Spring Yellow Jackets

[Jess from VA]

are back at my house again.  

I've posted about this before.  Because I back up to a wetlands, parkland, swamp, I seem to get invaded every spring.  But each Winter I forget about them (again) until I stumble on or see them.

The corners of my backyard are shady and muddy, and they took to ground nesting in those corners.  One day, like many before, I'd be using the blower to clean up, and I'd end up blowing a new nest, and get punished for it (ouch).  

When I finally remember to look in early spring, I begin to hunt for them and eradicate them (this early they don't seem very aggressive).

So anyway, I'm outside looking at my vinyl window sills and see little piles of dirt/crud on each end.  Close inspection up underneath produced a sluggish yellow jacket crawling out of a little weep hole.  Well crap, that's a new one.  Quick inspection of all window sills reveals several with the telltale little piles of dirt/crud.  

Yellow jacket nests in your house windows is not my idea of a good time.

So first, I blow out both side weep holes with canned air, then follow up with carburetor cleaner, then lube oil (cans with the little nozzles that will slide up into the weep holes.  A few dying assholes drop out, but not many.  I'm going to have to keep looking and treating.

And so far no stings for me.  Yayy.  

[DDT (12)]

Jess,

I hope the 'risk/reward ration' remains in your favor...

DDT (12)

[signart]

I had a yellow jacket problem a few years ago at the edge of the woods on my property. I also had a polecat problem when in the middle of the night the little stinkers paid my bedroom window a visit periodically during the summer.
I also found them visiting the yellow jacket area of the yard during the day.
Then one day I noticed large patches (about the size of the hood of a car) of the yard & dry grass all upturned like it had been tilled overnight. There was two of these farms about 10 ft. apart.
This was the area of the yellow jackets we avoided and you could now see the massive tunnels that crisscrossed under the ground. Not really all that deep, I would say about 6-8 inches.
So your treatment likely needs to cover a much larger concentration if you have such a yellow jacket farm, or employ some polecats to do the deed for you. Good Luck.

[Jess from VA]

I had a yellow jacket problem a few years ago at the edge of the woods on my property. I also had a polecat problem when in the middle of the night the little stinkers paid my bedroom window a visit periodically during the summer.
I also found them visiting the yellow jacket area of the yard during the day.
Then one day I noticed large patches (about the size of the hood of a car) of the yard & dry grass all upturned like it had been tilled overnight. There was two of these farms about 10 ft. apart.
This was the area of the yellow jackets we avoided and you could now see the massive tunnels that crisscrossed under the ground. Not really all that deep, I would say about 6-8 inches.
So your treatment likely needs to cover a much larger concentration if you have such a yellow jacket farm, or employ some polecats to do the deed for you. Good Luck.

I've never had any kind of underground network, likely due to the lousy hard-pan clay soil I have.  Just a few single nests that got the gasoline ignition treatment (at night).  Did get skunks, raccoons, and the occasional Whitetail years ago, but no more (they're all around in the woods behind me, but access to my yard is pretty restricted).

This moving into my upgrade solid vinyl, (double hung, double pane, argon gas filled and thermaflect coated) windows is new.  After blasting all the suspect intrusions with chemical and oil, I realize I have half screens, which I generally leave on the top pane, so I can open and close the bottom window, but I moved all the screens down to the bottom pane, which should prevent the little bastards from access to the weep holes.  

I think I nipped this in the bud early.    We'll see.  

[Oss]

your retirement seems like too much work for me even with the pyrotechnic components    :2funny

I will stick to practicing law (when not traveling like now we are passin thru Fayetteville ) and gardening

Thank goodness we do not have yellowjacket problems (unless we have a picnic)

[Jersey mike]

are back at my house again.  

I've posted about this before.  Because I back up to a wetlands, parkland, swamp, I seem to get invaded every spring.  But each Winter I forget about them (again) until I stumble on or see them.

The corners of my backyard are shady and muddy, and they took to ground nesting in those corners.  One day, like many before, I'd be using the blower to clean up, and I'd end up blowing a new nest, and get punished for it (ouch).  

When I finally remember to look in early spring, I begin to hunt for them and eradicate them (this early they don't seem very aggressive).

So anyway, I'm outside looking at my vinyl window sills and see little piles of dirt/crud on each end.  Close inspection up underneath produced a sluggish yellow jacket crawling out of a little weep hole.  Well crap, that's a new one.  Quick inspection of all window sills reveals several with the telltale little piles of dirt/crud.  

Yellow jacket nests in your house windows is not my idea of a good time.

So first, I blow out both side weep holes with canned air, then follow up with carburetor cleaner, then lube oil (cans with the little nozzles that will slide up into the weep holes.  A few dying assholes drop out, but not many.  I'm going to have to keep looking and treating.

And so far no stings for me.  Yayy.  

For several seasons I used a trap for yellow jackets. It hangs in the yard and has a scent packet which attracts them. They crawl in and can’t get out. I’ve found wasps and yellow jackets in the hallow corner posts of the vinyl siding. For that I’ve used the small bug bomb cans. I stand them up just under the corner post and release the fog up into the post, it works well. I do like the spectracide wasp spray for those out of reach areas. It’s non staining and works real well.

These are pretty much what they were but there are others too. Hate to say it but maybe it’s best to get a good exterminator and do a professional remediation.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RESCUE-Reusable-Yellowjacket-Trap-2-Pack-YJTR2/324616733

I thought there was something that could be spread like fertilizer to leech into the ground and kill the nests, maybe I was wrong on that.

[Jess from VA]

Hate to say it but maybe it’s best to get a good exterminator and do a professional remediation.

Well, my quick early action has all bugs out of my window weep holes.  And with the half screen in the lower position, none can get back in.

I thought there was something that could be spread like fertilizer to leech into the ground and kill the nests, maybe I was wrong on that.

I suppose a granular insecticide might help (if you get it down into a nest), but when I have found active ground nests, I wait until night when everyone's home, pour a cup or two of gas down the hole, light it, and cover with a flat rock.  Worked every time, no survivors, no repeat nests in the area either.

The problem is if they get a foothold nest going somewhere and you stumble into it fat, dumb, and happy... and stung and running. 

If I keep seeing them around, I'm may get a couple of those traps and see what they can do for me.   But I'm not crazy about the idea of a scented trap that may actually attract them in to my property either.

[Willow]

It is an interesting thread.  My experience has been that the term yellowjackets is applied to multiple species.  What we called yellowjackets in Oklahoma when I was growing up were recognizably wasp like and built generally paper hanging nests although occasionally nested in holes underground.  When I encountered the term in Georgia it was applied to a more short and fat bee like appearance and nested in tucked away locations.  I found a nest of them in a microphone post on a rifle range.

I guess the point is with the discussion and suggestions that not everyone is talking about the same type animal.   

[Jess from VA]

Yellow jacket vs paper wasp.



They can also be confused with simple honey bees.



And several species:


To me, besides a black and yellow jacket (shared by other bees), the telltale sign is that they fly very erratically; corkscrew-like.