Yellow Jackets... Did I do the right thing?

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Discovered a yellow jacket nest under the roof overhang on the fire station. They built it right over a flood light and completely encased it... The nest was the size of a watermellon.
I thought about calling a pest guy or someone who comes and gets them to use for medical purposes, which probably woulda been the smart thing to do but...
Since I live in a fire station, you see...
I have mega water pressure, so I blasted the thing away with the garden hose.
I "pressure" washed the thing away so there is no sign of the nest whatsoever, but the yellow jackets are still there, buzzing around like crazy, even as darkness is falling
Question...
If I keep blasting the former nest site with water every so often, will they go away or try to re-establish the nest???

[doug hodder]

Dean in the future....give the local kids sticks and tell them it's a Pinata!!! Hey everyone...it's just a joke, do not do this at home, it should only be done by professionals in a controlled environment!!! Or with kids that really really bug you! Doug

[fireaunt]

Oh Buddy! You have P.O.d them now!

After my last week I'd be callin' the pest guys and holdin' my epipen with the other.

Marilyn

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Doug,
I may have done alright...
The marine layer came in and the fog is misting pretty good right now.
No sign of the swarm, but just to be sure, I blasted the underside of the overhang with the hose on full blast for about five minutes about 15' in each direction from where the nest was at the corner of the building.
The only thing I stirred up this time was the next door neighbor... Said he came outside to invistigate what the loud "ripping" sound was.

[QuietOutdoorsman]

yellow jackets are territorial and try to defend their hives. That's probably why they were buzzing around ready to sting anything and everything in sight. They will recreate the hive somewhere, but probably not in the same place.

[S. Heisley]

Hi, Dean:
When you want to destroy a wasp/yellow jacket nest, wait until dusk and then spray them from a distance with a can of wasp killer. For example, Black Flag makes one that kills yellow jackets, wasps, hornets, etc. You can spray it from 20 feet away and it kills on contact. The next day, when all those guys are dead, its okay to knock down the nest with a spray of water and step on it to smash it and destroy the remaining eggs. Then, throw it away.

The reason you wait until dusk is two fold. 1) Most beneficial insects are not out at night and 2) all the wasps/yellow jackets come home to roost for the night at dusk so you'll get all of them. When you spray in the daytime (or hose them down) they'll just come back and build a new nest and quite often it will be right near the old one. The stinging power of a yellow jacket is much greater than a wasp. A wasp stings once, looses its stinger, and dies. A yellow jacket can sting up to 40 times. Make those buggers mad and you can be in real trouble.

Once you get rid of the nest, get a fake hornets nest and hang it in a corner area where the yellow jackets can see it from at least two side of the building. Wasps and yellow jackets will usually not build near a hornets nest.

Best Wishes,
Sharon

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Thanks Sharon,
Well, I did wait until dusk, but where I may have screwed up just a tad... I turned the flood lights on for about 10 minutes and the heat from the bulb which was somewhere inside the nest got 'em stirred up a bit and they didn't settle down much even after the lights were turned off for about 20 minutes.

Another thing... After blasting the nest with my hose, most of the nest fell into a very large rhody bush. (Tree actually) and I didn't venture in to located it, so it's still in there, but very, very water logged.

I'm guessing that the nest appeared sometime right before or during the IRG... I was pretty busy with other stuff during that time to notice it in it's smaller state, but I do know that it wasn't older than a month...
I just didn't like the intruder factor and blasting them with hose seemed like a quick way to make them be gone... Just hope they are gone in the morning.

BTW- It was very nice to meet you at the gathering.

[madjack]

no-no-no-no-no-no, Dean this is whatcha do...take a wad of newspaper, fasten them to the end of a cane pole and light it up, then, whenit getsta burnin' real good, you shove it up into the nest...yellow jacket flambe'...mmm mmm mmm
madjack

p.s. you did say you lived in a "firehouse"...dinja... ........MJ

[Miriam C.]

Well since you didn't kill the Yellow Jackets you might want to move the nest (CAREFULLY) to somewhere else. They might decide to stay in the bush and guard the nest. Next time they hear water you could be in for a fight.

[S. Heisley]

If the nest fell onto the ground, the wasps will usually abandon it and you may be able to smash it, if you're careful. If the nest is cradled in the bush, use a wasp-killing spray directly on the nest at dusk. In limiting the use of pesticides by only spraying the nest, you'll have less harmful effect on the rest of the environment.

I have had instances where yellow jackets have made nests in both places: trees and bushes. With one, I was pulling a few weeds near a Redwood tree and a soldier guard (or guards?..didn't stick around to find out!) started bombing me and stinging each time. That's how I found the nest.....Not nice. Because of their stinging capacity, they are the most dangerous of all wasps and bees.

Since the European Honey Bee (Our main honey bee is not native to our country) is dying off, we must have a new appreciation for wasps as they, too, pollinate our crops. However, because wasps, YJ's, are more dangerous, they should not be allowed near unsuspecting humans. The fake hornets nest help drive them away, discouraging them from building nests around people's homes and businesses while not harming the insect.

Oh, Boy! I'm standing on a soap box....Sorry if I overwhelm you with all this but it's important.

[Dean_A]

I just found three small YJ nests in my eaves last week. I used the "spray at a distance" stuff at dusk, as recommended, and it worked great. When you start spraying, it actually starts raining dead YJs. Waited 24 hours, then knocked it down with a pole and threw it away. No problems. Nobody came back.

Sharon, one bit of clarification. I always though that wasps could sting multiple times, like yellow jackets, but that bees could only sting once because of their barbed stingers. Was I wrong about wasps?

[Nitetimes]

Sharon, one bit of clarification. I always though that wasps could sting multiple times, like yellow jackets, but that bees could only sting once because of their barbed stingers. Was I wrong about wasps?

I don't think so, I've been hit by the same wasp more than once myself, didn't seem to bother it. Hornets do the same only they are a little more miserable when P.O.ed.
I know honey bees die after they sting you tho.

[4123]

I've got to put in my two cents worth here. Having been a telephone man who has worked mostly on homes in the woods for over 25 years, I have had hundreds of skirmishes with mud wasps, yellow jackets and bald face hornets. The most common bee found under roof eaves (this is where I did most of my work, stapling wires under eaves) are the mud wasps. They are the ones with the "hour glass" body. They are very docile and you can literally "pluck" the nest off the eave with bare fingers. They will dive bomb you but will not sting unless you come in direct physical contact with them. Yellow jackets and hornets are a different story. Not only do they sting repeatedly but I am convinced that they have a very good memory and can read your mind! Case in point: My son, Jonathan, and I were splitting firewood in the woods about 100 yards behind our house. I was watching Jonathan work when I noticed a large, basketball size, bald face hornets nest about five feet from him. The hornets were busy coming and going and paid no attention to Jonathan who was swinging a 8 pound splitting mall and probably creating a mini 'earthquake' every time he struck the wood near them. I yelled at Jonathan to stop and back away slowly which he did. Later that day, I approached the nest with some telephone company issue bee killer spray that can spray 25 feet and will kill instantly. As I got nearer to the nest, they suddenly started pouring out of the nest and started whizzing at me like bullets before I even had a chance to lift the spray can and aim. They knew I was coming! I ran from the area and only got stung once. Ouch! VERY painful! An hour later while I was working on more firewood next to the house, a hornet dive bombed me from above and stung me right on the top of my bald head. It remembered me from earlier that day! That night, in the dark, I returned and saturated the nest successfully.
Yellowjackets more often than not, build their nests under ground. But. sometimes inside walls of houses. They are even more aggressive than hornets and will attack in much greater numbers. They are very organized and use a spiraling search pattern and will sting anything that moves if their nest has been disturbed. Once I accidentally parked my dirt bike on top of a Yellowjacket nest. They came pouring out of the ground and attacked the motorcycle, trying to sting it in a hundred different places. I had to wait until after dark to retrieve the bike. I have found that a good way to kill a Yellowjacket nest is to approach the entry hole at night and pour a cupful of gas into the hole. This works very well. There will always be stragglers that spent the night elsewhere buzzing around the hole the next day but they can't enter the nest and will eventually die. I've used this method many times over the years and it has never failed.
Now. If someone can tell me how to kill carpenter bees, I would love to hear how. They are the ones who bore holes in cedar and eat the wood.

[S. Heisley]

Yellow Jackets:
Yes, there is more than one type of yellow jacket: those that nest in the ground and those that nest above ground. The ones we have around here are usually the type that attach their nests under the eves, probably because so much of our soil in this area is hard and rocky clay. Anyway, if they nest in the eves, they aren't the type to nest in the ground. However, both types will nest in hollow logs and other such convenient instruments. (By the way, YJ's are a member of the wasp family.)

Ground nesting Carpenter Bees, Wasps, etc. don't like their nests stepped on, let alone parked on.

Ground Nesting Wasps and Carpenter Bees:
A Carpenter Bee looks a lot like a Bumble Bee but is mostly black with just a very small amount of yellow on it. Carpenter Bees prefer to nest in a hollow log, if they can find one. If not, the ground will do. If you find a log or ground nest of any bee or wasp type, and it is in place where it could threaten humans or livestock, etc., purchase a dust/powder insecticide made for that purpose. Carefully inspect where the tunnel openings are during daylight hours and make note of them. Sprinkle the insecticide at dusk or later, according to the manufacturers directions, making certain to dust the openings to all tunnels. A dust insecticide is used for these nests because it will remain on the top of the ground. A liquid would just soak into the soil, thereby becoming much less effective. Keep animals and people away from the nest until all the offending insects have perished and the area has been washed free of poisons.

Don't destroy them unless you have to:
If the nest is not in a threatening area, simply let it be and find another path to go down. With so many honey bees disappearing, our other types of bees and wasps are becoming very necessary for pollination. Loss of pollinating bees is affecting our food supplies. Already, many types of squash flowers must often be hand-pollinated.

Cautions:
Be careful not to kill wasps by smashing them. Certain wasps (I can't remember which ones) emit a chemical when they are smashed that will incite the rest of their 'clan' to riot against you.

If you get stung, immediately apply a layer of dampened salt to the sting, to help draw out some of the venom. Of course, always do your best to avoid getting stung. If you have an allergy to bee or wasp stings, stay away from the nests and get someone else to do the bee/wasp killing.

With Regards,
Sharon

[fireaunt]

Sharon,
Where were you last wed a week ago? (or the TX version- Wed week) I was stung by some kind of mean, aggressive, vicious, little black wasp. He was going for my gold rim glasses I think. He got me right in the fold of my eye. I never saw the reference to salt. All I found was antihistamines, Tylenol and cold packs. Now, 9 days later, and the swelling is down, there is a 1/8 inch indention where it got me and I've got mild itching hives on my check.

Stay Away from the little devils!

I didn't know some wasp/bees made ground nest but the dog dug some up - smelled or heard them I guess. They stung her too.

Thanks for the info -- how about scorpions - hehe