Help, we have hundreds (and I am not kidding) of yellow jackets in our home. We have probably killed 6 or 7 hundred but they are still here. Any advice. No one has gotten stung yet except the dog.
Barb, I think I'd call an exterminator. I wouldn't mess around with yellow jackets. They're just plain mean!!! My daughter was stung 3 times when she was little just by sitting in front of where there was a nest (which, of course, she didn't know).
We have a vineyard, and when the grapes get ripe (this is happening right now as I write) the yellow jackets move in and devour the fruit. To keep the yellow jackets away from the fruit we put out bowls of sugar water, actually shallow pans work the best. The yellow jackets swarm to the sugar water in a mad frenzy. Use one part sugar to four parts water. A good bunch of them drown but if they don't you can spray the sugar water with the yellow jackets in the water with an aerosol can of yellow jacket killer.
I don't know how to get rid of yellowjackets, but I read that if you get stung put a penny on the sting and hold it there for about 15 minutes, something about the copper in the penny that keeps it from swelling.I haven't had a chance to try it.
I heard spraying them with hairspray will make them drop (haven't tried this so don't know if they are stunned or killed). Good luck, they have a nasty sting.
Barb - Just curious - How did so many get into your house? I had a similar experience with bees years ago and they ate a hole in my ceiling! We have a lot of them this year too and I don't know how to get rid of them, but worry they might get into our house too.
If there is a grain store in your area, you can pick up traps. They have something inside to draw the bees and then thay can't get out. If you don't have a grain store, google for AGWAY, You should be able to order by mail. Good Luck
By all means, call an exterminator. There may be a hole in the attic, basement, somewhere that they are getting in. There is probably a large nest somewhere if there are that many. I had yellow jackets once in my yard near my front porch (I'd even told the mailman to not leave any mail especially if it was only junk) and the exterminator came out with a hip bottle.
The exterminator was not all that expensive either!
Hi Everyone, who took time to answer my request about the yellow jackets. We have tried the sugar and water and the traps, my husband has gone out at night and gotten rid of some nests but we think that they are wasps nests. we have calked every hole we can find and now they are in our lower level too. As far as an exterminator is concerned the closest one is over an hour away and I am not sure they would come this far.
We had problems with bees at our ranch and found a spot where they were entering the wall on the outside of the house. We waited till dark then wet the area with water and threw Seven Dust on the damp wall where they were landing to enter. The next morning the bees were gone. This was in south Texas where there have been African Bees found so we chose this method not wanting to wait and see if they were African or Honey Bees.
I have the same problem with yellow jackets/wasps in my apartment. I have no idea how they are getting in. Management sprayed around the outside of the building after I mentioned the problem to them. I'm still getting them. I kill anywhere from one to 7/8 a day. Then there might be a day where we don't see any.
If you can find a true copper penny.
Pro Pest & Turf Solutions Owner and State Certifed Tech (15 years).
IMPORTANT FACT #1
Save your money and NEVER use raid for a yellow jacket nest or other bee type nesting in a void or crevice in your home. It will only agitate and drive them into your home and it will never eradicate the nest.
Important FACT #2. Caulking in a yellow jacket or any other type of wasp/hornet nest is extremely dangerous and should never be done unless a certified exterminator has concluded all activity has been eradicated and ceased.
#3. Messing with wasp/hornet nesting activity in or around your home should only be done by a professional pest control applicator. Not only will we stop the bee infestations, it also helps control spiders and many other destructive/nuisance pests.
IMPORTANT FACT #4. Preventative pest control is always the least expensive and best form of any type of pest control. As a certified applicator, there is nothing really one can do once a yellow jacket swarm gets inside your home except pick them off with a quick kill contact insecticide and dust some areas they like to try and escape or are drawn to.
Hope this helps stop a kiddo or family member from injury by reading these important steps.
Pro Pest & Turf Solutions LLC
~Enjoy Life Outdoors~
231-384-1988
SERVING WEXFORD-KALKAKSA-GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTIES.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Yellow jackets are getting into my house. Last year I lit them up by pouring gas down their holes in the yard and striking a match. It worked, but now they are really mad. I found 2 spots were they are swarming around at the top of my roof and I have used 15 cans of Jacket spray and sealed them off with the expanding foam from the Home Depot.
They are still getting in, I saw some actually coming in thru the electrical plates on the wall in the kitchen. Now they are coming in on the 3rd floor. An exterminator is not an option at this point. I want to get rid of them myself. Any suggestions?
By Jon
Jon,
I swear by a spray called Poison Free by Victor - www.victorpest.com. It contains mint oil and hornets hate it. You can use oil of mint from the grocery store, but make sure it is the pure extract. Use a cotton ball to apply it around the areas where they're getting in. Your house will smell like a big candy cane, but it should deter them.
They will actually survive a fire. Torching them only burns their wings off and makes them mad, but they can still reproduce. They can only survive down to about 45deg F so the gas by itself will usually do it. Also remember to blast their nest after dark or you won't get all of them. Don't use a flashlignt either, that wakes them up. Try to find a red LED light because they can't see colors. Just a footnote: I'm not a tree-hugger, but the EPA doesn't like us pouring gas into the environment because "if everybody did it....yada yada..."
Go get 'em but "bee" careful! :)
Rick
I personally wouldn't use gasoline, lit or unlit, anywhere near or in my home. Perhaps you could call your county offices and homeowners insurance company for advice about low cost and/or self help ideas.
If they are as bad as what you described no amount of spraying (no matter how good the spray is) is going to help. You need to get a professional exterminator in. Deeli suggested calling your county offices and homeowners insurance company for help. They may or may not be of any help but it won't cost anything to try. A pro is going to cost a small (or maybe large) fortune, but with the problem you have it's your only choice.
Good luck!
Why do you want to do it yourself? You may not be able to. Call the exterminator and be done with it.
I have yellowjackets in the ground. What's the best way to get rid of them?
Ron from NW Florida
Boil a large pot of water and pour it down the hole where you have yellowjackets. That ought to do it.
If you want a more exciting way to do it, try the method my dad and I always did- Pour diesel fuel into the hole, then light it with a *long* stick. It's not explosive, but you will have a smaller version of the Eternal Flame in your yard for a while, depending on how much fuel you use. The paper nest soaks up the diesel and burns slowly. I wouldn't recommend actual gasoline, though. That's just silly.
Pour down motor oil. It will him up their wings. Worked for me
I am finding several yellow jackets in the house in the winter season. They are very slow acting.
There is a trap that allows them in but not out. Who knew they were carnivores so you put in some fruit juice, sugar and meat. Raw is best. Here is a photo and the link to where you can get them. I found mine at Sherm's in Roseburg but almost every where has them.
www.google.com/
How do I get rid of yellow jackets that have come into my house with this cold weather? I think they got into my garage wall and there was one nest in my gutter. Will they eventually die or should I call an exterminator?
By Arlene
If you know they have taken up residence in your wall, and you can see where they go in and out, you could try spraying them with a good insecticide. Get one that is made for these particular insects. I use a spray foam one. There are several good brands, and you don't need to get too close as they spray a long way. I deal with hornets' nests this way. If you do it after dark, when they are in their nest, you run little risk of getting stung. I have never been stung doing this.
I have yellow jackets going into the eaves of my house. I believe they are in several areas but in one spot in particular. I sprayed the entrance with wasp spray and now they are coming into my house. I think they may be in my attic and coming through the light fixtures. I find several (5 to 6) per day inside and have been stung.
I had the same problem 2 summers ago and had an exterminator come and treat the areas they were getting in. I didn't see much activity last summer, but now they are back in force. Is there some sort of bomb I can use to kill the nest in the attic so they won't come into my house?
By Lin A.
A bee keeper verified that I had yellow jackets. He put on his bee suit and we used a shop vac to suck them out. He stuck the hose next to there entrance and ran the vac for an hour or so. He told me the velocity of the suction kills them on impact with the inside of the can. But still I sprayed killer into the hose to make sure. Seemed to work.
