Yellow Jacket Nest Removal

Has anyone here successfully removed/eradicated an underground yellow jacket nest? I hate the idea of killing them, but they are getting out of control.  The past few days their numbers have increased tremendously and they are everywhere in our garden.  I've identified their entry/exit hole.  Hopefully there is only one.  I'm currently trying to decide between placing a glass bowl over the nest, or pouring boiling soapy water down the hole. Has anyone tried either of these DIY options? Would love to hear how they worked out.  

Edited for spelling.

A little bit of delta dust at the entrance will do it. No need to go nuts, if you dust the entrance you're good. 

Don't mess with glass bowls or whatever. They post sentries so all you'll do is rile them up. Just puff the dust and get away.

You shouldn't feel bad killing them. They're about done anyway- the nests die out over the winter and are not re-used. They are massively aggressive compared to paper wasps and bees. In fact they deliver (science! Someone studied this) 90% of stings, which end up getting blamed on other insects through bad identification.

If it's in a trafficked area, they can be dangerous. If it's off in a corner, you can ignore them till November or so and let nature take its course.

They are beneficial earlier in the season because they can control some garden pests, but as the season ends they go kind of nuts- the nest population is at max size and they tend to get more aggressive.

My favorite.

Groan, a friend just spotted a nest in my driveway. I didn't realize they nest in the ground and I was planning a bit of digging and weeding. @Sweetsnuggles, it was the area that I dug out all of those day lilies.

Jerry Buckingham did our ground wasps, short money. Worth every penny.

RobB said:

Jerry Buckingham did our ground wasps, short money. Worth every penny.

That's the smartest move, by a few lengths.

Jackson_Fusion said:

RobB said:

Jerry Buckingham did our ground wasps, short money. Worth every penny.

That's the smartest move, by a few lengths.

Agree 100%. I was trying to DIY removal of some yellow jackets that had taken up residence in a low window well. No success even though I sprayed over and over. Jerry came and got rid of them in one visit. 

Yellow Jackets can become especially nasty this time of year.  Remember that they do not lose their stingers when they attack and can sting you over and over again.

Good advice that if they are in an isolated area of your yard,  just leave them alone.  I only saw one nest that survived the winter............and it was between basement walls in Jersey City.  They had no 

sense of humor.  They had stung a furnace repair man repeatedly since he did not realize they were 

there.   Had to leave my flashlight on the ground several feet away to treat the nest.  They attacked

my flashlight over and over again

Leave it to the professionals

Thanks everyone for your feedback! 

Their population has really exploded during the past week, and they have clearly become more aggressive.  

The nest is in the center of our backyard at the base of a large cedar tree.  When our grandchildren were here last week, I pointed out the location of the nest and told them to steer clear of it. If they were with us this week, I would not be comfortable letting them play in the yard. 

I have decided to do the smart (and cowardly) thing, i.e. put the glass bowl, Dawn dish soap and screen away - and call Jerry.

Jackson_Fusion said:

A little bit of delta dust at the entrance will do it. No need to go nuts, if you dust the entrance you're good. 

Don't mess with glass bowls or whatever. They post sentries so all you'll do is rile them up. Just puff the dust and get away.

You shouldn't feel bad killing them. They're about done anyway- the nests die out over the winter and are not re-used. They are massively aggressive compared to paper wasps and bees. In fact they deliver (science! Someone studied this) 90% of stings, which end up getting blamed on other insects through bad identification.

If it's in a trafficked area, they can be dangerous. If it's off in a corner, you can ignore them till November or so and let nature take its course.

They are beneficial earlier in the season because they can control some garden pests, but as the season ends they go kind of nuts- the nest population is at max size and they tend to get more aggressive.

author said:

Yellow Jackets can become especially nasty this time of year.  Remember that they do not lose their stingers when they attack and can sting you over and over again.

Good advice that if they are in an isolated area of your yard,  just leave them alone.  I only saw one nest that survived the winter............and it was between basement walls in Jersey City.  They had no 


sense of humor.  They had stung a furnace repair man repeatedly since he did not realize they were 

there.   Had to leave my flashlight on the ground several feet away to treat the nest.  They attacked

my flashlight over and over again

Leave it to the professionals

If you want an appreciation for the hard freezes we get in the northeast go google up yellow jacket nests in FLA. No die off, they just keep growing and growing and growing...... 

A taste: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1lJZ3GZGxm0

Kill it. Kill it with fire. 

Jackson_Fusion said:

author said:

Yellow Jackets can become especially nasty this time of year.  Remember that they do not lose their stingers when they attack and can sting you over and over again.

Good advice that if they are in an isolated area of your yard,  just leave them alone.  I only saw one nest that survived the winter............and it was between basement walls in Jersey City.  They had no 


sense of humor.  They had stung a furnace repair man repeatedly since he did not realize they were 

there.   Had to leave my flashlight on the ground several feet away to treat the nest.  They attacked

my flashlight over and over again

Leave it to the professionals

If you want an appreciation for the hard freezes we get in the northeast go google up yellow jacket nests in FLA. No die off, they just keep growing and growing and growing...... 

A taste: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1lJZ3GZGxm0

Kill it. Kill it with fire. 

GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just one more reason to appreciate the winter! That nest is a monster.  Called Jerry and he's on the way to rescue us!

Retirement is wonderful................send Ralph out on the job

Once picked up an old hay bale from the prior Fall only to find a yellowjack nest was under it. Got 9 stings in the few seconds it took me to realize what the heck was going on.  The stings hurt for days.

One $5 can of wasp/hornet spray was all it took to eradicate them.  If you go that route, I'd strongly suggest doing the deed really early in  the morning (like before 6AM) when the air is cool and the little devils are much slower to react.  And wear long thick pants and sleeves, work gloves.... 

@morganna - that would be perfect habitat for them! I found the nest back in May when I was clearing weeds from the ivy bed around the tree.  Jerry came over and the yellow jackets met their match.  Yay for Jerry!

Morganna said:

Groan, a friend just spotted a nest in my driveway. I didn't realize they nest in the ground and I was planning a bit of digging and weeding. @Sweetsnuggles, it was the area that I dug out all of those day lilies.

Sweetsnuggles said:

@morganna - that would be perfect habitat for them! I found the nest back in May when I was clearing weeds from the ivy bed around the tree.  Jerry came over and the yellow jackets met their match.  Yay for Jerry!

Morganna said:

Groan, a friend just spotted a nest in my driveway. I didn't realize they nest in the ground and I was planning a bit of digging and weeding. @Sweetsnuggles, it was the area that I dug out all of those day lilies.

Yay!!!!

Another fan of Jerry!  We seem to need him every year!  He's saved us from paper wasps living in an apple tree next to our patio, yellow jackets that seem to love to nest in the crevices between our cedar shakes all over the house and occasionally, carpenter bees.

(Not to mention some mice and cave crickets...)