that definitely have itty bitty yellow stripes. We’ve had yellow jackets in the ground before and didn’t know it until they attacked my husband when he moved the pool deck. That was years ago. I have a bad feeling. I think I have multiple nests. Just s little while ago, around 7:00 pm, I spotted hundreds of bugs flying about in the backyard, past the pool. I looked in the pool and sure enough, dozens of them fighting for their lives. I ran inside and grabbed my zoom lens camera. Please, please, please! Any advice? My grandkids are here all the time running around back there (although after tonight, I don’t even know if I want them outside!). I have a bad bad feeling that my problem goes way beyond one best.
I got a lot of bees on my pick up truck and I’m alergic how do I kill the bees in the day time
very interesting tips and experiences
I have yellow jackets under my siding and another group crawling up the mortar joint between bricks and under siding, may have gone into attic.
So far, I’ve just sprayed the entry points in evening and set out two yellow jacket traps. I will keep observing
Will, the nest die out in the winter and will they return to the nest or house next spring?
Everything I have read on the subject says that yellow jackets die out in the winter and the nests are not reused. The problem is that they become increasingly aggressive as you near winter because their food sources get slim.
for everyone trying to get rid of yellow jackets powder pesticide is the best. got an applicator and the pesticide for around 60 bucks with shipping. I made the mistake of blocking the entrance and then they came inside the basement. Coming in my can lights.
I applied he powder at the entrance and they have dragged it into the nest. I have found 6 queen yellowjackets crawling or dead in my basement. No more jackets at the entrance outside.
Waiting a day or so and then i have to cut my ceiling in the basement open to locate and remove the nest. i have found crawlers also in my basement. I hope this helps
Very helpful tip Will, I will try to find this yellow jacket powder pesticide and hope it works for me.
We have a yellow jacket nest with the entry as a crack in the foundation footing. Not sure if the nest is in the wall, can’t hear any activity in the walls. No attic. Tonight I did the first application of pyrethrin spray (CB-80) and insecticide dust (Tempo 1% Dust) at the entrance hole. Will check for activity tomorrow and let you all know how it went.
This morning, watched for five minutes. Saw one yellow jacket tumble out of wall and unable to fly. No other activity. Likely will retreat again tonight. So far, very promising.
Where do I get this pyrethrin spray and Tempo dust?
We have yellow jackets in between the bricks on our second floor below a window. We have been fighting them for two weeks now with different sprays we have purchased at Lowe’s and Ace Hardware. Some die and then we notice more the next morning. They are starting to fly downstairs in our dining & living room area. Help!!! We have been vacuuming them up with a shop vac also. Cannot seem to locate where they are getting into the house. Any suggestions appreciated.
We tracked them down to the encasement built around the gas fireplace, which led us to the hole in the fireplace shroud where the gas line entered. We stuffed fiberglass insulation around the gas line and saturated it with wasp and hornet spray. We haven’t seen any in the house since. We will deal with the nest when it gets cold outside.
From early Sept I heard scratching in the walls of my bedroom. Tried different things for different pests but the scratching was still there. Now suddenly 2 days ago in the morning a hole emerged and out came about 100 yellow jackets. By evening all dropped dead. I vacuum them up. Could the queen (s) still be in the walls? It is getting a bit cold now as l live in Queens NY. What to do next?
I’m also in Queens and this week found 2 dead on the landing going up to my bedroom but since I’m at work all day, I haven’t seen any flying around…until today. There are 2 near the window on that same landing and I’m guessing they are coming in from any one of a hundred gaps in this old house but I’m terrified! I’m guessing I’ll spray around the window when it gets dark but I hate to sleep breathing in those fumes. I don’t know what to do! Any suggestions for all natural spray?
We had yellow jackets climb into our house wall. I thought there were just a few. My husband bought different insecticides which worked but there were still more bees the next day. Finally he tied a small hand vacuum cleaner to the outside with zip ties and ran an extension cord. This was done at night. He ran it the following day for 30 minute intervals during the day. When he emptied the container that night I counted around 200 dead bees. The next day he netted another 200. This continued on for about 2 weeks. Our final count is around 1,000 dead yellow jackets. He did seal it up against my wishes but there are still some managing to come out so I think he will have to zip tie the vacuum cleaner back up. It was shocking to me to have so many inside a bedroom wall and not know it.
Best ideas are electric zapper and fly paper, especially if you can’t find the best. That’s us today, can’t find the nest. Zapper has worked well for us against mosquitos.
Almost everyday toward the end of the summer I’ve been seeing yellow jackets in my dining room flying around the ceiling light. I checked outside and I see a few at a time flying between the brick and the siding near my back window. I haven’t sprayed hoping they would go away because of the cold. No such luck. Everyday there are at least 10 dead yellow Jacks on the dining room table under my light. I have no idea how they’re getting in from outside because I don’t see a hole in the sheetrock. So far they haven’t come upstairs. They’re just in the dining room where they die on their own. Sometimes they eat the bees that died in the light holder. How do you stop them? I don’t want them to come back next year or come home one day and find 100 flying in my house.
I just bought a house and having painting done and started noticing yellow jackets hanging on 1st floor patio door and upstairs bedroom window. Kill a bunch and more show up every morning. Called Orkin and luckily saw a couple enter under the siding near the bricks so he sprayed powder and hoping the powder will make it to the nest. Have no idea how they are getting inside the house but have to observe early in the morning
Had huge problems with yellow jackets here and solved it two ways for good. For exposed nests (under eaves etc), the tried and true bee and hornet spray available anywhere does the trick. It lets you keep some distance. Just be sure to thoroughly douse the nest. This approach is no good for ground nests, inside walls, or other cases where the actual nest isn’t in the clear. For that I’ve had 100% success with using the common insecticide dust called Sevin, also available at all home improvement stores. Just dust it at the entry hole and dust as much into the hole as possible using a bellows duster or other similar item like a turkey baster. I rigged my duster at the end of a painters pole so I could more confidently push in a lot more dust with less fear.
OK some use gasoline poured into the hole for bees, yellow jackets with ground nests. That stuff is VERY FLAMABLE. Use Diesel fuel instead. It’s quite difficult to ignite and has the same impact on bees as gasoline and doesn’t burn up your grass or surrounding plants as badly. I use old diesel fuel left from my boat but you can buy a small can at most any gas station. Mike’s comments of Jan 1, 2016 about using Sevin on ground nests also works well. My nest was under some wooden steps with no access to the nest hole as they entered through an opening between steps. The Sevin powder was placed on the step where they entered. It took about 5 replenishes of the Sevin to get them all gone.
I used to have mole problem but not since the yellow jackets took over their ground holes three years ago. I’d rather have the moles. I’ve not treated the yellow jackets and they went from ground nest first year to a different ground nest plus a basement window the next year. Last year was a ground nest, under siding nest, and an attic nest through an attic outside vent. The nest dies each year but the queen or queens locate new homes nearby to hibernate over winter to start again. This spring I will scout early for new activity and try some of the more natural remedies to rid my property of them. Then I’ll post what worked for me. Thanks for all the success stories.
There’s a trick I heard of never tried it but it might just help get A 2 liter bottle of soda leave about 2 inches of soda in it the Wasps Hornets bees fly in but they cannot fly out and die
As for using a soda bottle, don’t forget there might be 1000 yellow jackets in your nest.
Last summer and fall I had a big nest which was in an old animal burrow, and it was right behind my garden so I couldn’t go near the garden. Go stung twice, once by one of those wasps (yellow jackets) and once my the side of the building, so they are also in other locations. I did not dare to get near the next at night. No matter how late I went out there, I thought I saw a few flying around. This year I filled the next, which had collapsed and created a hole, with rock and dumped bleach there, but they say they don’t come back to the same place. I’ve seen some funny looking holes in other places around. Nothing flying around. It’s June 1st. Maybe I’ll go out and dump some more bleach or ammonia into the funny holes just in case. Once I see any yellow jackets, then it will be a different matter. The stings hurt like h— and the bite area swells up and stays that way for a few days. I hate them. The are aggressive. They get what they deserve. I’ve read all the answers here and I’m itching all over.
I live in florida and have a huge nest under my mobile home behind the siding. It’s been there a very long time(prolly 1yr.). The nest is about the size of an exercise ball. I’ve used the spray but can’t get under the skirting far enough to get to all of them or knock the nest down completely. I don’t know what to do. Please don’t suggest a professional because I live on a limited income. I’m elderly and female living alone. I’ve been stung 14 times at one time. It was very painful. Someone plz. help me.
Get several empty soda or juice plastic bottles. Punch or drill holes 1/8 inches size randomly around the top third of bottles. inside bottles put mixture of apple cider vinegar and water or sugar and water. Add some pieces of rotting fruit – banana, apple, etc. Drop in some peanut butter or old meat for good measure. Squirt a bit of dish soap into the liquid and shake it a bit. Tie a strong string around necks of the bottles. Hang up from an overhanging tree branch or whatever else is handy or set the bottles on the ground about 8 to 10 feet from the nest (do this at night if possible so you minimize risk getting stung). Stay away from area and hopefully they will be attracted into the bottles and drown (they can’t get back out from the holes).
I have a BIG problem with Yellow Jackets.. They’re going under the shingles and into the aluminum siding from all 4 corners of the house and who knows where else. I also hear scratching, tapping in the walls. Started out in one room in a two story home and now I heard it all over upstairs. I read that could be from them chewing the wood and sheet rock. Trying to expand their nests. Anyone else have this problem. I have also found them in the house. Bathroom and kitchen. I tried catching one in the bathroom and the bugger escaped from the ceiling light… Hmmmm.
I know I have a HUGE nest all over in the walls. I am just hoping I don’t have to tear down the walls.. that would be costly.
So I am finally getting Orkin to come out and take care of the problem. They said it would be $250 from outside and inside which I thought is very reasonable. I will try to update after the treatments are done.
Wish me luck! Any info from other would be appreciated! Thanks.!
Oh Yes.. Those of you trying to do this yourself.. I would be very cautious! I know seven dust kills them.. But it’s a pesticide! It is harmful to humans can kill.. If you read the label it states do not use on building.. there is a reason for that. I have two young ones at home and I do not want to take a chance. I will question Orkin as well about their product.
We are having a awful time with yellow jackets..we don’t keep garbage outside..only goes out once a week..my husband decided to start saving our cans..pop and beer..he has a bag hanging in garage..I’ve read they like both of those..but I don’t see any flying around the bag..they are going in and out of the fasha and soffit outside garage door..we’ve probably sprayed 15 cans of hot shot now using raid…do you think it’s the cans that brought them? We’ve never had this problem before..I’ve been stung and so has one of our dogs…I feel like a prisoner in my own home…
If I have yellow jackets going into an opening in my brick, and then god knows where, can I just wait and seal it in very late fall (it’s already early November) after all visible activity in/out has stopped or very early spring? Does the queen leave at the end of the year and if I seal it up, will I not be trapping g anything in my house at that point??
Do not seal off the nest from the outside until you have killed them all, or they will just get into the house. They eat wood and will enlarge a crack to go from space to space inside your walls. You need to find the nest (try a stethoscope) and kill them.
Yellow cornmeal ants will eat it can not digest it. think there full dont eat an die it works. I am going to try it yellow jackets.
For ground nests, another trick is to dump white vinegar in the holes. Many nests seem to have more than one hole, so be sure to get them all. I don’t know if it kills them, but we had a huge (several feet across) nest in the ground of our yard, nothing was working, so we tried this, on the suggestion of a pest control expert. Within days, no more yellowjackets.
We live on a sailboat tide off to a concrete floating dock, how to we get rid of a in ground yellowjacket nest?
I discovered a yellowjacket nest entrance in a sidewalk seam where I park my car… pretty active during the day. Waited until dark, poured a gallon of hot water mixed with 8 oz. of dollar store liquid laundry detergent in the crack then ran like hell. Waited a few minutes and checked the seam from a distance, no sign of life. Poured a pint of straight detergent in the seam, let it drain down in then followed with another gallon of soap solution. No activity. As a parting gift I rolled up a few plastic shopping bags and wedged them into the seam then tamped them down tight with a paint stir stick. That should do them in for a while but I’ll check it in a day or two and report back here. (If nothing else, they’ll be the cleanest bunch of wasps in town!)
Just finished checking the sidewalk crack I mentioned in my previous post. 2nd day, not a wasp to be seen. I’m thinking the dousing with 2 gallons of water mixed with liquid laundry detergent while they were in for the night must have nailed the majority of them, then plugging the entrance with the plastic bags trapped any survivors. I’ll check it again in a day with an update.
1 week after the dousing; totally wasp-free! Come Fall, I’m going to fill the hole with sand to just below the crack then seal the crack with concrete. See ya then!