I have a problem...

682bear said:
I'll go buy a few cans of Raid... I can spray the hole from the outside edge of the porch...
Click to expand...

Make sure it's the foaming one..... Night and day over those that don't.


682bear said:
I just don't know if I can get enough spray inside the hole to kill the entire nest.

But I'm gonna try...

-Bear
Click to expand...


Yes, yes you can. First (and I can't say this enough), get 'em early in the morning, when they're all home. If you don't get the vast majority of them, they'll set up another nest/colony in no time. And again, there's none outside too come up behind you while you do it. That's a big deal. These guys do communicate.

Spray from a modest distance (ten ish feet) hose the main opening they're using, and expect more. When you see movement elsewhere, spray there too. (Foam..... Some of it stays where you were spraying before...). There may well only be one way in, but there's a good chance there's multiple entrances. (Inside the basement maybe? :) ) After what seems like an eternity, but in reality is a couple seconds at best, you' can approach closer, aim right at the crack, and jam all of that stuff you possibly can inside the crack/cavity.

Further.... Put a sheet, old shower curtain, something inside the basement wall, centered about where that issue resides. If they're coming in, you're not guaranteed, but could probably expect bug killer coming inside as well. It won't be a violent spray by then, and may not be an issue at all, but it keeps it off of things that you don't want to be toxic.

And don't hesitate.... You have to go into it knowing you've got this. If you stay on 'em, don't let up, a whole nest seldom outlasts the spray can. And if it does, I did mention the two pack.... A second one at the ready is cheap insurance. If you stay on 'em... With the foam.... it goes pretty well. They'll still be crawling when the first can is done, but they're not worried about you any more. If you hesitate, stop half way through, or have poor or inconsistent aim with the "not foam"... They'll get by. How fast can you run? Absolutely you need to have a plan for that of course in case of a worst case scenario, but honestly... Before they're awake, when they're all there, and stay on 'em.... It's not too bad.

After that, an hour or two for any "barely sprayed" stragglers to finish straggling, and any survivors to settle back down to their normal peaceful coexisting selves, and it's done.
 
I worked in a metal fab shop years ago and we had a yellow jacket problem. A bee guy once told me, yellow jackets have 2 phases. The trick is to bait them early on. When they are first nesting and hatching, they like to eat meat. They will take it back to the hive to feed the young ones. You can purchase and mix a bee poison with tuna and place it near the hive. They will do the rest. In phase 2 they tend to like sweet things like soda pop etc. In phase 2 they get aggressive and ornery.
 
We had them get under the vinyl siding, eat a 1' hole through our 1" Styrofoam sheathing, eat all of the wet-blown cellulose insulation, and burrow through the drywall. I hadn't noticed them until they were in the house. I shot them from the outside with hornet spray and heavily doused the area with Sevin dust. The ones who were out foraging carried the Sevin into the nest and killed the rest of them. One of my annual fall projects is walking around the outside of our house looking at where they are swarming.

Bruce
 
Hardly the most elegant thing I’ve ever made but it works and is a darn sight prettier than my prototype which was really ugly! Anyway, I call it my “wasp rifle” and in case you can’t figure out the complicated mechanics this rig attaches to the end of a hollow aluminum pole (10’ long booming gaff) and with the suitably-long trigger cord allows the operator (me) to get right up and personal with the nest before deploying the killer jet stream.

1661876249724.jpeg

It actually works works great (really handy for yearly smoke tests of smoke detectors on high ceilings too) and because the can and nozzle can rotate at the head you can shoot a nest behind a gable, inside a pocket, etc from a safe vantage. I think this year is the first in a while that I have t had to use it, but it’s shot a lot of nests in it’s day and saves beating the hasty retreat down the extension ladder afterwards.

1661876299128.jpeg

-frank
 
If they are in the walls, it can be tough. Before I tried anything, I would try and figure out where they are entering your shop at. Plug that first. Any assault on them from the outside might force them inside. If I can get to them, I use fire, but under a porch or in a wall, I would think bug bombs would be the way to go.......after I was sure I had blocked them from coming inside. If their entrance hole into the shop was easily accessible I would consider rigging up a bug bomb to force the fog into that opening, killing or pushing them in the other direction.
 
Another weird observation about yellow jackets that also applies to flies and other bugs is that this year, maybe just around here, don't know, there have been practically no flying insects of any kind. I have literally counted maybe 5 flies all summer at outdoor dinners. This is a bit scary, isn't it? What does that mean for birds, bats, etc?

Anybody else see this?
 
Eyerelief said:
If they are in the walls, it can be tough. Before I tried anything, I would try and figure out where they are entering your shop at. Plug that first. Any assault on them from the outside might force them inside. If I can get to them, I use fire, but under a porch or in a wall, I would think bug bombs would be the way to go.......after I was sure I had blocked them from coming inside. If their entrance hole into the shop was easily accessible I would consider rigging up a bug bomb to force the fog into that opening, killing or pushing them in the other direction.
Click to expand...

This was something I had considered...

I went over the entire interior wall and filled any and all cracks and holes in the mortar with silicon caulk... I know they can chew through caulk if they want to, but if they do, at least I'll be able to tell where they are coming in.

I mainly did this to keep them from escaping into the basement when I start spraying the hole...

I bought 4 cans of Raid foaming wasp and hornet spray... if that doesn't do the job, I'll consult with a professional...

Thanks for all the suggestions...

-Bear
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top