yellow jackets

[Acebird]

I have a nest of yellow jackets in my chicken coup wall.  I sprayed a wasp spray in the entrance but they keep coming out without any indication that they will die later.  Foragers are coming back and not liking the smell and taking off.  Occasionally one will go in the entrance.  Seems like it comes back out but I don't know if it is just another bee on its way out.  Will the wasp spray get them to obscound or not?

[Psparr]

Doubt it. Anyway to really smother them with soapy water. That would kill them all.

[Acebird]

The entrance is barely 1/4 inch and I don't know how big the colony is.

[iddee]

Can you seal them in with duct tape over screen?

[FlexMedia.tv]

I agree, soapy water. I found a nest by my steps today. Can you run a garden hose through?

[Caribou]

What about plugging the hole mid day when all the foragers are out.  A night or two outside should wipe those out.  Then open the hole up and let them send some more foragers out. Lather, rinse, repeat.  Seems like that would deplete the hive to below a survivable level by winter.

[iddee]

Caribou, YJs don't survive over winter. They make new queens and the queens are all that make it til spring. Then they start another nest. He doesn't need to do anything if he can wait until winter, but I think he wants them gone now. I would.

[tjc1]

If they are way back in there you probably won't reach the nest with spray - and the nests can be pretty big, unfortunately. It can turn into a big battle, sorry to say... Good luck!

[GSF]

Here in Alabama the yellow jackets seem to look for something to sting. Especially if that something is on two legs.

[Acebird]

I don't want to count my chickens but I just checked and there are no more coming and going.  Maybe it is too early in the day.  The entrance is just inches away from the feed can and my wife has already gotten stung.  She reacts pretty badly to these stings.  She was stung in the finger and the swelling completely engulfed her hand and went up the inside of her arm up to her elbow.  I gave the entrance another shot just for good measure.  We will see if they come back.
I don't believe the hive had a chance to get that big because they are so nasty they sting at the drop of a hat.  I certainly don't want a nest of YJ this close to my honeybees.

[bwallace23350]

Glad you got them. Yesterday morning while looking at my moms flower garden she was talking about how she leaves some of the blooms for the bumble bees but as she went to pop one off a bumble bee was back there and popped her twice. 10 minutes later there were no marks and hardly any pain she said.

[Michael Bush]

If I can get to them I use soapy water in a spray bottle.  If I can't get to them, a tablespoon of gasoline (no flame and don't use where there is danger of sparks or ignition) put as far into the nest as I can and then close it up so the fumes will kill them.

[Acebird]

I would like to use gasoline but a chicken coup can be a danger of explosion do to the dust and feathers.  The coup is wired with power and a pop door actuates twice a day, once to open and once to close.  Just too risky for me to try it.

[Eugene Willson]

I use 1/2 cup of gas in a quart jar, at night just put the gas in the jar and turn it upside down over the hole, bees will be dead by morning.
Good luck

[Beeboy01]

Moth balls in gas has always been my favorite for yellow jacket nests in the ground.  No fire, just a piece of wood over the entrance of the nest after dumping in the stuff. In walls I'll spray and then cover the entrance with tape sealing them in. They get real aggressive in the fall looking for food, even got stung on my lip once when they were on a can of soda I was drinking.

[sc-bee]

If not gone..At night the foaming spray insecticide. Foam as far in the hole and crack around. At night they will all be home. Watch for gurads around the entrance as you approach. Dug them for fish bait as a kid. Awesome bream bait.