# Yellowjacket nest defied my first effort at elimination



## wahoowad (Jul 27, 2014)

I recently discovered a nest of yellowjackets near my back deck. The nest is behind my power distribution panel which is attached to my cedar siding wall. The yellowjackets are entering from underneath in a tiny gap between the back of the panel and the wall. They do not appear to be entering the panel although I am not sure if there is room for much of a nest sandwiched between the panel and the cedar siding. I can't open the panel to check without some firm manipulation and that surely will excite them.

I sprayed the entry area twice with some Blackflag Wasp/Hornet spray - I can't see any more of the next to spray it. The 'residue' is supposed to kill as they enter/exit yet they still persist. Anything else to try short an expensive exterminator? I'm thinking of trying a different product first.


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## osagebow (Jul 27, 2014)

If you can't get to Queenie, it's a war of attrition. Don't try sealing them up-they may find a way indoors. I bet a conduit hole has them right on the other side of the drywall.

I would keep spraying, maybe different products. They are tough but eventually will as succumb. You can also hang a piece of fish a few inches  over a soapy water tra, and do a honey/apple juice trap. Good luck, and a baking soda paste will help with stings.


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## 1kzwoman (Jul 27, 2014)

If you have access to CO2 fire extinguisher go out early in am( coldest part of day) , spray area with CO2 which will chill them. Open panel and use poison spray.  CO2 will chill warm beer in nothing flat especially if the boss buys the extinguisher!


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## 1kzwoman (Jul 27, 2014)

I have apple trees so fight yellow jackets every year. Ace foaming wasp/ hornet or ortho  are my preferred brands of insecticide


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## Hogwildz (Jul 28, 2014)

Caulk the access hole shut.


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## Utilitrack (Jul 28, 2014)

This stuff is awesome, knocks them down immediately and from a distance, added plus it won't hurt your electrical box. https://www.sprayon.com/products/s00857_blast_em_wasp_hornet_killer


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## Retired Guy (Jul 28, 2014)

Get  ground bee power and an applicator and spray the dust into the entrance hole. Insects coming in will bring the insecticide into the nest and in a couple of days the nest will be killed. The liquid sprays often kill the bees coming out and their bodies plug the exit forcing the rest of the nest to find another exit. My experience is that the second exit was in the kitchen!


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## semipro (Jul 28, 2014)

Are you sure they're yellow jackets, a type of wasp? 
If they're bees instead a local beekeeper may help to relocate them. 

I use diluted dish soap in a sprayer on my last Yellow Jacket invasion. 
You have to harass them a lot to get them to move, or as someone else mentioned, kill the queen.


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## Warm_in_NH (Jul 28, 2014)

I had a hard to reach nest up under my porch behind the lattice last year, there was no straight line of site to hit the nest with spray.
I was able to adapt a piece of plastic tubing (from a can of spray foam) onto my can of bee spray, with a little heat I was able to put a 90 degree bend in it. Early morning I was able to spray blindly through the lattice and up to the bottom of the deck. Took two tries and they were gone. 

I'm with osagebow,  they're probably in the wall or the box. 

Good luck!


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## Ashful (Jul 28, 2014)

Between a barn, a big old house with lots of nesting spots, and 4 acres of lawn and gardens, I deal with a lot of bees, wasps, yellow jackets, and the like.  Of all the above, the only ones I really fear are yellow jackets, as they're just about the most aggressive and nasty creatures ever created.

In your situation, I'd probably break down and call an exterminator, which I've only had to do on one other occasion in all my years.  Short of that, forget the consumer products, and go pro:  http://doyourownpestcontrol.com/yellowjackets.htm

I've used a few of their products for carpenter bee elimination, and their effectiveness just blows my mind, after years of frustration with products that can be purchased at Home Depot.


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## wahoowad (Jul 28, 2014)

I do not think they are in the electrical box because there is a 3/4" open hole in the bottom of the box where conduit would connect. I guess it fell out. I would think they would use this hole if they were inside the box. Instead I can clearly see them going behind the box. What I can't tell is what they are doing back behind it or how big the nest is. 

Yes, they are definitely yellow jackets. I bought a different brand of spray with a 12" nozzle (like a WD-40 nozzle) that creates a foam. It will be cooler than normal tonight so I will shoot a good amount of foam in the hole very early this morning. 

I searched Lowes for a powder or concentrate and they did not have anything. Just regular retail cans of spray. I'll get a pro if this last attempt does not work.


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## Donk4kyv (Jul 30, 2014)

Are you sure they are yellow jackets and not paper wasps?  I believe yellow jackets nest in the ground. Paper wasps build nests inside walls and under the eaves of a house, and are much less aggressive. Yellow jackets are a kind of wasp,  about as aggressive as hornets, but I don't think  they would build a  nest behind an electrical panel. I had a nest of them in my front lawn last year. Every time I cut the grass I was getting stung. I finally located the nest by closing the windows on the car and driving back and forth over the area where I was getting stung. When I drove over where the nest was, there must have been thousands swarming out of the hole. They practically covered the windows of the car.

I bought some yellow jacket spray, waited until after dark, and saturated the hole with the spray and plugged up the hole. That took care of them. Before spraying, I looked down the hole with a flash light. The nest was huge. They tend to build in abandoned holes left behind by other animals. I wouldn't  have bothered them if they hadn't been  so close to the house and stinging me when I cut the grass.

The paper  wasps often mistaken for yellow jackets are  smaller and slimmer. Usually they won't sting you unless you bump into the nest or otherwise disturb them.

Some people mistake honey bees for yellow jackets. Bees are a lot less aggressive as well (unless you get a  swarm of the dreaded Africanised bees AKA "killer bees", which I don't  think have migrated this far north yet).


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## wahoowad (Jul 30, 2014)

They are yellow jackets. I've gotten up close and are sure what they are.

My second brand of yellow jacket spray did not work. It was a foaming product and I sprayed the can directly up the access hole they were using. Next day they are flying in and out like nothing happened. They must have another crevice I can't see that puts the nest out of reach. The 'residue' feature isn't doing crapola. 

Today I'll call around for a pro. I don't want my wife or pets getting stung.


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## maple1 (Jul 30, 2014)

Maybe try hanging a trap somewhere outside the entrance?

They are likely nesting in the wall cavity. I don't think I'd try plugging their entrance - the ones that get stuck in there might end up going further in, rather than out.

I had a huge nest once in my Venmar exit pipe. 6" flexible pipe, plugged solid for about 4 feet. I happened to notice a couple going in & out when going by on my lawnmower. After stopping & watching them go in & out for a few minutes, I just left it alone until late fall after they had vacated, then I tore down the pipe from in the basement & replaced it. But we don't have real Yellow Jackets, these were yellow hornets.


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## Ashful (Jul 30, 2014)

Nothing wrong with calling a pro.  Will cost you $150 - $200.  I have one visiting my house today to take down a large wasp nest, built in a place where I can't access the entrance with a foaming spray.  Second time I've had to call them in 3 years... but also second time in 40 years.


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## mithesaint (Jul 30, 2014)

Had to call a pro last year myself.  They had a nest inside a hollow wall cavity, and I couldn't get to them.  He came, worked on things for about an hour, and that was the last I saw of them.


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## wahoowad (Aug 2, 2014)

The Pro showed up, dusted it with some unknown white powder. 12 hours later and no yellowjackets in sight. 

I'm not sure what dust he used but am curious to know if it is simply boric acid.


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## BrotherBart (Aug 2, 2014)

Keep an eye out for a while to see if you grow any new fingers or toes.


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## 1kzwoman (Aug 2, 2014)

http://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/yellowjackets.htm.   Maybe one of these was used


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## Hogwildz (Aug 2, 2014)

Just got stung by two hornets today. Didn't notice they built a nest on my empty woodrack. Noticed real quick while being stung and seeing the nest a swarming. Getting a little itchy here. Fuggers


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## semipro (Aug 2, 2014)

We've found that if we immediately put some vinegar on the bites the pain quickly goes away.  We use a cotton ball or some such. 
I believe this is because insect venoms are basic (high pH) and vinegar is acidic (low pH) so the vinegar neutralizes the venom.


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## blades (Aug 3, 2014)

german hornets look a lot like a yellow jacket- nest in ground- extremely aggressive when disturbed.  This year after 4 years of systematically attacking wasp and hornet nests close or on/in various areas of my home I am pretty free of them. Problem I have now and the last couple years is Bald Headed Hornets. Two summers back huge nest some 40 ft up in a tree 30 ft from house, 20 gauge shot gun took care of nest. This year the nest is somewhere back in the conservatory area behind the house, I haven't found it yet. At least it is some 60 or so yards from the house so hasn't presented a big problem yet. But the little buggers are working the wood stacks for construction material.


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## DavidWiebe (Sep 4, 2014)

I've cleaned up a few large nests of wasps and hornets both by rigging up a shop vac hose to point strait at the nest opening (About 1 inch away). I've set up the rig using a step ladder and some tape to hold it in place, another time some random bits laying around. Anyway, if you move slowly while setting up and don't make a bunch of noise, I found they pretty much ignored me until I turned on the shop vac. At that point they start running out of the nest to see what's happening and promptly get sucked into the shop vac. After a while they are more cautious and you have to bang on the nest a bit and then they really get pissed and pour out of the nest strait into the vac. I left it set up and running for a few hours and by then 98% of them have been sucked up. At this point you can dispose of the nest, spray it first if you like.
This works like a charm and there's that satisfying glee of listening to the "thuk" and then bouncing down the hose and smack into the vac... at the end they're so dazed that you dump them out and they're just barely moving their legs. Squish the whole bunch with your shoe or something and problem solved.


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## EatenByLimestone (Sep 8, 2014)

wahoowad said:


> The Pro showed up, dusted it with some unknown white powder. 12 hours later and no yellowjackets in sight.
> 
> I'm not sure what dust he used but am curious to know if it is simply boric acid.


 

I use Tempo 1%.

I'm not sure I could inject enough boric acid into the cavity to take the hive out.


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## fbelec (Sep 16, 2014)

i was told that if they are yellow jackets the spray you use has to say yellow jackets or it won't work it will just daze them. as far as the powder that the pro uses leave the powder alone don't wash it off. i left the powder alone for the three years it stayed and it kept killing on contact. hey hogwildz if you were itchy your allergic you should have a epi pen. with each sting the side effects get worse. just spent 3.5 hours in the er with a swollen throat and tougue and almost passed out.


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## EatenByLimestone (Sep 17, 2014)

Not true on the spray.  Mine is labeled for many insects.


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## HeatsTwice (Sep 19, 2014)

Last  month I discovered a yellow jacket hive under a deck in our side yard. Got stung about 5 times as did the wife/son. I tried the spray foam - did not work. They were back by the end of the next day.

So I got creative. I connected a 1/3 hp shop vacuum to a remote control AC switch ($18) :

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Woods-Ou...H=REC-_-PIPHorizontal1-4-_-NA-_-203638969-_-N

I put the hose end of the vacuum at the entrance to the hive (by taping it to a 10 foot section of PVC pipe as a long handle) and hit the remote control switch. It sucked up 80% of the hive within seconds.

From that point on, it was a pretty fun game for the kids: "If you see a yellow jacket entering the nest, press the remote control 'on' button". One by one the kids sucked them all up - over about four days. I found that once the vacuum was on I could jump up and down on the deck to piss them off and score even more. Nest is dead now.

I will always use this technique in the future.


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## wvstriper (Oct 17, 2014)

Sevin dust blown into the hole can be very effective.


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## woodsmaster (Oct 19, 2014)

Seven dust works great. usually gone within one day... A little late on the post but there's always next time...


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## mustangwagz (Oct 19, 2014)

Yah sevens dust OR get on   "domyownpestcontrol.com" and get yourself some bee powder, lots of different stuff on there. Get a wand to mist it too, kind alike a turkey baster with a really long metal tube and fine pointy tip for getting into holes. I dusted bee's last time i found some in the outter house walls, within 3 hours they had quit coming in and out, theyve yet to return also.


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## Retired Guy (Oct 19, 2014)

After fighting yellow jackets for years I now trap the queens in early spring and for the few that are left,  I dust the nests during the summer and fall. Quick and easy.


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## Ashful (Oct 20, 2014)

Retired Guy said:


> After fighting yellow jackets for years I now trap the queens in early spring and for the few that are left,  I dust the nests during the summer and fall. Quick and easy.


Elaborate, please.  I have a yellow jacket nest under a tree by my back door, and with the weather finally turning cool, was set to take it on this week.

I'd love to know how you go about trapping the queens in spring.  I can get the hornet queens (paper nests hanging from soffets and doorways are obvious), but yellow jackets in the ground defy my best efforts.


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## semipro (Oct 21, 2014)

Joful said:


> I'd love to know how you go about trapping the queens in spring


Me too. 
I found a yellow jacket in my bed last week - or rather it found me, my behind specifically.  
I'm ready to escalate the fighting.


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## Retired Guy (Oct 21, 2014)

Joful said:


> Elaborate, please.  I have a yellow jacket nest under a tree by my back door, and with the weather finally turning cool, was set to take it on this week.
> 
> I'd love to know how you go about trapping the queens in spring.  I can get the hornet queens (paper nests hanging from soffets and doorways are obvious), but yellow jackets in the ground defy my best efforts.



I just buy yellow jacket traps at the local garden center in the early spring and set them around the wood stack and the areas that yellow jackets are usually found. I usually trap 2 or 3 queens (big yellow jackets) in each.


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## atvalaska (Oct 25, 2014)

I use brake clean ...a nest with a in and out hole ..gets a  shop vac about 1/3 full of water and some dish soap   place the hose near the "hole" and plug her in...  then raise  some hell nearby/smack the ground an such ....    u will not believe how many u will have drowned Q


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## SONOCATIVO (Nov 1, 2014)

WD40 will rid them, Ive used it a few times. This past summer I was mowing and looked back, there was a swarm of yellow jackets coming from the ground. I waited and looked, found the nest entrance. Charcoal lighter fluid, a match and a small pile of twigs....havent seen them since.


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## SONOCATIVO (Nov 1, 2014)

I got giant wasps going into openings around my roof, I know im going to need a pro to kill and seal that up.... Im alergic, let alone kill myself diving off the roof...lol


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## Swedishchef (Nov 2, 2014)

SONOCATIVO said:


> I got giant wasps going into openings around my roof, I know im going to need a pro to kill and seal that up.... Im alergic, let alone kill myself diving off the roof...lol


Yeah, I'd leave that to the PRO.

On another note, I love Beaker!

Andrew


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## Fsappo (Nov 5, 2014)

Joful said:


> Between a barn, a big old house with lots of nesting spots, and 4 acres of lawn and gardens, I deal with a lot of bees, wasps, yellow jackets, and the like.  Of all the above, the only ones I really fear are yellow jackets, as they're just about the most aggressive and nasty creatures ever created.
> 
> I felt the same way until I was stung by a hornet.


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## SONOCATIVO (Nov 5, 2014)

I got nailed by 2 hornets riding my Harley a few years back... that hurts....bad.....


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## Fsappo (Nov 5, 2014)

SONOCATIVO said:


> I got nailed by 2 hornets riding my Harley a few years back... that hurts....bad.....




I've been bit by all kinds of bees, wasps, etc.  Hurts, you get over it.  I've had bones broken, etc.  Hurts, but its a pain you can understand.  A hornet stung my hand and I felt like death itself was creeping up my arm.  I tied it off at the bicep like a junkie because I didn't want it to reach my heart.


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## SONOCATIVO (Nov 5, 2014)

I worked in a machine shop before, got off and into my Jeep, kept feeling something stick me in the back like a metal  splinter... turned out I sat on a wasp, kept jabbing me in the low back... no wonder I couldnt find that thing in my shirt, it was on the seat....lol


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## Ashful (Nov 5, 2014)

SONOCATIVO said:


> I worked in a machine shop before, got off and into my Jeep, kept feeling something stick me in the back like a metal  splinter... turned out I sat on a wasp, kept jabbing me in the low back... no wonder I couldnt find that thing in my shirt, it was on the seat....lol


Similar incident here.  Felt something jab me in the palm when I was pushing some cardboard down in a trash can, and thought I just hit a sharp bit of packaging.  Moved my hand over a few inches and pushed down on the pile again... then whammo!  Took a look at my palm, and this poor hornet was just furiously dangling there by his tail, probably couldn't even pull out if he wanted to.    Hurt like hell for a day or two.


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## SONOCATIVO (Nov 6, 2014)

Joful said:


> Similar incident here.  Felt something jab me in the palm when I was pushing some cardboard down in a trash can, and thought I just hit a sharp bit of packaging.  Moved my hand over a few inches and pushed down on the pile again... then whammo!  Took a look at my palm, and this poor hornet was just furiously dangling there by his tail, probably couldn't even pull out if he wanted to.    Hurt like hell for a day or two.


I had a bee nail my fingertip while washing my truck, little bugger was in the hole with the lug nuts, Stuck my finger in with a thing rag to wash the dust out and felt a burning sensation, kept getting worst, I pulled my finger out and seen a bee fall out, looked at my finger which was burning like crazy now and sure enough a stinger stuck in it, wasnt deep but enough to hurt, as my fingertips are a but tough from work and playing guitar. Im allergig but luckily neither incidents cause a bad reaction... reminding me, I need to get a new Epi-Pen next spring.


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## Hogwildz (Nov 6, 2014)

Well, the bald faced hornets are gone. They split for the winter, and I tore the nest apart. It was huge, and built in and around a pallet.
Now I can get to stacking my wood.


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## Dr.Faustus (Jan 4, 2015)

I know this is an older thread and most people's wasp problems have solved themselves due to the cold, but come spring if you have a problem with these things and the nest is hard to get to, you need a product called Drione Dust. They sell it online to most states, some are excluded but the stuff really works. I've used it to get rid of 3 hard to get to nests. The first one was in my lawn. the second, in between the bottom of my metal shed and the concrete slab it rests on. the third was in the garage soffit. I was a bit worried with the supplied duster as i didnt want to get stung so i put some of this stuff in a paper cup, snuck up on them real quietly at night, bombed their entrance way with the power and ran like hell. must have been quite a sight but it works each and every time. in 2 days, no more wasps, even if it rains after you applied it.

Before i discovered drione dust, my way of getting rid of ground wasps was to take a big cardboard box, cut a hole in it for the shopvac hose and duct tape it sealed. at night sneak the contraption over the hole (i left the shopvac switch on and plugged it in via long extension cord. i'd plug it in the next morning and they would all get sucked up. seal up the vac, leave it in the sun and problem solved. I did mount a wireless cam in the box once and it was amazing to watch, but this was before those cams had the ability to record, otherwise i'd post it.


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