How to kill a nest of Yellow Jackets
How to kill a nest of Yello Jackets. A quiet outdoor evening ruined by a Yellow jacket sting? Not any more with this helpful advice! Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Insecticide
- Dirt
- Sprayer
- Water and soap
- Various traps for Yellow jackets
Instructions
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Consider your position with the Yellow jackets. Are you late in the summer or early fall? Leave them be then. You see Yellow jackets form a seasonal nest. This means that only a new Queen over winters as in most wasp societies. This queen then establishes a nest the following spring. If its late in the season you may just want to wait till the cold takes care of them naturally.
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Next you must secure everything that a Yellow jacket could consume. This list includes sweets and proteins. So if you feed your pet outside you may want to move the dish indoors. Dog food and cat food consist of a very convenient source of protein for that ever growing colony of Yellow jackets. Also if you have hummingbird feeders you may want to secure them as well. Though not needed as much by the colony Yellow jackets will frequently bee seen feeding on sweets to get a quick energy boost. By limiting these sources you limit the Yellow jackets around your home.
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Securing also includes the trash cans out back. Just simply bungeeing the lids shut where Yellow jackets cannot get in can drastically cut down on the numbers of them visiting your yard.
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If you have found a nest you have a decision to make. Do you want to destroy it or leave it be. If the nest is out of the way just leave it. Yellow jackets perform a very crucial role in your gardens ecosystem.
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Destroying the nest can be very simple. First you want to wait until nightfall. Cooler temperatures will decrease Yellow jacket activity. Cover in protective clothing from head to foot. Now you can take on the nest. Either take boiling soap and water, your favorite insecticide or just plain soapy water and pour directly into the nests opening. Then take a few shovelfuls of dirt and tamp it down over the opening, trapping the potential stingers in the nest to die. Now if you are using a spray insecticide you may want to find one the specializes in Yellow jackets.
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Commercial traps are also available to decrease numbers. Also you may want to look into a homemade trap. Just take a soda bottle and cut the top off with the lid. Invert this and put it into the main body of the soda bottle. Now put your favorite sugary mixture into it. Be warned though this method also traps other insects such as bees and beneficial flies.
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Tips & Warnings
Sometimes a nest is too big for you to take care of alone. Its not shameful to get a professional.
- Photo Credit http://knoxtnusa.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/yellow-jacket1.jpg
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Comments
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Got stung on the hand, very painful for several hours. Were in the area of an evergreen. Sprayed the area with bug killer. They deminished. Check tomorrow and see what is left. Never sighted the nest. See if they are back.
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don't light the gas......it can explode!!!!!
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if in a hole, eves.poor gas in hole. u can use 7 dust or lime over hole too. they won't work nest with the 7 dust.
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We are being attacked by yellow jackets. There was a dead shrub I asked to be cut down, all of a sudden a yell. I thought they cut off their finger but it was yellow jackets. I looked on the internet and it said to wait until fall to kill them, what to do. I want them gone so the dead shrub can be cut down. I am going to try the gas when they settle down, then later with boiling soapy water. Do you have any ideas, I will try all of them!
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about a pint of gas in the hole after dark & light it! Works like a champ..
