Yellow jackets---tough nests to get rid of.

Tacoma747

Tacoma747

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Winston-Salem
I have a nest in the very peak of my house, it is about 25ft up, luckily I don't have a problem accessing it since I have a crane with a man basket, so no worries of standing on a ladder. Last week I borrowed a bee suit from my uncle, my neighbor wore it and sprayed two cans of wasp killer up behind the metal trim. Even drilled two holes up higher with a long drill bit, inserted a tube in and sprayed a bunch in those. Anyways, this killed some, quite a few for inside the house but were dead or dying. I used expanding foam to plug up any areas that I thought they may be getting in, but with a vaulted ceiling that is all wood, there are literally a TON of places they could get in. Even after the expanding foam I have still seen a few.

Them getting in the house isn't as much a concern, it's killing them. Any ideas that avoid pulling the aluminum trim off the side of the house? I can fit a small silicone tube in behind the trim, but much of the spray just runs out.

also have a bunch of nests (spanning over about 20-30 ft) in a railroad tie retaining wall. I have put some granulated bug killer (forgot the brand) at each entrance but so far hasn't seemed to phase them. Honestly I don't care about the nests in the wall, but I think they are getting so big that they just keep splitting off and making new nests (such as the one in the house). Haven't seen any bugs in our garden this year! Wish I could leave them but with kids I guess I need to kill them. My son's stay away from them but my 2 y/o daughter doesn't remember to stay away.

i also have this hornets nest, but I will leave it alone!

IMG_20210712_165147507_HDR~2.jpg
 
I had luck with seven dust when I had a nest in my block wall of the shop. They had several places they came and went from and no matter how many cans of spray I couldn't seem to get them. I poured an entire container of seven dust on the top will of the wall and threw some at their outside entrance. Never saw them gain after a few days.
 
I can't be the only that would love to take a flamethrower to that hornets nest. I had YJ's in my large foam archery target and I coated in it sevin dust and let it rain on it a few times. Seems to have taken care of them when nothing else did.
 
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jeepinmatt said:
I guess we have a bigass hornets nest on that side of the house...
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Some useful info following my post in the random pic thread. Sounds like we have a similar issue, but mine are bigass hornets. I can walk right up to them, but ive heard they can sting through some bee suits, so I haven't committed yet, haha.
 
Tacoma747 said:
I have a nest in the very peak of my house, it is about 25ft up, luckily I don't have a problem accessing it since I have a crane with a man basket, so no worries of standing on a ladder. Last week I borrowed a bee suit from my uncle, my neighbor wore it and sprayed two cans of wasp killer up behind the metal trim. Even drilled two holes up higher with a long drill bit, inserted a tube in and sprayed a bunch in those. Anyways, this killed some, quite a few for inside the house but were dead or dying. I used expanding foam to plug up any areas that I thought they may be getting in, but with a vaulted ceiling that is all wood, there are literally a TON of places they could get in. Even after the expanding foam I have still seen a few.

Them getting in the house isn't as much a concern, it's killing them. Any ideas that avoid pulling the aluminum trim off the side of the house? I can fit a small silicone tube in behind the trim, but much of the spray just runs out.

also have a bunch of nests (spanning over about 20-30 ft) in a railroad tie retaining wall. I have put some granulated bug killer (forgot the brand) at each entrance but so far hasn't seemed to phase them. Honestly I don't care about the nests in the wall, but I think they are getting so big that they just keep splitting off and making new nests (such as the one in the house). Haven't seen any bugs in our garden this year! Wish I could leave them but with kids I guess I need to kill them. My son's stay away from them but my 2 y/o daughter doesn't remember to stay away.

i also have this hornets nest, but I will leave it alone!

View attachment 354422
Click to expand...
For the truck I would sneak up to that nest in the middle of the night 2/3 am. or in a hard rain in daytime and smash that nest off the truck w a 10/12' stick, 2x4,drop it, and run like the wind to my truck or house whatever was closer.
 
My neighbor removed this hornets nest while wearing the bee suit. It was hanging over the carport of his house. I had raised him up in the crane, the he sawed the branch out. It went great, he could have honestly done it without a bee suit as they didn't even come near him. The only thing I would do differently is to do it at night with the hole taped shut. He said they have started to build a new nest, I think if they were ALL in the nest he could have put it in the woods across the street and they would have been happy. He also just laid it on the ground which was dumb.

I'll get some sevin dust tomorrow and see how that works.

So anyone have some ideas for the yellow jacket nest in the house?
IMG_20210731_130541421~2.jpg
IMG_20210731_130211348_HDR.jpg
 
Tacoma747 said:
My neighbor removed this hornets nest while wearing the bee suit. It was hanging over the carport of his house. I had raised him up in the crane, the he sawed the branch out. It went great, he could have honestly done it without a bee suit as they didn't even come near him. The only thing I would do differently is to do it at night with the hole taped shut. He said they have started to build a new nest, I think if they were ALL in the nest he could have put it in the woods across the street and they would have been happy. He also just laid it on the ground which was dumb.

I'll get some sevin dust tomorrow and see how that works.

So anyone have some ideas for the yellow jacket nest in the house?View attachment 354433View attachment 354434
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........talk to Matt :laughing:
Tacoma747 said:
I have a nest in the very peak of my house, it is about 25ft up, luckily I don't have a problem accessing it since I have a crane with a man basket, so no worries of standing on a ladder. Last week I borrowed a bee suit from my uncle, my neighbor wore it and sprayed two cans of wasp killer up behind the metal trim. Even drilled two holes up higher with a long drill bit, inserted a tube in and sprayed a bunch in those. Anyways, this killed some, quite a few for inside the house but were dead or dying. I used expanding foam to plug up any areas that I thought they may be getting in, but with a vaulted ceiling that is all wood, there are literally a TON of places they could get in. Even after the expanding foam I have still seen a few.

Them getting in the house isn't as much a concern, it's killing them. Any ideas that avoid pulling the aluminum trim off the side of the house? I can fit a small silicone tube in behind the trim, but much of the spray just runs out.

also have a bunch of nests (spanning over about 20-30 ft) in a railroad tie retaining wall. I have put some granulated bug killer (forgot the brand) at each entrance but so far hasn't seemed to phase them. Honestly I don't care about the nests in the wall, but I think they are getting so big that they just keep splitting off and making new nests (such as the one in the house). Haven't seen any bugs in our garden this year! Wish I could leave them but with kids I guess I need to kill them. My son's stay away from them but my 2 y/o daughter doesn't remember to stay away.

i also have this hornets nest, but I will leave it alone!

View attachment 354422
Click to expand...
can you place a shop fan at the holes in the wall to suck them up and spit them out? I've done it w nests in the ground and they were all killed by the fan in a few hours. If the entrance is on the side of the wall set a table or otherwise set it to put the fan about a foot,8" from the wall blowing away from the wall. If you move slow and place the fan w the switch on and an extension cord before plugging in. If its on top of the wall just set the back of the fan near the hole and watch the SOBs get spit out on the ground.
 
I had a yellow jacket nest coming in the soffit and into the attic. spray never worked. co worker let me borrow some professional stuff and it worked amazing. I mixed tekko pro and bifen.
 
I had the same hornets as @jeepinmatt in the wall of a cabin. I mixed up a cocktail of the 2 sprays below and sprayed around their entrance hole. It took a couple of days, but it wiped them out.

Rockwell Labs LGLU016 LambdaStar UltraCap 9.7% Insecticide, 16 oz Amazon product ASIN B007EC692U

store.doyourownpestcontrol.com

Taurus SC Termiticide & Insecticide

Taurus SC Insecticide and Termiticide with 9.1% Fipronil by Control Solutions has the same active ingredient and label as the well-known Termidor SC. Taurus SC is a non-repellent insecticide labeled for termite and home perimeter treatments. Since Taurus is a non-repellent, the insects do not...
store.doyourownpestcontrol.com store.doyourownpestcontrol.com

That's the nest in the wall a year or so later that we found during a remodel, you can see the hole they chewed through the wall to get in. They were some mean son of a guns, my dad got stung on the arm and he said it was the worst bee sting he has ever had. That is the pipe for the shower head for a size reference.

KIMG0149.JPG
 
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Pless said:
you can see the hole they chewed through the wall to get in.
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Now you've convinced me I need to deal with this sooner than later.
 
All you need is a sprayer that will shoot a stream about 15' and some Bifenthrin, Cross Check at SiteOne, but it comes under different names at many places. Even Ortho Home Defence insect killer has it in it. wherever you see a nest douse the entrance and nest as best as possible. Wait a day and if you see them again spray again. If under siding you'll have to get the spray in there but it will kill them.
 
I dust like Tempo is the best but you need to get it in there so buying a duster like in the thread linked above is the way. Every time one touches it he will spread it to his nest mates.

Bait in a gel is also viable and isn’t a repellent so they’ll take it readily and it isn’t active until they poop it out. YJ like protein and fat but will take sweet bait too. Maybe smear some on a piece of raw beef roast as an attractant.

YJ are not active at night so that’s when you work on it.

Those European Hornets on the truck ARE active at night so be warned (they may be Bald Faced Hornets but that nest looks too much like EH to me)

Seven Dust is just not really effective anymore. Much better products available that will give much better results.
 
When i was a kid a friend found a large bald hornets nest high in a tree maybe 80'. He started shooting rocks at it w his sling shot. After while he hit it and they came out and were flying around the nest. He shot at it again and almost hit it again, then they started flying striaght down towards us about 20 yrds from the tree trunk. We hauled ass, running about side by side. He got stung 3 times, i was not stung even when they were buzzing around me. I was amazed that they could find the threat from that far away.
 
mommucked said:
When i was a kid a friend found a large bald hornets nest high in a tree maybe 80'. He started shooting rocks at it w his sling shot. After while he hit it and they came out and were flying around the nest. He shot at it again and almost hit it again, then they started flying striaght down towards us about 20 yrds from the tree trunk. We hauled ass, running about side by side. He got stung 3 times, i was not stung even when they were buzzing around me. I was amazed that they could find the threat from that far away.
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They eject a pheromone so they all can track and sting you.
 
R Q said:
They eject a pheromone so they all can track and sting you.
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Oh ive known that since I was 5 yo.I've been chased and stung many, many times when i disturbed them cutting line and walking in the woods while surveying. I can't figure out how those hornets new that my friend was the threat so far from the nest.
 
mommucked said:
When i was a kid a friend found a large bald hornets nest high in a tree maybe 80'. He started shooting rocks at it w his sling shot. After while he hit it and they came out and were flying around the nest. He shot at it again and almost hit it again, then they started flying striaght down towards us about 20 yrds from the tree trunk. We hauled ass, running about side by side. He got stung 3 times, i was not stung even when they were buzzing around me. I was amazed that they could find the threat from that far away.
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Those SOBs are the most aggressive ones that I've come across in my day and I've been lit up by about everything.
 
True story. I was 5 yo. playing w 2 neighbor girls in my back yard. I was chasing them when of them ran over a yeller jacket nest and as I ran past the nest yelling loud one flew in my open mouth. I tried to spit it out but it stung my uvala and I swallowed the damn bug. I ran in the house and told my mom I swallowed a bee. She was a RN. and when she looked in my mouth she was pretty disturbed. In minutes my uvala was swolled up good. She hustled me to the car and took me to the nearest doctor, in 1970/71 that was Rex hospital where she worked. On the way there I had to lean over my knees and hold my chin down, If I held my head up my swollen uvala would get stuck in my throat and choke me. In the ER the doc. asked my mom what kind of bee it was and did we bring it, I could not talk so I poked my tummy w my finger. I can't remember what all they did to me but they did'nt pump my stomach and the swelling went down hours later. I got to eat a lot of ice cream that day and the next . It was a few weeks before I chased girls again and I stopped yelling at them. I'm sure that damn bug ruined any chance of my being a famous singer.
 
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Had a paper wasp fly into my short shirt sleeve while driving down the road 20+ years ago. He tore me up and I did everything I could not to put the car in the ditch.
 
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