How do you get rid of Yellow Jackets?

Question

My husband and I are moving into a new house. We noticed yesterday that there are yellow jackets all over the front yard in the grass. We have a 5 year old, and he will be outside alot playing. We need to find out the quickest and easiest way to get rid of them! My husband says they must have a nest in the yard somewhere. Does anyone know what we should do? HELP!

Answer 1

not sure what you are seeing are yellow jackets...  yellow jackets will nest in the ground but, but you will see them just an the entrance sight going back and forth, majority of people think they are seeing honey bees.  Paper wasps are readily seen in the grass hunting spiders, but usually aren't really a problem..probably could treat the grass for spiders with a hose attached insecticide to cut down on a food source.... cicada killers are a very large wasp seen this time of year and they are actually "patrolling" around a foot or two off of the ground and there will be dirt mounds through out the yard, harmless unless you step on a female barefooted that is entering or leaving her nest  (each mound is one nest...one nest is one wasp)  They will be gone on their own in a few more weeks until next year...you can try getting an insecticide into the nest, dust may work better. Or there is the using of the old tennis racket method to reduce the numbers.

Answer 2

You need to find the nest to do any good.  Don't waste money on traps, either, because they will only remove about 1% of the population...

Since they typically* nest underground, it's not that easy to find a nest, especially in a wooded area, but if you are patient it can be done. I have found 4 in the last few days, and dozens over the years. Don't bother trying to follow them back to the nest- they fly very high and fast when they decide to go home. (*don't rule out old barns, retaining walls, concrete blocks, etc...they can nest anywhere there is a cavity with a hole they can get through.)

First, the best time to find them is in early morning or evening. It is best when there is no wind. The reason for this is that the sunlight will reflect off their wings and make them much easier to see, and no wind means no movement of trees and such, so the only things moving will be bugs, birds, etc. Plus in the morning and evening are the times when the most insects are leaving and returning to the colony, as opposed to mid day when more are out foraging. What you are looking for is vertical movement. Survey an area between you and the sun when the sun is low on the horizon (you want your shadow behind you). Like I said, the sunlight will amplify the light, and on a still morning you will see it illuminate everything (spider webs, other bugs, etc.) much, much better, and if the lighting is right, the yellow jackets will stand out like white dots. The key thing is that when they are out foraging they typically hover 2-6 inches off the ground, and are slow and erratic. However when they are returning to the colony they are much higher- often dropping out of the air from a height of about 8 feet or more, are much faster, and flying in a straight line. This is a dead giveaway. When you see several "dots" flying vertical ascending/descending the same spot, you have found a nest.

Once you find it, you can call an exterminator to get rid of them, or you can do it yourself for less than $1.00...just be careful, and if your are allergic, have someone who isn't do the following...

Mark the general location of the nest so you can find it in the dark. Wait till dark (not dusk…DARK!) so most** of them will be in the ground. I don’t care what the other blogs say- gasoline is the perfect YJ killer because the vapors are heavier than air, cause instant death to yellow jackets, and will settle to the deepest recesses of the nest resulting in an almost guaranteed 100% kill of all adult insects. It takes only about 10 ounces to treat a decent size nest, and after dozens of applications I have never even seen as much as one yellow jacket come to the entrance of the hole when it is administered, unlike sprays which take several minutes to work, allowing the yellow jackets an opportunity for one last attempt at stinging you. Other blogs say to use “other poisons” because gas is poisonous (???). Since most insecticides are petroleum based, this is a ridiculous argument, especially since it takes a lot more of the other stuff to work. If you are worried about the soil getting contaminated, then a day after you treat the nest, dig it up and properly dispose of it and the soil around it…

**You will probably see a few stragglers buzzing around the nest site over the next few days. If it is far away from your house then it is probably not worth further action on your part. Chances are these are workers that were out of the nest the night you treated it. Since yellow jackets must see to navigate, workers will lay over on a tree limb, under an eave, etc. if they get caught out when it is too dark for them to fly home. If you do see them they generally won’t be aggressive since the destruction of their colony and lack of other of their kind will disorient them. These survivors will gradually disappear over the next week or so since they don’t live too long on their own. Also, there may be a few nearly mature larvae that were in protected (capped) cells in the nest when it was treated that could possibly survive and hatch. Most often there won’t be many if any, and digging up and discarding the remnants of the nest will take care of this, but chances are the problem will go away on its own over time since with no queen there will be no more eggs being laid and no more new yellow jackets. If it does not diminish after about 10 days, or if you see increasing numbers in your yard, then retreatment is an option.

If you still see lots of them in your yard after treatment then there is probably another nest close by- I've found 3 of them as close together as 20 feet before...

Good luck...

Answer 3

idk

Answer 4

Call pest control and have them locate and remove the nest for you.

Answer 5

Pour gasoline on the nest.