Yellow Jackets

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
I use a little 2-cycle oil/gasoline mix. Nothing special, just what the weed whacker uses.
I dump about a cup down the hole. The gasoline evaporates. The oil coats them & they can't breathe.
I'm sure there are more environmentally friendly options out there...
 
Use a bit of old window screen to cover the hole at night (for your safety). Then get half a bottle of dawn and your water hose. Pour in the Dawn and fill it up further with water.
Then put a heavy stone on the screen and hole.
In the morning take the stone off. If no yellow jacket is visible thru the screen, you're done.
 
I don't really have a solution, but I saw how my stepfather (who was an ass) do it. First, he would get stung while mowing the grass. Then he would dump a half of a gallon of gas down the hole shortly after being stung and light it--almost blowing himself up in the process. It had a bit of a flame-thrower effect if I remember correctly. Nevertheless, it was amusing!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Nealm66
Use a bit of old window screen to cover the hole at night (for your safety). Then get half a bottle of dawn and your water hose. Pour in the Dawn and fill it up further with water.
Then put a heavy stone on the screen and hole.
In the morning take the stone off. If no yellow jacket is visible thru the screen, you're done.

Here a YouTube video of the Dawn approach:
 
A bee suit is worth it's weight in gold when dealing with yj. Check them out, they aren't expensive.
 
At night when all the YJ are in their nest I just pour a cup of gasoline in the hole And cover the hole with a rock. Do not ignite the gasoline. The gasoline evaporates and the fumes kills the YJ.

BTW same thing works for bumble bee nest in the ground. If you have a large nest of hornets hanging from a tree 40 feet off the ground. These large black and white hornets are there probably eating bumble bees. Get rid of the bumble bees and the hornets will move. It worked for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jan Pijpelink
They are nasty. Mowed over a nest when I was a kid in CT. Damn, they REALLY didn't like that! :)
 
They are nasty. Mowed over a nest when I was a kid in CT. Damn, they REALLY didn't like that! :)
Yes they wait and get you on the return mow. ouch
 
I have always just emptied a can of wasp and hornet spray down the hole.
 
I use a little 2-cycle oil/gasoline mix. Nothing special, just what the weed whacker uses.
I dump about a cup down the hole. The gasoline evaporates. The oil coats them & they can't breathe.
I'm sure there are more environmentally friendly options out there...
I do something similar, just gas, but also light it on fire. :)
 
I do something similar, just gas, but also light it on fire. :)
That is not only polluting, it can lead to some unexpectedly explosive situations. Don't ask how I know.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jan Pijpelink
I just put carefully the screendoor on top. They went nuts! The lady just ordered a bee suit. Will arrive Thursday, will wait till then.

Next time, do it at night. Then all of them are in, and they will go less crazy if at all.

Also, gasoline, and especially oil (even if a little) will pollute your ground water (also when setting it on fire as not all will burn before it has seeped into the soil).
Using dawn (or equivalent) is less polluting and achieves the same results.

Do you have a well (water)...?
 
Next time, do it at night. Then all of them are in, and they will go less crazy if at all.

Also, gasoline, and especially oil (even if a little) will pollute your ground water (also when setting it on fire as not all will burn before it has seeped into the soil).
Using dawn (or equivalent) is less polluting and achieves the same results.

Do you have a well (water)...?
Last year at the front yard we did it after dark. I was not planning to burn anything. We do not have a well.
 
We do not have a well.
But some in the neighborhood might. This is not better living through chemistry. I like the old screen door idea if they can not get out. What would happen if it was just left there for a week or two? And I like the dish soap solution if you just want to be done with it.
 
But some in the neighborhood might. This is not better living through chemistry. I like the old screen door idea if they can not get out. What would happen if it was just left there for a week or two? And I like the dish soap solution if you just want to be done with it.
I was suggested to use a mix of Thieves oil with Borax. None of us in the area have wells.
 
I will make one more remark.

It's a free country, so you can do as you please (within the law, which I think prohibits motor oil for this case).

However, I believe the YouTube video to be real (not faked). As such it shows the efficacy of the method there. Then why go with harsher chemicals, pouring those in *your* property, than dish soap if it is as effective...?

Just a thought. Don't want to fight, so I'll stop here and leave you to it.
 
I will make one more remark.

It's a free country, so you can do as you please (within the law, which I think prohibits motor oil for this case).

However, I believe the YouTube video to be real (not faked). As such it shows the efficacy of the method there. Then why go with harsher chemicals, pouring those in *your* property, than dish soap if it is as effective...?

Just a thought. Don't want to fight, so I'll stop here and leave you to it.
Like I said I plan to use Thieves oil, all natural. Dish soaps are chemicals too.
 
That was somewhat similar to what I experienced as a foolish teen.

Imagine all the entertaining videos that were never recorded because - well we're old
 
  • Like
Reactions: begreen and bholler
I had been badly stung the previous year by a nest that I stepped on. They went up both pants legs and I had about 18 stings, so the following year I was not taking any chances. I poured lord know how much gas down a different nest hole across the street. It was a big nest. Then I rolled up a sheet of newspaper and made a torch to light the nest. It took a few seconds (thank goodness) and I was about 40 ft away when it ignited. The entire area lifted up in one gigantic whoomph! A surrounding radius of about 20 ft. lifted up a couple of feet with the blowup. It sounded like an underground dynamite explosion. I expect the neighbors to come running out of their houses as I sheepishly slipped away. Fortunately, they were at work that day. Never tried that stunt again.