# Yellow Jackets



## Jan Pijpelink (Jul 19, 2021)

We have at least 2 yellow jackets nests in our lawn. How to get rid of them?


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## DAKSY (Jul 19, 2021)

I use a little 2-cycle oil/gasoline mix.  Nothing special, just what the weed whacker uses.
I dump about a cup down the hole. The gasoline evaporates. The oil coats them & they can't breathe.
I'm sure there are more environmentally friendly options out there...


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## stoveliker (Jul 19, 2021)

Use a bit of old window screen to cover the hole at night (for your safety). Then get half a bottle of dawn and your water hose. Pour in the Dawn and fill it up further with water.
Then put a heavy stone on the screen and hole.
In the morning take the stone off. If no yellow jacket is visible thru the screen, you're done.


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## Prof (Jul 19, 2021)

I don't really have a solution, but I saw how my stepfather (who was an ass) do it. First, he would get stung while mowing the grass. Then he would dump a half of a gallon of gas down the hole shortly after being stung and light it--almost blowing himself up in the process. It had a bit of a flame-thrower effect if I remember correctly. Nevertheless, it was amusing!


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## stoveliker (Jul 19, 2021)

stoveliker said:


> Use a bit of old window screen to cover the hole at night (for your safety). Then get half a bottle of dawn and your water hose. Pour in the Dawn and fill it up further with water.
> Then put a heavy stone on the screen and hole.
> In the morning take the stone off. If no yellow jacket is visible thru the screen, you're done.



Here a YouTube video of the Dawn approach:


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## EatenByLimestone (Jul 20, 2021)

A bee suit is worth it's weight in gold when dealing with yj.   Check them out, they aren't expensive.


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## UpStateNY (Jul 20, 2021)

At night when all the YJ are in their nest I just pour a cup of gasoline in the hole And cover the hole with a rock.  Do not ignite the gasoline.  The gasoline evaporates and the fumes kills the YJ.

BTW same thing works for bumble bee nest in the ground.  If you have a large nest of hornets hanging from a tree 40 feet off the ground.   These large black and white hornets are there probably eating bumble bees.  Get rid of the bumble bees and the hornets will move.   It worked for me.


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## PaulOinMA (Jul 20, 2021)

They are nasty.  Mowed over a nest when I was a kid in CT.  Damn, they REALLY didn't like that!


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## UpStateNY (Jul 20, 2021)

PaulOinMA said:


> They are nasty.  Mowed over a nest when I was a kid in CT.  Damn, they REALLY didn't like that!


Yes they wait and get you on the return mow.  ouch


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## bholler (Jul 20, 2021)

I have always just emptied a can of wasp and hornet spray down the hole.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Jul 20, 2021)

bholler said:


> I have always just emptied a can of wasp and hornet spray down the hole.


I do too. Problem is that they have a main entrance and an escape exit. I have an old sliding mosquito door that I will put on top of it and pour some gas/oil mix in.


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## tadmaz (Jul 20, 2021)

DAKSY said:


> I use a little 2-cycle oil/gasoline mix.  Nothing special, just what the weed whacker uses.
> I dump about a cup down the hole. The gasoline evaporates. The oil coats them & they can't breathe.
> I'm sure there are more environmentally friendly options out there...


I do something similar, just gas, but also light it on fire.


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## begreen (Jul 20, 2021)

tadmaz said:


> I do something similar, just gas, but also light it on fire.


That is not only polluting, it can lead to some unexpectedly explosive situations. Don't ask how I know.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Jul 20, 2021)

I just put carefully the screendoor on top. They went nuts! The lady just ordered a bee suit. Will arrive Thursday, will wait till then.


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## stoveliker (Jul 20, 2021)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> I just put carefully the screendoor on top. They went nuts! The lady just ordered a bee suit. Will arrive Thursday, will wait till then.



Next time, do it at night. Then all of them are in, and they will go less crazy if at all.

Also, gasoline, and especially oil (even if a little) will pollute your ground water (also when setting it on fire as not all will burn before it has seeped into the soil). 
Using dawn (or equivalent) is less polluting and achieves the same results.

Do you have a well (water)...?


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## Jan Pijpelink (Jul 20, 2021)

stoveliker said:


> Next time, do it at night. Then all of them are in, and they will go less crazy if at all.
> 
> Also, gasoline, and especially oil (even if a little) will pollute your ground water (also when setting it on fire as not all will burn before it has seeped into the soil).
> Using dawn (or equivalent) is less polluting and achieves the same results.
> ...


Last year at the front yard we did it after dark. I was not planning to burn anything. We do not have a well.


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## begreen (Jul 20, 2021)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> We do not have a well.


But some in the neighborhood might. This is not better living through chemistry. I like the old screen door idea if they can not get out. What would happen if it was just left there for a week or two? And I like the dish soap solution if you just want to be done with it.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Jul 20, 2021)

begreen said:


> But some in the neighborhood might. This is not better living through chemistry. I like the old screen door idea if they can not get out. What would happen if it was just left there for a week or two? And I like the dish soap solution if you just want to be done with it.


I was suggested to use a mix of Thieves oil with Borax. None of us in the area have wells.


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## stoveliker (Jul 20, 2021)

I will make one more remark. 

It's a free country, so you can do as you please (within the law, which I think prohibits motor oil for this case).

However, I believe the YouTube video to be real (not faked). As such it shows the  efficacy of the method there. Then why go with harsher chemicals, pouring those in *your* property, than dish soap if it is as effective...?

Just a thought. Don't want to fight, so I'll stop here and leave you to it.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Jul 20, 2021)

stoveliker said:


> I will make one more remark.
> 
> It's a free country, so you can do as you please (within the law, which I think prohibits motor oil for this case).
> 
> ...


Like I said I plan to use Thieves oil, all natural. Dish soaps are chemicals too.


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## webfish (Jul 21, 2021)

https://digg.com/video/guy-explodes-backyard


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## Jan Pijpelink (Jul 21, 2021)

That would be the last thing I do.


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## begreen (Jul 21, 2021)

webfish said:


> https://digg.com/video/guy-explodes-backyard


That was somewhat similar to what I experienced as a foolish teen.


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## stoveliker (Jul 21, 2021)

begreen said:


> That was somewhat similar to what I experienced as a foolish teen.



Imagine all the entertaining videos that were never recorded because - well we're old


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## begreen (Jul 21, 2021)

I had been badly stung the previous year by a nest that I stepped on. They went up both pants legs and I had about 18 stings, so the following year I was not taking any chances. I poured lord know how much gas down a different nest hole across the street. It was a big nest. Then I rolled up a sheet of newspaper and made a torch to light the nest. It took a few seconds (thank goodness) and I was about 40 ft away when it ignited. The entire area lifted up in one gigantic whoomph! A surrounding radius of about 20 ft. lifted up a couple of feet with the blowup.  It sounded like an underground dynamite explosion. I expect the neighbors to come running out of their houses as I sheepishly slipped away. Fortunately, they were at work that day. Never tried that stunt again.


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## clancey (Jul 21, 2021)

I would get the exterminator and let them worry about all that and get rid of them...I be too afraid to even try to get rid of them...clancey


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## begreen (Jul 21, 2021)

Had a nest in the woodshed last year. It was protected by the palette floor which made it impossible to reach.  I left is alone until cooler weather when I could lift the palette out more safely. That one was dispatched at night, with me wearing a bee suit which I still have from my beekeeping days.


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## stoveliker (Jul 21, 2021)

begreen said:


> Had a nest in the woodshed last year. It was protected by the palette floor which made it impossible to reach.  I left is alone until cooler weather when I could lift the palette out more safely. That one was dispatched at night, with me wearing a bee suit which I still have from my beekeeping days.



We (me and my dad) used to dispatch of yellow jackets when we (he) was called to remove a "bees nest" in double wall homes in the old country. He is a beekeeper too. 
Honey that has not been mixed (as in stores) is so much better. And one (me) takes much more nuisance from bees (and bumble bees) than yellow jackets...


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## begreen (Jul 21, 2021)

Unlike some wasps and hornets, bees are pretty passive. I'm around lots of bumble and honey bees daily in the garden. They are welcome and never have bothered me, even when we are inches apart.


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## DeadTreeBurner (Jul 21, 2021)

91% Isopropyl alcohol works great. Kills them pretty much instantly on contact. Wait until dusk/dark and pour into the hole. If the tunnel runs horizontal more than a few inches you'll need to use more, or if the spot is in a safe area, you could light it carefully without as much alcohol. Just use a lighter at arms reach and make sure your container is closed. You could end up with spurt of flame whooshing from the hole depending on air mix in the hole and or nest cavity. Alcohol fires can burn invisibly in daylight and can still be hard to see in the dark depending on the circumstances. Make sure flames are extinguished before leaving.
I will be dousing a nest I found earlier today this evening.


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## stoveliker (Jul 21, 2021)

begreen said:


> Unlike some wasps and hornets, bees are pretty passive. I'm around lots of bumble and honey bees daily in the garden. They are welcome and never have bothered me, even when we are inches apart.



Unless it's a thunderstormy day or they swarm (and have been out for a while, so their bellies are not full anymore) and you're close enough to the path they fly from their hives.
Anyway, I am getting a bit beyond the topic here.


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## EatenByLimestone (Jul 21, 2021)

begreen said:


> But some in the neighborhood might. This is not better living through chemistry. I like the old screen door idea if they can not get out. What would happen if it was just left there for a week or two? And I like the dish soap solution if you just want to be done with it.




They will find/dig a new way out.    A few times a year we go to a house where somebody keeps plugging the hole.   We end up asking which was the original hole, because that's where the nest is.


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## begreen (Jul 21, 2021)

stoveliker said:


> Unless it's a thunderstormy day or they swarm (and have been out for a while, so their bellies are not full anymore) and you're close enough to the path they fly from their hives.
> Anyway, I am getting a bit beyond the topic here.


I have been in the middle of swarms and collected a few. They are amazingly docile at that time.


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## stoveliker (Jul 21, 2021)

begreen said:


> I have been in the middle of swarms and collected a few. They are amazingly docile at that time.



Only if they are fresh; they eat themselves full before they leave (another reason to prevent swarming...). But if you discover a swarm hanging that is 2-3 days old they are cranky, dive bombing your suit. (Carnival bees are more docile but still start stinging then.)


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## DeadTreeBurner (Jul 22, 2021)

Last night I killed this colony with 91% rubbing alcohol. Four to eight ounces, then ignited as it appeared nest was too deep. Too bad it was close to where people walk or I would have left it. They kill flies and other nuisance insects.


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## EatenByLimestone (Jul 22, 2021)

They are fine now. But become super aggressive once the 1st frost kills the flowers and they start to starve.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Jul 23, 2021)

Well, today the bee suit arrived.  At 9 PM, I went out (the lady took some pictures to make fun of me with the family abroad) and squeezed a full bottle of dish soap into the entrance of the nest. Followed with about 5 gallons of hot water.
I will check tomorrow morning if there is any activity.


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## Sawset (Jul 23, 2021)

Was working on an old building and  foundation last night. I moved a pc of siding, and dozens of flys started coming out. I thought it was curious why there would be flys, there, behind a wall and near the foundation, and so many.  Hmm. Then I noticed they were yellow. The hmm part was over in a split second, stung only once, got the heck out of there. Their entrance is right next to the main entrance, and wonder why they haven't been a bother up to this point. The wall can wait till fall when they die off. But the entrance part is used daily. Will need to either watch to see this fall if they get ornery, or make them go away. I do have a bee suit - maybe I could just march back in there and get the job done. Should probably do it early before it gets to hot and humid. All suited up, sweat, makes any stings "sting" way more, like putting salt on a wound.


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## EatenByLimestone (Jul 23, 2021)

Take care of it now.   Itll be harder to get rid of them next week when the nest is bigger.


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## DeadTreeBurner (Jul 23, 2021)

EatenByLimestone said:


> Take care of it now.   Itll be harder to get rid of them next week when the nest is bigger.


Not really, just take them out after dusk. No problems unless the method of dealing with them doesn't kill them right away or keep them from taking to the air.


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## blades (Jul 23, 2021)

had to deal with German hornets behind the siding on house last year- oh what fun.


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## begreen (Jul 23, 2021)

Jan Pijpelink said:


> Well, today the bee suit arrived.  At 9 PM, I went out (the lady took some pictures to make fun of me with the family abroad) and squeezed a full bottle of dish soap into the entrance of the nest. Followed with about 5 gallons of hot water.
> I will check tomorrow morning if there is any activity.


Well done. Any activity today?


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## Jan Pijpelink (Jul 23, 2021)

So far. Nothing.


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## begreen (Jul 23, 2021)

Good deal. I hope that's the end of the story.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Jul 24, 2021)

begreen said:


> Good deal. I hope that's the end of the story.


Tomorrow I will try to mow that section of the lawn. I have not put away the bee keeper's suit, just in case.


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## EatenByLimestone (Jul 24, 2021)

This year is going to be a tough year for yellow jackets and wasps.   It's rained almost every day this month so far.    Nobody has been outside mowing lawns, trimming bushes, and working on their houses to spot the nests.  Those nests have been growing the whole time unnoticed and are getting pretty good sized by now.     Tgeyre volleyball sized here.  I expect a lot of surprises this weekend.  I've had a tech assigned to just ants during the rain and now she's transitioning over to wasps.   I bet ill be hitting the overflow pretty soon.  It just dawned on me that I gave my bee suit to another tech this year.    I'll have to get another one before I get surprised, lol.


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## bholler (Jul 24, 2021)

One of the little bastards was just in my drink.  And stung my lip


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## EatenByLimestone (Jul 25, 2021)

Must have been a good drink!   Neither of you wanted to share!


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## bholler (Jul 25, 2021)

EatenByLimestone said:


> Must have been a good drink!   Neither of you wanted to share!


It was pretty unpleasant.


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## clancey (Jul 25, 2021)

How terrible put ice on your lip..clancey


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## begreen (Jul 25, 2021)

Ouch! Sorry about that. Next time try this, without the yellow jacket.








						Classics You Should Know: The Stinger Cocktail
					

Feel the sweet sting of cognac and crème de menthe with the Stinger, a classic high-society cocktail from the pre-Prohibition era.




					www.liquor.com


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## Sawset (Aug 2, 2021)

Situational awareness. Whoa, heads up, time to mosey on outahear. Notice all the grass is cut, so it was only after I was staring straight at it that I ducked. I used to think it was fun riding by the bee hives that I kept - something maybe about the engine vibration kept them from reacting. Once I had the trailer behind though, and didn't think that it was a couple feet wider. Over went a couple hives - for some reason it took some refocusing to remember that I needed to stomp on the accelerator in order to get out of there.


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## blades (Aug 6, 2021)

Found  one those the hardway about 4 years ago.   Yep on the mower, Low hanging branch .   Peppered the snot out of it with an air rifle, birds did the rest.


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## burr (Sep 9, 2021)

Forget where I saw this (somewhere on this interweb) but at dark when they are calm and at home, place a clear glass mixing bowl or something similar over the hole and make sure it seals off around the rim.  Also make sure as you can that there is no back door to the place.

Leave bowl in place for a couple days or more and they will be dead. 

I've done it successfully.


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## festerw (Sep 9, 2021)

Sawset said:


> Situational awareness. Whoa, heads up, time to mosey on outahear. Notice all the grass is cut, so it was only after I was staring straight at it that I ducked. I used to think it was fun riding by the bee hives that I kept - something maybe about the engine vibration kept them from reacting. Once I had the trailer behind though, and didn't think that it was a couple feet wider. Over went a couple hives - for some reason it took some refocusing to remember that I needed to stomp on the accelerator in order to get out of there.



I had the same experience with a bald face hornet nest a few years ago. I decided to leave about a 30ft circle around the next and leave it since it was in a distant part of the yard.


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## semipro (Sep 9, 2021)

bholler said:


> One of the little bastards was just in my drink.  And stung my lip


A photo may have been fun.  I got stung on the ear once and looked odder than usual for a while.  

I get stung a lot doing work on my house and around the yard.  I keep a little pill bottle with some vinegar and a cotton ball in it handy.  I find that if I apply vinegar right away it really minimizes the pain and swelling.   I believe that the acidic vinegar neutralizes the basic venom although there's a lot of conflicting information on this out there.


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## Jan Pijpelink (Sep 9, 2021)

Found another nest a few weeks ago, nest number 4. This was nest 2 in the front yard. Late at night, I squeezed a large bottle of dishwasher soap in the hole. Filled it up with small pebbles and put a cinder block on top. Solved it.


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## Sawset (Sep 10, 2021)

We just got storm windows for the house, so I've been busy washing, sorting, and installing windows from outside. The basement windows are in window wells, which means about a 5ft drop in to the window. In I went, brush and hose in hand. And out I went twice as fast after seeing a 1000 hornets filling the well. I couldn't bust a move fast enough.
 Lucky it was cool out, and I had a sweatshirt and hood on. They stung up that jacket pretty good.


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## Grizzerbear (Sep 12, 2021)

Sawset said:


> Situational awareness. Whoa, heads up, time to mosey on outahear. Notice all the grass is cut, so it was only after I was staring straight at it that I ducked. I used to think it was fun riding by the bee hives that I kept - something maybe about the engine vibration kept them from reacting. Once I had the trailer behind though, and didn't think that it was a couple feet wider. Over went a couple hives - for some reason it took some refocusing to remember that I needed to stomp on the accelerator in order to get out of there.



That's a beauty. First cool night you have 
I would take a good size trash barrel with a lid and place barrel under it. Cut the limb its hanging from and set it in barrel. Set a bug bomb off and place it in barrel with nest and place the lid on.  Come back in a day or two and take nest out and shake out the Hornets then lacquer the nest and hang it up in your shop, garage, or house. I got quite a few like this.


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## Sawset (Sep 13, 2021)

That one is about 3ft off the ground. Something has been hanging around ripping the bottom 6" or so off. The paper builders repair and cover over, then the critter takes it off again exposing the larvae. I was checking some bluebird houses and saw some of the hornets busy knawing surface chafe off of it, stripping it to bare solid wood, probably for the paper building part. The bird houses were made 25yrs ago out of old barn boards, so plenty of old wood to chew on.


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## Grizzerbear (Sep 14, 2021)

Sawset said:


> That one is about 3ft off the ground. Something has been hanging around ripping the bottom 6" or so off. The paper builders repair and cover over, then the critter takes it off again exposing the larvae. I was checking some bluebird houses and saw some of the hornets busy knawing surface chafe off of it, stripping it to bare solid wood, probably for the paper building part. The bird houses were made 25yrs ago out of old barn boards, so plenty of old wood to chew on.


 Birds like to get at the bottoms of them to open them up to get to the larvae. Most of them I find in the fall... after the leaves have fallen....are all tore up at the bottom.


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## blades (Sep 14, 2021)

German hornets in wall at home. Thought I got them all out last year , but they are back.  When it gets cold enough I will have to tear out the dry wall inside to really clean it out. This is a stairwell to basement that was added  on sometime after the original build. No insulation in that exterior wall. Don't think anyone pulled a permit as the wall & roof section is just butted up to the vinyl siding of the main home.  Of course it is at the bottom landing area  way up at the top  about a 16 ft climb to that corner. This year they have routed out a section along the interior roof line of the drywall.  I have fogged it 3 times to point of being able to see where else there are openings that they can get in as evidenced by escaping fog.  Got nailed 2 nights ago by a stealth bomber.  It's War boys, War I tell ya.


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